WAGIN bank manager Brenden Hall, the 2018 Bankwest Volunteer of the Year, has donated his $10,000 prize money to the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS).
Mr Hall, 33, who has been at Bankwest Wagin for more than 14 years, said the RFDS was a cause close to his heart.
“My mum had an ectopic pregnancy before I was born so if they (RFDS) weren’t around, I wouldn’t be here,” Mr Hall said last week after he was announced as the Bankwest award winner.
“Then dad had a serious heart attack and they saved his life as well.
“They’ve also made a couple of other trips out for other members of my family.
“We’re in the middle of nowhere, so we’d be lost without the service.
“If the prize was for me I probably wouldn’t want to take it but to be able to give it to the RFDS, that is just amazing,” he said.
Mr Hall earned the award through his involvement over many years with local service and sports clubs, continuing a family tradition established by his grandfather, Rodney Pederick, whom the Wagin ambulance sub-centre is named after.
Mr Pederick was a volunteer fire fighter then ambulance officer for 34 years.
Although his grandfather died when Mr Hall was young, he still has lunch with his grandmother every day.
He has been a fire and emergency services volunteer for more than 10 years, is a Wagin Volunteer Fire Brigade office bearer and volunteers at and plays with local clubs, including cricket, basketball, hockey and darts.
“Someone’s got to do it so I try to treat it like a job and not get too emotionally involved,” he said of the emergency service work.
“Sports and volunteering are how we keep our little towns running.
“I’ve done it for so long that I’d be lost without it,” he said of his volunteering.
Bankwest general manager of personal and business banking, Donna Dalby, described Mr Hall as the “epitome of a pillar of the community”.
“He is so passionate about his home town, it’s infectious,” Ms Dalby said.
RFDS western operations chief executive officer Rebecca Tomkinson thanked Mr Hall for choosing the RFDS to donate the prize money to.
“We know first-hand the impact individuals like Brenden have in creating change and outcomes in our communities and the value of Brenden’s effort and commitment to volunteering cannot be underestimated,” Ms Tomkinson said.
