NSW/ACT Rotary Emergency Services Community Awards (RESCA)

Committee Chairs
ACT
PDG Steve Hill (Hall)
0412 854 047
 
NSW
PDG Ian Tooke (Blayney)
0409 590 547
Service Objective
Rotary Districts of NSW and the ACT Emergency Services Community Awards (RESCA) is the only time all Emergency Services personnel, both paid and volunteer, are recognised in a combined awards program. The Awards are designed to recognise our emergency service personnel who have gone above and  beyond their call of duty and reflected the Rotary motto of “Service  above Self”.
 
RESCA is a community nominated Awards, therefore it is based on the  reputation of the personnel from their local community’s viewpoint. The Awards are open to all Emergency Service personnel stationed in NSW and ACT, serving in either a paid capacity or as a volunteer.
Rotary is seeking the unsung heroes in your communities that are often the quiet achievers, never asking for recognition but making a  significant difference in your community.
 
Emergency Service Personnel can be nominated by colleague, family and any members of the community.  Panels of independent judges will then assess nominees on three (3) key criteria:
  • Community service over and above the call of normal duties which best exemplifies Rotary’s motto of Service Above Self (i.e. community involvement when they are not working in their normal roles)
  • Personal attributes
  • Contribution to their organisation
Currently there are Awards for NSW and Awards for ACT.
2019 National Winners
ANTHONY WALLER – Superintendent, Zone Commander – Illawarra - Winner in Paid Capacity
Anthony Waller, a Superintendent with Fire and Rescue NSW, based in the Illawarra, has never been far from saving lives. In 2001 he was both the Sydney and NSW Lifesaver of the Year, and is presently education director and board member of Surf Life Saving NSW. But his professional input has been on that other hazard, fire. He has been a firefighter for 38 years, more than 20 of them as a firefighter educator. Among his operations, he was a team leader in an Australian earthquake task force in Christchurch. In 2017 he was Operations Officer in a NSW cyclone taskforce in Proserpine, Queensland. In the same year he was Base Manager in a flood evacuation operation the northern NSW.
 
PAUL MARSHALL – Captain of the Albury and Border Rescue Squad – Albury - Winner in Volunteer Capacity
Paul, a serving member of the Victoria Police Highway Patrol, is the captain of the Albury and Border Rescue Squad in the NSW VRA. He has promoted interagency cooperation locally, sharing his knowledge of how vehicles react to crashes and the investigative process that follows. He is also involved in the management of emergencies and critical incidents, bushfire awareness and frontline management. In 2017, he was part of a team that travelled to Vanuatu, teaching the local rescuers skills such as road crash rescue, vertical and swift water rescue. Once the job is done, he always actively checks on the welfare of rescuers and the victims involved.