Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria
Cindy McLEISH (Eildon) (09:48): I recently attended the Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria district 14 rural championships in Plenty. I was impressed with the junior teams competing. Doreen CFA had 10 juniors tackling the pumps and hoses, competing in the 11 to 13 and 11 to 15 age groups. It was great to see former juniors, now 18 to 25, move into the role of junior leaders. Sue Mann, who was just a mum and is now an enthusiastic volunteer, said it has been great to see the growth in juniors through their participation. The young adults Victoria, Rebecca, Emily, Declan and Ryan have become independent and more confident and have increased self-esteem. I chatted to Amelia from the Hurstbridge brigade and was impressed by her maturity and confidence as she talked about her time as a junior and participation now as a young adult.