By Kyra Gillespie
Community stalwart June Wright was awarded Cardinia Senior Citizen of the Year on Australia Day.Ms Wright was unable to attend the January 26 ceremony due to knee reconstruction surgery – a factor that didn’t deter Mayor Cr Graeme Moore, who showed up at her Kooweerup home in his mayoral robes to present her the award.
“I was very surprised to learn that I had won the award, or that I was even nominated to be honest. I was fortunate enough to receive an OAM last year too; you really don’t expect any of these things,” she said.
Ms Wright is a lifetime volunteer, first becoming involved with scouting in the 1970s through her late husband and recently retiring as the group leader of the first Kooweerup Scout Group.
She was previously a district Cub Scout leader, a Victorian Cuboree volunteer and an Australian Scout Jamboree volunteer leader.
She still assists the local group with fundraising, selling raffle tickets or helping in any way she can.
“My three boys did scouts and my late husband was a scout leader. Through scouts you get to see where you make a difference in a child’s life and give them the encouragement to achieve things.
“You learn skills that you don’t learn in other places; you learn to work in a team and also as an individual.”
Ms Wright has been involved in the local community virtually her whole life.
“My connection to the area goes a long way; I had a grandfather who taught at Nar Nar Goon when the school was at the end of Bald Hill Road and my dad worked at the shire office at Pakenham.
“My parents and I shifted to Foster, where my dad became Shire Secretary at the South Gippsland Shire Council. When my father passed away at 57 my mother and I decided to come back to Pakenham to be closer to family.”
There, June met her husband-to-be, Geoff Wright.
“He worked at the post office in Pakenham, and I worked at the electrical shop. Apparently he heard there was a new girl in town and came in to buy batteries to check. The rest is history.”
It was in her early married life that June became involved in Scouts and Lions – of which Geoff was a Charter Member.
On top of that she volunteers with the Kooweerup Op Shop which she helped found more than 20 years ago.
“I’m in charge of the op shop and have about 12 organisations that benefit from it,” she said.
“If you don’t have a sense of humour then don’t bother working at an op shop – we get some weird and wonderful things donated. We’ve got to have good senses of humour about some of the things that are sent in for us to sell.”
A six week post-surgery recovery isn’t slowing June down.
“I bring home all the jewellery from the op shop and sort it all out. That will keep me nice and busy.”
