Recognising our adult volunteers
Published Fri 01 Aug 2025
The Scouts Australia Adult Recognition Awards are an opportunity to reflect on the invaluable work volunteers contribute to Scouting.
In NSW, 261 adult volunteers received an ARA, recognising not just longevity of service, but the quality of leadership – going above and beyond. All adults in Scouting are eligible for the award – from adult helpers, committee members, staff and Leaders.
Each one of our ARA recipients’ stories are unique – there is no one way to be a volunteer in Scouts and no one way to be recognised with an ARA. Read on for just a few of our exceptional recipients.
SPOTLIGHT ON OUR RECIPIENTS
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Special Service Award |
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Jorja Baker, Assistant Joey Scout Leader, 1st Carlingford Scout Group Jorja is an inspiring role model to young Scouts on how to give back to the community. Prior to Christmas 2023, she planned and collected items for The Sanctuary – The Hills Women’s Shelter for women and children escaping domestic violence. The huge number of donations received was directly attributed to her tireless efforts across all sections and the community. This was repeated in the lead-up to winter, when she collected warm sleepwear for the centre. |
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Wally Chu, Assistant Cub Scout Leader, 1st Roselea Scout Group Wally’s cooperative and sensitive approach has allowed him to enable those who may have special behavioural needs to participate fully, helping develop the Group’s physical resources, such as specific toys, to help youth members with sensory needs. |
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Alesha Clarke, Group Leader, 1st Jerrabomberra Scout Group Alesha’s commitment to inclusivity is evident in her focused efforts to rebuild the number of female youth members and create a supportive environment for youth with ADHD, Autism, and other diverse needs. Her emphasis on providing strong female role models and ensuring that all members feel valued and supported has significantly enhanced the Group’s dynamics and culture. |
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Jeremy Dawes, Group Secretary, Maryland-Shortland Scout Group Jeremy is the adult helper who will come on camps with the younger sections and clean the bathrooms without being asked, just because he sees they need doing. He will be in the kitchen cleaning up after a Group or section night, knowing that otherwise Leaders will need to stay back to get it done. He is someone that can be relied on to do the extra bits and willingly contributes extra, quietly filling the gaps so that any event is a success. |
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Lauren Dunstan, Group Chairperson, 1st Picnic Point Scout Group Lauren has great community contacts, which she calls on for the benefit of the Group. Her wider community work has put her in touch with local MPs, who have attended numerous Group functions. She also created a Leader appreciation event to coincide with the Annual Report Presentation. |
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Margaret Handley, Adult Helper – Wardrobe Team, Cumberland Gang Show Since joining the team in the early ’90s, Margaret has played a crucial role in managing laundry and costume organisation. She is methodical and proactive, consistently anticipating the needs of the wardrobe team and staying ahead of any challenges. |
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Oliver Higgins, Group Leader, 1st Kanwal Scout Group Balancing multiple responsibilities, Oliver managed to excel in his Scouting role while simultaneously working on his university thesis; involving his entire family in Scouting activities; and maintaining a full-time job. His ability to juggle these demanding tasks is a testament to his exceptional dedication and time management skills. Oliver's contributions to the 1st Kanwal Scout Group have been truly remarkable, setting a high standard for other Leaders to follow. |
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Sid Jaiswal, Membership Officer and Formation Administration Officer, 1st Roselea Scout Group Sid brings his expertise as an IT professional to support the Leaders of his Group. In addition to interpreting, navigating and training other Group members in the organisation’s digital systems, he has also streamlined, improved and simplified the Group’s communication systems. |
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Emily Marsden, Unit Leader, Forest Rover Unit In 2024, Emily stepped up to lead ScoutHike’s Sleep Point 6 as Sleep Point Coordinator. She introduced exciting new features, including vertical activities, which added a thrilling element to the event. Highlights included a rock climbing wall during the day and suspended sock wrestling in the evening, which was met with enthusiasm from the Scouts. |
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Matthew Tabbernor, Treasurer, 3rd Orange Scout Group Matt stepped into the role of Treasurer when the Group was changing from paper spreadsheets to Xero, consolidating all the work and recouping Group fees that had been lost during the changeover. He also helped The Golden West Region with invoicing for AJ2025, ensuring all the reimbursements and incidentals were covered to make the event a success for the Region. |
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Bettina “Lori” Vogel, Assistant Joey Scout Leader, 1st Picnic Point Scout Group Lori is the creative soul of the Unit, working with the Unit Leader to ensure the program is bursting with skills development, personal challenges, plus loads of fun and laughter. Her creativity extends to all levels, including supplying shields for the 2024 Region Joey Camp and building 40 sets of fire-fly wings for the 2024 Kirrawee Gang Show. |
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Harrison Winchester, Region Commissioner Community Engagement and Systems, North Coast Having joined as a Cub Scout in 2014 and working his way through the sections, Harrison was appointed as Public Relations Officer and Leader-in-Charge of 1st Sawtell Scout Group at just 19. Harrison is the perfect example of a person who can keep multiple plates spinning in the air without any of them falling, while maintaining a happy and collegial disposition. |
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Meritorious Service Award |
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Daniel Cordell, District Leader, Lake Macquarie City District As a dedicated catering professional, Daniel leads a dynamic team of young individuals, guiding them in developing new skills and fostering their growth in catering. He plays a pivotal role in overseeing food distribution at large-scale events like Hunter and Coastal Region’s Corroboree or Dragon Skin. Daniel sees catering as an extension of Scouting’s core values, such as respect, responsibility and service to others. |
