A NSW State Emergency Service (NSW SES) volunteer's commitment to evolving emergency management has been rewarded with an Emergency Services Medal in this year's King's Birthday Honours List.
NSW SES Blue Mountains Unit volunteer David Parsons was honoured to receive the award for his contribution to the Service, which has spanned more than 45 years.
Mr Parsons attributes the longevity of his SES involvement to a passion for emergency management and a commitment to safeguarding the community.
"I joined the NSW SES as a way to explore my curiosity of natural disasters, and I count myself incredibly lucky that my time as a volunteer has turned into pathways that allow me to protect and empower the community when disaster strikes," Mr Parsons said.
"What makes me keep coming back after all these years is the camaraderie and joint spirit of service from the other volunteers who go above and beyond in their work."
Mr Parsons' accomplishments include being at the forefront of the Blue Mountains snow plan which was formed during heavy snow falls in 1984-1985 and helped create a procedure to prepare the community and respond to future weather events.
The snow plan later evolved into the NSW State Storm Plan and set the foundation for today's incident management processes, including how calls for assistance are logged, managed, coordinated and reviewed.
NSW SES Commissioner Carlene York APM congratulated Mr Parsons on his Emergency Services Medal, and thanked him for his extensive service to the NSW SES.
"David has significantly influenced emergency management procedures by spearheading local initiatives that have informed state, national and international processes. He is a credit and inspiration to his peers in orange and we are proud of his service," Commissioner York said.
Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib said volunteers like Mr Parsons are the backbone of communities across NSW.
"People like David aren't just on the frontline protecting the community during a storm or flood, they're also building resilience and sharing knowledge to help better prepare us for future emergencies and disasters. I thank David for his service, and congratulate him on receiving the Emergency Services Medal," Minister Dib said.
Mr Parsons' various roles within the NSW SES have included District Emergency Management Officer (DEMO), chief planning officer, Blue Mountains controller, training coordinator and intelligence officer. As a DEMO employed the NSW SES, Mr Parsons was a key driver in developing formal plans to address multi-agency response to storms, floods and bushfires that impacted the Central West region.
When not wearing his orange overalls, Mr Parsons has leveraged his emergency services experience to manage Sydney Water's Emergency Management and Counter Terrorism Program and contributed to emergency management in the water and mining sectors.
In addition to his accomplishments with the NSW SES, Mr Parsons founded the International Association of Emergency Managers Oceania Region, is a Director of the Australasian Institute of Emergency Services, is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Emergency Services and an Honorary fellow of the Business Continuity Institute.
