NSW Governor, Margaret Beazley, took time out of her weekend last Sunday to award local St John volunteer Blake Edgecombe with a 10-year service medal in Sydney, among other recipients.
Mr Edgecombe initially joined St Johns for about a year before leaving for a short while, and then returned to the organisation in 2012, where he has remained ever since.
Mr Edgecombe told the Truth that “a friend of mine got me into it, saying they do a great thing on Wednesday nights, so I went down there and fell in love with it.”
Over the years, he climbed the ranks of the organisation, becoming a Cadet leader for the Cadet division for a few years, and he now sits on the St Johns NSW State Council, which is a body elected by St Johns members.
He also currently assists the organisation as the assistant E-Learning Coordinator, and as part of the EHS Operations Team, which is responsible for online training and grading assessments.
As a volunteer first responder, he told the Truth that one of his most memorable experiences as part of St Johns has been attending the Bathurst races.
However, he cautioned that there were too many more memories to name, because “as I am there longer, I’m diversifying the things I’m doing.”
Aside from volunteering for St Johns, Mr Edgecombe works full time and has almost completed his law degree, as part of his Bachelor of Law studies at the University of New England.
This will be his second degree he holds, after completing a Bachelor of Social Science (Psychology) at Charles Sturt University from 2018-2020. Mr Edgecombe is also a Justice of the Peace (NSW).
Last Sunday’s presentation is just the latest honour that has been bestowed on Mr Edgecombe, after being admitted as a Member of the Order of St John in 2022, and being named as a state finalist for the NSW Young Volunteer of the Year award in 2020.
Earlier, he was named Broken Hill’s Young Citizen of the year in 2020, and in the same year, was also recognised as the Far West NSW Young Volunteer of the Year by the Centre for Volunteering.
Mr Edgecombe’s latest accolade will now only strengthen his resolve and belief in volunteering, telling the Truth that he is just as passionate about his roles today as he was when he first started volunteering.
PICTURE: Blake Edgecombe and NSW Governor Margaret Beazley. SUPPLIED
