Over many years of involvement with Surf Life Saving Terrigal’s Cathy Cole has proved to be tremendously dedicated at everything she has turned her hand to, and now she has one more honour after being judged the state’s top volunteer.
The popular fourth generation lifesaver received her gong at the Surf Life Saving Awards of Excellence held in Sydney last weekend.
“I am incredibly honoured to win this award. Surf lifesaving is my absolute favourite thing to do in life and it’s been in my family for years. To be acknowledged for volunteering is beyond anything I ever expected,” Cathy Cole said.
Cathy is the Lifesaving Competition Coach at Terrigal and Lifesaving Competition Referee for the Central Coast Branch.
She has also been the Duke of Edinburgh co-ordinator at Terrigal for 17 years, has patrolled 21 seasons with 100% patrol proficiency and has volunteered on 22 Christmas Day patrols.
She is very passionate about member recognition and as Director of Member Services at Terrigal SLSC she ensured all members eligible for national recognition received the appropriate awards.
However her best achievement over the last 12 months was helping to honour Terrigal’s War Time Female Lifesavers.
As club historian, Cathy dedicated countless hours to researching and tracking down the lifesavers and organised an event at Terrigal where these women were finally presented with their bronze medallions, a parliamentary medal and a letter from the queen.
One message she never stops sharing is her love of surf lifesaving.
“Terrigal is a beautiful area and with thousands of tourists it’s so important that people are well trained appropriately,” she said.
“Surf lifesaving has a place for everyone and I want people to know that it’s a meaningful environment where you can get healthy, learn new skills and assist your community.
“There’s nothing better than joining a surf club,” she enthused.
And who’s going to argue with the 2018 NSW Surf Life Saving Volunteer of the Year?
The 2018 SLSNSW Awards of Excellence are proudly supported by Port Authority of New South Wales with almost 400 of Surf Life Saving’s most outstanding lifesavers, athletes, educators, coaches, and administrators from around the state gathering at Dockside, Cockle Bay to celebrate the season that was.
For a full list of all the winners, and to see photographs from the night, please visit the SLSNSW Awards of Excellence Event Page or our social media channels
Wednesday 29 August 2018