DONATING many hours to the community is heartedly recommended by Millicent resident Peter Phillips.
“You get more back from volunteering than you give,” Mr Phillips said.
“It is an outlet for me and provides an extra layer of enjoyment.
“I get to engage with the community in a different way from my regular job.”
Mr Phillips is one of the 14 recipients across the Wattle Range Council district to receive a Premier’s Certificate as part of National Volunteers Week.
The married father of two is perhaps best known as the foundation president of the Beachport Surf Lifesaving Club and is still at the helm five years later.
The seaside club has achieved phenomenal growth since Mr Phillips called a public meeting in mid-2015.
It now boasts a membership of more than 200 lifesavers, juniors and supporters and keeps swimmers safe along a large section of the Rivoli Bay beaches each summer.
As well as his beach duties, Mr Phillips shares the administrative load as the club expands its facilities, runs sessions for schools and hosts an annual inflatable rescue boat carnival.
His initial involvement as a lifesaver started in his teenage years at the Bungan Surf Lifesaving Club in New South Wales.
Like many others, he took a break from surf lifesaving in his twenties, but a work transfer to Beachport provided him with the opportunity to rekindle his interest in the vital community service.
He said the Beachport club had 80 Nippers aged under 12 and a further 20 in the 13 to 18 age bracket.
“The challenge is there for Beachport to retain lifesavers aged between 20 and 30.
“It is often seen around Australia that lifesavers of this age go off and do other things.”
In addition to surf club volunteering and past membership of the Lions Club of Beachport and Rivoli Bay, Mr Phillips already has a strong commitment to the public through his work as a police officer at Millicent.
His other postings over a 15-year career have been Transit Police, Holden Hill Patrols, Intelligence Section, CIB and Mount Gambier.
He was named as the South Australian Police Officer of the Year in 2015.
Wattle Range mayor and past police colleague Des Noll presented Mr Phillips with the Premier’s Certificate.
Mr Noll has travelled throughout the council area in recent days and made similar presentations.
“I am excited about the quality of volunteers we have in this council area,” Mr Noll said.
“Volunteers are the foundation of country communities and Peter Phillips is an example of that.”
