President of the Bega Chamber of Commerce Mal Barnes said the chamber was pleased to award this honour to Ms Moore.

“People know Anne from her role as children’s librarian, but she does so much else for young people in the community. 

“She really goes above and beyond.

“Anne does so much for the Girl Guides, and so many hours outside of her job involved with reading with children.

“The chamber believes she’s someone who is really worthy of recognition.”

Many women throughout the Valley have fond memories of their time in Girl Guides thanks to Ms Moore, who has been leading the local chapter for almost 30 years. 

“I was involved with Brownies and Guides when I lived in Sydney, I started a group of Guides for intellectually and physically disabled girls while there.

“When my husband and I moved to Bega in 1984 I thought I had ‘retired’ from the Guides, as I had an 11-month-old I was busy with.

“However, I was asked to help and there was a need so I put my hand up.

“Back then there wasn’t all the gymnastics or other sporting clubs there are now, so children needed activities.

“I’ve gotten so much out of it and it’s rewarding to see many of these girls who are now grown,” she said. 

Bega Girl Guides is still thriving under Ms Moore’s supervision.

As children’s librarian at Bega library, Ms Moore oversees the Story Time and Rhyme Time sessions, but she is also involved with encouraging children’s literacy outside of work. 

For eight years she has been part of a group called Birth to Kindergarten, which brings books to mums and newborns at the hospital to encourage reading from an early age. 

Ms Moore has been involved in community fundraising since she came to Bega. 

When her sons Aaron and Blake, now 30 and 25, were at Bega Preschool she assisted with fundraising there. 

When they attended Bega West Primary School she joined the P&C where she was heavily involved in all its activities during their schooling. 

As they joined soccer and basketball teams she was always the one who put her hand up to assist. 

“My love for community work is inbuilt I suppose, it comes as second nature,” she said. 

“There’s no point sitting back if you have the time to give.

“If I didn’t love it, I wouldn’t do it, but it gives me a lot of pleasure to be involved with Guides and other things.”