selby salutes some stayers

On Saturday night I had the great pleasure of attending the Selby CFA Annual Dinner, a great occasion attended by brigade members and their partners. This year saw the awarding of the 50 year service medal to John Peacock, awarded a life membership to the brigade in 1991.

Alan Marks, myself and John Peacock at the Selby CFA Annual Dinner.

John first became a member of the CFA in Belgrave, went on to Kallista and then settled in Selby in 1961 where he remains a member to this day. John recounted the early days of the brigade where a local spud farmer supplied the tray truck to fight fires whilst the firefighters only had knapsacks and rake hoes to do the job.

Fifty years is a wonderful effort from a man dedicated to protecting the local community, congratulations to John on your fifty years.

The night also saw Alan Marks receive Life Membership of the brigade. Alan has been involved with the CFA since 1977 and at one stage was the Group Officer for the region. Life Membership is a terrific way to recognise individual dedication to the CFA and the people they protect.

The brigade, like most across the Dandenongs, has seen an increase in membership of firefighters and auxiliary members too. The camaraderie of the Selby Brigade is outstanding, they are very well regarded in our local community, and their recent efforts to raise funds for Selby Tanker 2 reinforces the high regard the community has for the brigade (see blog).

It was a great night, wonderful to meet new and old members alike and celebrate the brigade’s achievements.