Wallington CFA firefighter gets life membership

WALLINGTON CFA veteran Gerry Neyenuis has added another life membership to his growing list of honours and admits receiving this one brought a tear to his eye.

Gerry was recently made a Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria (VFBV) life member, to match his CFA, District 7 championship committee and brigade honours.

The presentation of his VFBV plaque during the state championships in Bendigo was an emotional moment.

“That was more meaningful than anything else,” he said.

“It was in front of a crowd I’ve been looking after for 10 years as chairman of the championship committee so that was a real buzz. It was hard to hold back a tear.”

Mr Neyenuis, who turns 72 in August, joined the CFA in 1966, initially with Gruyere near Coldstream, then Hampton Park and in 1976 he moved to Ocean Grove and joined the Wallington brigade on the Bellarine Peninsula.

“When I started, I lived out in the country and in those days most people in the country got involved with the fire brigade,” he said.

“It was just a form of helping out your neighbours.

“The commitment wasn’t as big in the early days; there’s a lot more involved with being a firefighter today and it’s a much safer service. Our minimum skills are all about safety.”

Mr Neyenuis has served in various roles, including as captain of the Wallington brigade for 12 years.

His wife Maria was communications officer for 12 years while he was captain, his sons – twins Greg and Michael, 49 – have been members since they were youngsters. Greg’s three children Bianca, 21, and twins Eliza and Caleb, 17, are also involved.

“The tremendous thing about volunteering is that it can be so family orientated,” Mr Neyenuis said.

“At one stage my daughter Michelle was in a brigade and we had four of us in one running team in the championships. That sort of thing makes it all worthwhile.”

VFBV chief executive officer Adam Barnett said volunteers like Gerry are the cornerstone of local communities and their experience and willingness to drop everything to provide vital surge capacity to communities in need makes a huge contribution to the safety and response capacity of CFA and the protection of Victoria.