More than 20 years of dedication has paid off for Tea Gardens-Hawks Nest Surf Life Saving Club (SLSC) member, Debbie Booth, who was named Volunteer of the Year at Surf Life Saving NSW's (SLSNSW) Awards of Excellence late last month.
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Mrs Booth was the first-ever female president of both Tea Gardens-Hawks Nest SLSC and the Hunter Surf Life Saving branch and said it made her proud to receive the award during the 40th anniversary of female patrol members joining the surf lifesaving movement.
She believed a lot had changed since she stepped into those roles back in the early 2000s.
"There are a lot more women involved in surf club now. We probably have more female members than male members," she said.
"It's come a long way."
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Mrs Booth joined Tea Gardens-Hawks Nest SLSC in 1996 as a way to educate her children about the ocean and said she loved it from the outset.
After serving as club and branch president, she became director of education for the Hunter branch for the next 13 years, where recently she mentored the branch's trainers, assessors and facilitators in using the new online Surf Life Saving Australia Bronze Medallion program.
While she has since stepped down from that role, Mrs Booth says she remains passionate about educating fellow members and has no plans to leave Tea Gardens-Hawks Nest SLSC any time soon.
"I'll be there as long as I can stand on two legs," she said.
"We're just so close-knit. We consider ourselves family and we always say we're friends for life."
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Tea Gardens-Hawks Nest SLSC president, Nicola Young, said the club was very proud of Mrs Booth's achievements and it came as no great surprise to see her win the award.
"We were quietly confident because she's offered so many years of service," Ms Young said.
"(She brings) experience, expertise. She's such a great community link."
An annual event to celebrate the outstanding achievements of volunteer surf lifesavers across the State, the SLSNSW Awards of Excellence were held virtually for the first time in 2020 as a result of COVID-19.
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