Friends, family and Red Cross members packed into the cosy Crofters Cottage on Friday 15 August to celebrate Mrs Judy Vivers and her sixty years of service to the Australian Red Cross.
Margaret Kiehne, President of the Glen Innes Red Cross branch, warmly welcomed everyone and read out a letter of appreciation and congratulations to Mrs Vivers from Charles Burkitt, President of Australian Red Cross which included these words:
“On behalf of Australian Red Cross Society, thank you for your unwavering support and dedication over the past sixty years. It’s thanks to people like you that Australian Red Cross can continue to provide meaningful support wherever help is needed and be there for those who need us, both now and in the future”.
Mrs Vivers’ decades of dedication included being President of the Glen Innes branch for several years. She was admired widely at the event for being the epitome of an excellent volunteer, “always being cheerful and turning up” in the words of one of the guests.
On many occasions Mrs Vivers opened her house and garden at Kings Plains for Red Cross fundraisers. As one friend reminisced “Going back 30 or so years our branch did a lot more catering than we now do, and Judy was always there making sandwiches and bringing delicious slices and cakes. We catered for bull sales, sheep sales, clearing sales, all kinds of sales! People would take the opportunity to bring other things to be sold – a litter of pups, some kittens, an oversupply of iris roots or agapanthus or a bag of potatoes, and everyone went home happy!”
Mrs Vivers was presented with her Australian Red Cross Long Service medal by the Patron of the Australian Red Cross in Glen Innes, Nita Leamon. On behalf of branch members, Tig Hughes presented her with a gorgeous box of flowers. This was followed by the cutting of the cake alongside Jo Cameron, Red Cross Secretary and Margaret Kiehne.
The event was a joy-filed (and noisy!) afternoon tea for an inspiring lady.