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Sophie Warner, Unit Chair, Flat Gorge Rover Unit As Chair for the past three years, Sophie has shown outstanding leadership by fostering a collaborative, inclusive and engaging environment for her fellow Rover Scouts. Sophie has also been instrumental in developing Outdoor Adventure Skills within the Movement. As a member of the North West abseiling team, she helps train adult Leaders in abseiling, equipping them with skills to offer high-quality adventure opportunities to young people. |
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Silver Wattle |
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Nicole Bartels, Assistant Venturer Leader, 2nd Gordon Scout Group Nicole’s core value for her Venturer Scout Unit is teamwork, and she actively promotes teamwork and support for each other. For Nicole, Venturer Scouts is about one thing – helping youth members grow and exceed their own expectations through a challenging and exciting program. |
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Erika Hood, Region Commissioner Program Support, South Metropolitan One of Erika’s most recent contributions was her role as NSW Contingent Director for Hospitality at AJ2025. This was a newly created position, and Erika took the opportunity to shape the role in a way that benefited the entire contingent. She organised the catering for three large-scale functions, and created a welcoming space for Leaders – the Mad Hatters Café and Leaders’ Retreat – providing a much-needed space for volunteers to rest and recharge. |
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Richard Hughes-Narborough, Group Leader, 1st Hornsby Heights Scout Group As one of the largest Groups in NSW, Richard has facilitated active communication through monthly Group Councils, with all sections represented. He has been instrumental in facilitating the return of the Venturer Scouts to meet as a stand-alone Unit, rather than needing District support, and also supported the transition to two Scout Units when the numbers became too big for one. |
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Adele Lockman, Assistant Venturer and Cub Scout Leader and State Commissioner Special Interest Areas, 1st/2nd Merrylands (St Anne’s) Scout Group Adele has organised and led camps for her sections and the entire Scout Group, including a convict-themed camp at Cockatoo Island and a Pirate Water Camp at Narrabeen. She also took her leadership to a broader scale by planning and executing a statewide Special Interest Areas camp with a Harry Potter theme, engaging youth from across NSW. Adele is also deeply involved in Cumberland Gang Show, where she serves as the Video Production Leader and Assistant Production Director. |
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Silver Koala |
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Elena Lombardi, Region Leader Finance and Region Treasurer, GWS Elena makes herself available to all Group Committees, Rover Units, and Fellowships to ensure they have a viable option for the auditing of their annual financial statements. She spends time with the relevant Group to go through the books, work through issues, and provide advice and guidance on how to better manage their finances and meet the obligations of Scouts NSW. |
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Robert “RobO” Owers, North St Ives Joey Scout Unit RobO is a lifetime Scouter – still serving as an active Leader at the tender age of 90. He regales the Joey Scouts with stories of his adventures – from the time a Scout Patrol got lost and found their way using their Scouting skills, to tales of Lord Baden-Powell – while also guiding new Leaders and the parent committee with knowledge of what works. |
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Shirley Politzer, Joey Scout Leader, 3rd Rose Bay (Judean) Scout Group As part of JOTA-JOTI, Shirely has run a base via Skype/Zoom with a few Beaver Units in the United Kingdom, giving both the Joey Scouts of her Unit and the Beavers in the UK a specially-developed, culturally-based program teaching the youth members the differences between both countries and also allowed them the opportunity to speak face-to-face with Scouts on the other side of the world. |
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Gabie Thompson, Region Commissioner Cub Scouts, GWS One of Gabie’s most significant contributions to Scouting has been her role as Chief Director of Cuboree 2023. Her leadership and vision ensured Cuboree was not just a successful event, but one that provided a meaningful, fun, and enriching experience for hundreds of young people. |
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Silver Emu |
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Margaret Jackson, District Commissioner, Powell’s Creek District Whether through meticulous planning or direct involvement in logistics and administration, Margaret plays a crucial role in ensuring events such as Jamboree, Cuboree and Dragon Skin run smoothly. Her dedication to these large-scale events is evident in her willingness to take on vital responsibilities, including administration, first aid, and site services. At AJ2025, Margaret spent two months in Maryborough assisting with site setup before the Jamboree began, ensuring that everything was in place for thousands of Scouts and volunteers. She continued her commitment throughout the event, managing work orders for trade services, and remained on-site after the last bus departed to assist with pack-down. |
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Silver Kangaroo |
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Chris “Grizzly” Owers, Group Leader, 1st Albion Park Scout Group Grizzly has held leadership roles within every youth section. He can regularly be found leading from the front – he takes roles at activities where he can provide experiences for the youth members he joins with and to offer mentor support to the Leaders around him. While very capable of management roles, he prefers to offer his experiences directly to the youth program, however his input and knowledge is regularly sought from his peers in planning and strategy decisions for Group, District and Region needs. Grizzly’s approach to Scouting development is most obviously seen through his time with Korimul Gang Show. Having recently accepted the role of Producer, he will be at the pinnacle of ensuring the show goes ahead, but also being there on stage to encourage youth members to face challenges with courage and believe in themselves, knowing he will be right there next to them. |
