The hard-working members of Red Cross in the Bega Valley have been recognised for their role in supporting the community during and after last year's bushfire in the Tathra district.
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The Bega Valley Emergency Services Team recently received a distinguished team award from the Red Cross emergency leaders in Nowra.
"The operative word is 'team'," Red Cross Wolumla branch member and one of the leaders of the Bega Red Cross Emergency Team Pat Johnston said.
"It's for all Bega Valley Red Cross members who worked during the Tathra fire.
"The Bega team was very small, but very much supported by the Merimbula emergency group."
She said the award was important to the local Red Cross members because they were all volunteers who worked hard to support the community.
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"It's just recognising and saying thank you," Ms Johnston said.
"We always work behind the scenes generally.
"During the emergency we were the meet and greet at the [Bega Showground] evacuation centre and saw where people needed to go; if they needed housing, beds or whatever.
"We directed them to where they needed to go for help, and if they needed to talk that's what we did too."
After the bushfire on March 18, 2018, their work did not stop there.
Red Cross members worked with Bega Valley Shire Council's bushfire recovery centre to help support residents of the district and also conducted several rounds of door knocking, going door-to-door to see if everyone was okay and if they needed any assistance.
Member of the Red Cross Bega branch Yetty Burgess lives in Tathra and had to evacuate during the fire, but fortunately her house survived.
"It's still raw," she said.
"Tathra is still on an emotional roller coaster."
This makes it all the more important the Red Cross has still a representative working to support the community in Tathra, even over a year after the fire.