Wednesday, 2 August 2023

Mike Bagnall

Mary-Anne THOMAS (Macedon – Leader of the House, Minister for Health, Minister for Health Infrastructure, Minister for Medical Research) (09:39): Across our state our SES volunteers consistently rise to the challenge of serving their communities. I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the work of Mike Bagnall, who recently stepped aside from his role as unit controller at Gisborne SES. I have had the pleasure of working with Mike over the last six or so years. He is without doubt one of the most inspiring volunteer leaders I know: endlessly positive, good humoured and always brimming with new ideas in service of the community.

Mike has worked hard to build a friendly and inclusive unit focused on serving Gisborne and the Macedon Ranges during a time when we have faced many significant weather events, including unprecedented floods and windstorms, while continuing to respond to road crashes as well as a few cats inevitably stuck in trees. Testament to Mike’s leadership is the fact that when Mike took on the role of unit controller Gisborne SES had a volunteer crew of 35 volunteers. Today, nearly six years on, the headcount for the unit sits at 70 with a further 20 waiting to join. Respected across the SES family, VICSES chief officer operations Tim Wiebusch had this to say about Mike:

Thank you to Michael Bagnall for almost six years of dedicated commitment to leading your unit, and your support to other units, including during major emergencies across the state. Mike is a fine example of how well our volunteers embody the role, and lead by the values of our organisation.