Meryl Swanson (Paterson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I was recently invited to present the NSW Volunteer of the Year awards for 2023 at the Hunter volunteers ceremony. I was really delighted to see Carole Delaney, a wonderful local, receive recognition for her tireless volunteer work. Carole has been volunteering at the Tomaree Neighbourhood Centre since 2004. Coming from a background in social work, she has been instrumental in the running of the emergency relief program at the neighbourhood centre, which provides crisis support to the most vulnerable in our community. Carole has assisted thousands of community members who have presented to the centre in crisis, through the provision of financial hardship relief, advocacy and referral. She also regularly shops for the community pantry and prepares hampers for clients in need. Carole has also been an excellent mentor to new staff at the Tomaree Neighbourhood Centre and has really put her heart and soul into providing help for our community. She's also worked at providing training and education on emergency relief and on how to provide the best outcomes for the Port Stephens community. Congratulations, Carole, on your recent award but more importantly on the contribution that you have made and continue to make for our community. It is just such a well-deserved recognition.

Also, I want to speak about Eve Bryson. I'm really proud to talk about this young lady who is from my home town of Kurri Kurri and is doing amazing things in the world of female youth boxing. Eve recently competed at the national youth titles, where she gained valuable experience in the ring. She was also part of the national development training program team, and she's just returned from New Zealand, after competing at the Youth Tri-Nations Tournament, where she came out victorious in both her bouts—two from two.

I know that Eve has been training very hard and working at her skills every day, continuing her strength, conditioning and mindset under her coaching team, and that has enabled her to compete and grow her confidence at that level. Eve has also been selected to be part of the 2024 state futures program, which is focused on developing talent and producing future elite Australian representatives. Eve was recently awarded a Local Sporting Champions grant from my office, and I can't wait to see what the future brings for Eve.

Very quickly, I want to give a big thanks to Westpac's Angel Billy rescue helicopter. We had a fantastic golf day, and our team was victorious. Thank you to Brendan Boyd, Christine Boyd and Peree Watson.

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