Spirit Award Rebecca Talbot

Disaster Relief Australia | November 2021

Bec lives and breathes DRA. Though she is a busy Mum with kids at school and an ice cream business, she never fails to put her hand up for any new task that the DRT in Perth needs to be done.

It was that ethic that got her involved in DRA in the first place; she grew up in the Perth hills, so when Op Woods started after the fires in Wooroloo and Gidgegannup, she quickly found ways to support the affected communities, which led to her donning DRA blue.

Since then, she has relentlessly pushed for DRA’s advancement, being the first friendly voice for all new members as the Membership Coordinator for DRT WA, all the way up to developing relationships with key stakeholders in the Emergency Services. With her easy to talk to character and genuine interest in everyone’s life and wellbeing, I have always felt comfortable talking through any of the dramas I have going on. She listens carefully, responds thoughtfully, shares valuable insights and offers unique perspectives, I think we could all learn a lot from her “soft skills” excellence.

Those skills were perhaps honed over Bec’s career as an Occupational Therapist, with which, again, she has offered to help out with that subject matter expertise for the benefit of DRA and its volunteers to keep us all safer. As I write this Bec is away on another DRA activity, imparting her positivity for our organisation on new and seasoned members alike, for the… well at this point, I am can no longer keep track of how many days Bec has spent on working on current and future projects, essentially all of them, all the time. The Service, Mateship and Tenacity that Bec demonstrates are second to none and are nothing short of inspiring to be around.

– Warwick Lugton, National Training Manager