Thursday, 31 October 2019

 Mr STAIKOS (Bentleigh) (10:02): I rise to pay tribute to Marlene Holden, who recently retired as a school crossing supervisor in Moorabbin. What was to be a stopgap job in 1984, after working at Moorabbin council, ended up being a 35-year career. To say that Marlene has been an integral part of the Moorabbin community would be an understatement. I got to know Marlene during my frequent visits to Moorabbin Primary School. It has always been clear to me that the families of that community have always held Marlene in very high regard and had so much warmth for Marlene, and do you know what? Marlene returned that affection to the children over the years.

Just before Christmas last year I was visiting Moorabbin Primary for their final assembly. When I saw Marlene there was a young man standing nearby and she pointed to that young man and said with great pride, ‘I’ve known him since he was a little kid and he’s just been drafted by the Sydney Swans’. The young man was Harry Reynolds, a former student of Moorabbin Primary School.

Upon her 30th anniversary in the role she was named School Crossings Victoria’s crossing guard of the year, a well-deserved recognition of her service. I visited Marlene on her final day at the crossing, and I can tell you there was a genuine sadness among parents and children when they found out that Marlene was retiring. It is fair to say there were also a lot of selfies.

On Marlene’s watch, every child has crossed the road to school safely and without incident over the 35 years. Thank you for your service to our community, Marlene.