Ocean Shore's Susan Biggar is state's top volunteer

SUSAN Biggar, a 20-year veteran of the Ocean Shores Brunswick Valley and District Volunteer Rescue Squad, has been named Northern Rivers Volunteer of the Year.

VOLLIE OF THE YEAR: Susan Biggar with NSW Minister for Citizenship and Communities Victor Dominello (left) and Ballina MP Don Page. . Picture: Contributed

SUSAN Biggar, a 20-year veteran of the Ocean Shores Brunswick Valley and District Volunteer Rescue Squad, has been named Northern Rivers Volunteer of the Year.

Ms Biggar, from Ocean Shores, was nominated for her leadership of the squad, her extensive expertise in rescue and her dedication to the community.

She also won the 2014 Adult Volunteer of the Year Award category.

"I get real satisfaction from seeing a team member I have trained go on to save someone," said Ms Biggar.

"It's great to give something back to the community and not just be taking."

The Centre for Volunteering's chief executive officer, Gemma Rygate, said the annual awards were the state's way of recognising the outstanding work of volunteers in our community.

"We established these awards to highlight some of the 2.4 million volunteers in NSW and the selfless work they do," she said.

"Susan is highly respected by the organisation due to her high level of expert knowledge which is backed up by years of experience in volunteering for rescue organisations.

"Her guidance as a training officer has improved the education and governance for new and current volunteer rescue personnel."

Ms Biggar has been volunteering in her community since she was a child, starting out in Girl Guides.

"Volunteer rescue particularly suits my attributes," she said. "I am very resilient, so I can deal with the kind of incidents we go to that can be quite traumatic."