By Ewen McRae
Caroline Springs Scouts are celebrating after six of their adult volunteers received service recognition medals from the state head office.
Scouts Victoria announced its annual award winners last week, with Penny Van Keulen, Sharon Zammit, Carolyn Pemberton, Bryan Ross, Garry Whicker and Katherine Rix all awarded the Special Service Award for their work at the 1st Caroline Springs troop.
Group leader Claire Mouser said it was fantastic to see the adult volunteers who help the troop run smoothly get recognised.
“It’s normally about the kids, as it should be, but it’s nice to get the adults recognised,” Ms Mouser said.
“Those six have a tremendous impact on our group. Obviously scouting relies heavily on volunteers, and in today’s day and age most adults don’t have much time for that … without volunteers like these guys our program simply wouldn’t run.
“Katherine is our group treasurer, making sure we’re financially stable, and Gary is a parent helper who helps us on camps and other activities, and then the other four are leaders across all sections who really make our group as good as it can be.”
The troop has 125 participants, making it one of the largest in Victoria.
Ms Mouser said the six award winners played a big part in the resurgence of Scouts in the area.
“The group is only eight years old, which is quite young in scouting terms, and with Scouts getting a real resurgence in growth corridors like Caroline Springs it’s an exciting time,” she said.
“It’s an actual medal that they get for this award, so when they wear their uniforms they’ll now have a bit of bling to add to that.”
