By Engelbert Schmidl
HOPPERS CROSSING resident Tony Mesman has seen a lot in his 31 years volunteering for the St John Ambulance service.
From the “very taxing” and very loud Guns ‘n’ Roses concert at Calder Park in 1993 to treating frenzied footy fans for cardiac arrests at the MCG, Tony and his fellow first-aid officers dedicate their time and skill to keeping revellers safe.
Those years of service were recognised last month when Mr Mesman, 55, was awarded the West Emergency Service Team (WEST) perpetual trophy and individual award as volunteer of the year.
Nominees for the volunteer of the year award came from the four CFA brigades in Wyndham, the Coast Guard, State Emergency Services and other volunteer emergency service organisations from Wyndham.
In her nomination letter, Mr Mesman’s colleague at St John, Daphne Womersley, said he was “well-known throughout the community and groups are inspired by Tony’s commitment to help whenever there is a requirement.”
It was a small mark of recognition for a man who has contributed so much to his community and the Wyndham St John Ambulance service.
He said a lot of things have changed since he first joined the service, including community attitudes.
“The public have changed a lot, they now expect people (St John volunteers) to be there,” said the grandfather of five.
He said while organisations like St John and the CFA provided a sense of security for people, it was sometimes forgotten that volunteers were unpaid members of the community providing a service.
“It is very, very hard to get new recruits,” Mr Mesman said.
Membership numbers for the St John service had remained relatively static since the early 1980s, with about around 40 members in Wyndham.
He said this placed extra demands on the service, considering the population in the area had skyrocketed in the past 20 years.
Mr Mesman said an increase in treating drug casualties, particularly at music events, was among the worrying trends he had observed in recent years.
