Fourth Lieutenant Kayla Dwyer, aged 21, takes her role in Koroit brigade very seriously. She’s a crew leader, qualified training assessor and happy to help out in any way she can.
Her dedication to the brigade is rivalled only by her passion for music. Kayla is a talented country/pop singer who’s been playing local venues for some time and recently performed at the renowned Tamworth Country Music Festival.
At these events she has taken on an ambassador role for CFA, actively promoting the work done by members.
“It creates a great deal of interest and several members of the audience have taken the time to ask me about CFA,” Kayla said.
Kayla began singing classical music at 13 and by 16 moved to contemporary music and began playing the guitar.
It was around the same time she joined Koroit brigade. “At the time there were no other young members and only one other female. I was encouraged by all members from that first day I joined and since then we now have several other younger members as well as more females.
"It’s something I’ve become very passionate about – we need to ensure younger people are keen to volunteer. It’s so important for the future.”
While Kayla is currently studying teaching at Warrnambool she has also done some work for District 5 in several roles.
And on several occasions Kayla has combined her love of music and love of CFA. “I played at the brigade’s annual dinner and have travelled to Fiskville on several occasions to sing the National Anthem at recruit passing out parades.”
More recently, Kayla sang the National Anthem at the VFBV Junior and Senior State championships at Warrnambool in front of 3,000 people. She also played several songs during the Junior event.
She believes a CFA band (much like the Police Band Code 1) is something that would benefit and promote the organisation. “I have no doubt this would be a great way of connecting with the younger generation. We need fresh, new ideas to help increase volunteer participation by youth. It’s also a great way to get across key messages to the public.”
You can follow Kayla on facebook – www.facebook.com/kayladmusic and listen to her music at www.kayladwyer.com
Kayla is releasing an album of her own songs in June.
Author: Duncan Russell