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Parramatta honours Frontline and Community Service heroes





Parramatta City Council, Media Release

Parramatta honours Frontline and Community Service heroes

28 August, 2015

The brave actions and unwavering commitment of local emergency and community service personnel were recognised at The Lord Mayor’s 2015 Frontline and Community Service Awards ceremony at Parramatta Town Hall last night.

There were 10 award winners across five categories including Bravery, Beyond the Call of Duty, Community Service, Commitment and Excellence in Service.

“From a police officer who approached four men who had just committed an armed robbery to an emergency nurse who gives up her own time to help others and one of the longest serving members of Fire and Rescue NSW – we have seen examples of great bravery and dedication to serving the community,” Lord Mayor of Parramatta Cr Scott Lloyd said.  

“It was an absolute honour to pay tribute to the men and women who work tirelessly for the benefit of the community and often go above and beyond what is required of them in their already demanding day-to-day work.”

The annual awards, now in their fourth year, were attended by His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Ret'd), Governor of New South Wales, and Mrs Linda Hurley, along with Member for Parramatta Dr Geoff Lee and Member for Seven Hills Mark Taylor.

Also in attendance were members of the The Royal New South Wales Lancers, Ambulance Service of NSW, Fire and Rescue NSW, NSW Police Force, State Emergency Services, St Johns Ambulance, the PCYC and Nurses and Midwives from Westmead Hospital.

“Our frontline service workers put their lives on the line for our community and this was an opportunity to thank them and recognise their hard work. The remarkable stories of the award winners reflect the quality of the frontline and community service personnel serving the City every day,” Cr Lloyd said.

A list of award winners is attached.

AWARD WINNERS:

Bravery

Constable Nicholas Scheeringa

Constable Nicholas Scheeringa showed bravery by putting himself in jeopardy in order to protect the community. In April last year Constable Scheeringa responded to a police radio call stating that an armed robbery had taken place in Granville. As he was travelling towards the crime scene he observed a vehicle matching the description driving in the opposite direction. He turned around and followed it, eventually confronting four offenders who were in possession of a firearm. As a result of the Constable’s high degree of situational awareness, intuition and exceptional work ethic, detectives were able to charge a male offender for the crime and seize weapons that could have been used in future crimes.

Beyond the Call of Duty

Constable Andrew Nasif

Constable Nasif is being recognised for his quick thinking and prompt action in stopping a young male from flying out of the country when his parents raised concerns for his welfare. He contacted relevant authorities, showed initiative and leadership, and acted swiftly under significant time pressure to ensure the situation was suitably resolved.  

Community Service

Susan Barbosa

Ms Barbosa is a registered nurse at Westmead Hospital’s Emergency Department. For the last three years she has coordinated the emergency department’s displays and activities at B Streetsmart Forum - an injury prevention program open to students in government and non-government schools in NSW and the ACT. More than 17,000 students from 158 high schools attended in 2014. Ms Barbosa spends weeks of her own time co-ordinating displays and staff members to manage the displays to ensure the event is a complete success. While Susan is committed to B Streetsmart, she is equally committed to her day-to-day profession as an Emergency Department Registered Nurse.

Kevin McSweeney

Ambulance NSW Inspector Kevin McSweeney is the Duty Operations Manager at Parramatta Ambulance. He started as a St Johns Ambulance volunteer before joining the NSW Ambulance service in 1999. He became an Ambulance Rescue Paramedic in 2003, and in September 2011 he took up the role of Inspector, Duty Operations Manager. Inspector McSweeney’s passion for helping people does not end within his workplace. In his own time he has given talks to schools and pre-schools about the role of ambulance officers, taught first aid to the public and taken part in Bluey Day, an event where emergency service personnel raise funds to support children living with serious illnesses. Additionally he has dedicated his time to the Remember Mike and Save a Life Committee to help with the installation of defibrillators at various locations throughout the LGA and beyond.

William Johnston

William Johnston has served the Parramatta area as a St Johns Ambulance volunteer for more than 20 years. During this time he has performed an average of 250 hours a year rendering first aid at public events while on top of this devoting additional time to organising and running the Parramatta Division. He has generously given his time in the role of Duties Coordinator, which he has held for more than 10 years. He is also the leader of the division and holds the role of Sergeant. He is always willing to share his knowledge with others, recently helping the local cadet junior division. He is also an active member of the North Rocks Rural Fire Brigade.

Commitment

Martin Hofstadler

Inspector Martin Hofstadler is currently one of Fire and Rescue NSW’s longest serving officers having commenced service in 1974. He maintains the operational readiness of 12 fire stations within the Parramatta, Fairfield, Holroyd and Ryde Local Government Areas.

He is well respected by his fellow senior officers and admired by the personnel under his command. Inspector Hofstadler’s commitment to the community of Parramatta is demonstrated by his untiring pursuit to maintain public safety while ensuring his personnel and stations are fully prepared to deal with any emergency they may be called upon to attend.

Luke Lonsdale

Constable Luke Lonsdale is a general duties officer from Rosehill Local Area Command. Although he is a junior police officer he has shown great aptitude for law enforcement and has achieved outstanding results. Recently he was rated 3rd in the NSW Police Force for his pro-active use of operational policing resources in the execution of his duties.

1st/15th Royal NSW Lancers Band

In the past year the band has contributed significantly in the support of community activities around the Parramatta Local Government area. This support has been balanced with their military commitments to monthly unit weekend training requirements and providing musical support to such events as the ANZAC Day parade, and a number of military dinners.

This commitment has seen the members of the band dedicate a considerable amount of their personal time to ensure that high standards and professionalism have been maintained through the year.

Excellence in Service

Tony Khoury

Mr Khoury has been a volunteer of the NSW State Emergency Service for more than 13 years. He is a valued member of the Parramatta SES unit and trains and mentors volunteers. He is an active field operator with extensive experience in flood rescue, storm operations and general rescue. He was a member of Parramatta units NSW SES rescue competition team in 2013, which won the Sydney West competition and placed 2nd in the state level competition. During the 2015 April storms he performed multiple flood rescues in the Sydney west area including the rescue of a family on Oaks Road when it flooded. He led multiple teams north to Wyong to assist in storm clean-up operations and was also deployed for flood rescue operations near Newcastle.

Luke Frost

Luke is a qualified intensive care paramedic at Parramatta Ambulance station and has taken it upon himself to coordinate clinical information days at the station to increase the knowledge base and practical application of that knowledge amongst his peers. He is also volunteering as a Peer Support officer. He is someone who can be called upon at short notice to attend debriefs following significant incidents to provide support and advice to the attending paramedics. Luke’s clinical knowledge, passion and determination to educate others are of the utmost quality.


 














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