Volunteer of the Year
Robin Comley and The RAS of WA President Tony Devitt
Stalwart volunteers in the areas of art and District Displays have been named joint Volunteers of 2009 for The Royal Agricultural Society of WA.
Gillian Peebles of Shoalwater Bay and Robin Comley of Bibra Lake have been honoured for their decades of tireless volunteering for the Society.
Robin Comley won the award for his work with the District Displays which are on show during the Royal Show. He has been involved with the colourful regional displays for 38 years, first while living in Quairading and now retired in Perth.
Currently secretary of the Eastern Districts Group, he is again helping set up this year’s District Display.
“The District Displays show people in Perth what we can produce in the country,” says Robin proudly and is equally honoured by the award.
Gillian Peebles has been awarded for her time given to the arts in relation to The Royal Agricultural Society of WA and the Perth Royal Show which has stretched over decades.
She started judging the Agricultural Art Award and eventually also began judging the Open Art Competition and doing the same at regional shows. Most recently, her contribution to the Memorial Exhibition, introduced four years ago, has been of utmost importance.
“I haven’t been as involved this year as in past years so I a humbled to receive this award,” says Gillian. “I have always tried to assist where possible, whether it’s hanging paintings or being a judge.”
If The Royal Agricultural Society of WA were to pay all their volunteers – who work year-round, not just during the Perth Royal Show – it would cost an estimated $17 million.
“Without all the volunteers, the Royal Show would not be the event it is,” says Gillian. “Plus the arts – from signage to the art competition and winning sashes – is what brings the glitter and glamour to the Show.”
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