Volunteer firefighter Bruce Golightly is Borough of Queenscliffe’s Citizen of the Year for his decades of service to the community.
The borough held its Community Service Awards on May 21 to celebrate the work of Queenscliff’s many volunteers during National Volunteer Week (May 19 to 25).
Mr Golightly said he was “very honoured” to receive the Citizen of the Year award for his service to the Queenscliff Fire Brigade over 43 years, including as captain for six years.
“I was also very humbled and appreciative of my fellow volunteers at the Queenscliff Brigade for nominating me,” he said.
“I was disappointed that I couldn’t be there on the night to accept this award, but it was great to have my three kids there to represent me and accept it on my behalf.
“Both of my boys are now firefighters following in the footsteps of their grandfather and myself. All three also volunteer in many other local community organisations.”
Mr Golightly said the things he got enjoyment out of while volunteering had changed a lot throughout his firefighting journey.
“In the early days, it was a rush of adrenaline to get to whatever the emergency call might have been. But in later years, it’s been more about building a strong and competent team,” he said.
“Volunteering is vital in a community like Queenscliff’s, whether it’s with an organisation like CFA or other emergency responders or in many of the other sporting or community groups in the borough.”
Queenscliffe Climate Action Now was also named Community Group of the Year during the awards event following its efforts in championing sustainability since the group started in 2019.
