This Australia Day will see an Australian Emergency Services Medal awarded to Selwyn Kloeden, a Northern Territory Emergency Services (NTES) volunteer.

Mr Kloeden has been an active volunteer of the Hermannsburg Volunteer Unit since April 2003 holding various appointments including Equipment Officer, Rescue Leader, Training Officer and most recently, appointed Unit Officer in 2006.

Peter Davies, Director of NTES has congratulated Mr Kloeden on his award and this recognition of dedication and hard work, supporting the Ntaria community,

"Mr Kloeden has demonstrated a tireless commitment and excellent leadership of his unit making him well deserved of this award.

"He was won grants and is establishing a dedicated headquarters building in Hermannsburg, enhancing the capability and professional reputation of the service throughout the Territory.

"'To serve and protect' is our motto and Mr Kloeden stands by this, in a remote and challenging area, giving his time selflessly. He is truly an outstanding member of our society." Mr Davies said.

Although the award is presented to Mr Kloeden, he said he is receiving it on behalf of his unit,

"Receiving this award is a real honour and I thank those who nominated us who see value in what we do. This award represents the work of a number of people who have worked together, maintaining good community spirit and motivation. I am stoked to receive this award on behalf of them all.

"Our work is far from done and it could be several months before our headquarters is fully functional. It's been a long road so far but well worth pursuing.

"Once we have our headquarters, we can look to increasing our team and further building on the capacity of the volunteer unit by engaging more community members." Mr Kloeden said.

The Hermannsburg Volunteer Unit currently has eight active NTES volunteers who are trained in emergency response and are frequently called to support other agencies in such tasks as Road Crash Rescue and Land Searches.

Anyone interested in becoming a Northern Territory Emergency Service Volunteer can visit www.nt.gov.au/ntes or contact 8922 3630 for more information.


Media Contact:
Katie Fowden
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