When their community was devastated, Eugowra locals stepped up.
A flood recovery committee formed even as the town was reeling from the unprecedented flood event of November 14, 2022, and they're still working two years on.
Now they've been recognised as the NSW Volunteer Group of the Year by the Centre for Volunteering, from 24 finalists at a gala event in Sydney.
Centre for Volunteering CEO Gemma Rygate described the efforts of the Eugowra nominees as incredible.
“Few communities have been hit with something so devastating and unexpected as the people of Eugowra after the 2022 floods," Ms Rygate said.
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“Lives were lost, homes and property completely destroyed, and people faced a long and hard path to recovery.
“The flood recovery committee did an incredible job helping to raise money, coordinate donations and support, and liaise with agencies on how to rebuild the town.
“They did more than this. They provided a human connection with people in the town. They gave them hope and support and were an inspiration.
“They let everyone know that they could get through this.
“They are an incredible group of volunteers. They thoroughly deserve this award. More importantly, they deserve our thanks and appreciation.”
Chair Sean Haynes said the group was incredibly honoured to be nominated for the award, and recognised first at the central west level and then at State.
The committee is Sean Haynes, Liz Mitchell, Janet Moxey, Dave Herbert, Kim Storey, Ash Wright and Tim Wright.
"It is a great honour, particularly when you hear the many other stories of the volunteer organisations and teams - everyone's making a difference in their respective communities," Mr Haynes said.
"Really this award is on behalf of the entire Eugowra community.
"We also wish to acknowledge the support of all the other volunteers who have come into Eugowra to support us over the last two and a bit years.
"We were endeavouring to be the conduit of the community to all these organisations, both government and non-government and those coming in to really be positive and to support us.
"All we're trying to achieve is the best for our community and its road to recovery."
The committee began to meet on just the second day after disaster struck, as their community was in shock and loss.
As volunteers, government and non-government organisations, and donations poured in, the need quickly became clear.
"It became a ritual: at 2.30pm every day to bring both the government organisations and non government, all those interested parties together to ensure we had a clear plan, a clear direction," Mr Haynes said.
"That wasn't just for day to day this was about being strategic: the next week, the next month, and really how and what was being offered to our community was going to make a difference and was suited to our community."
It was vital that they create a priority listing of what was needed both immediately and long term.
"You sometimes think about what the showgrounds was at the peak: it was a place where people could seek safe refuge, where they were staying, where they had their meals, where they could seek support to try to assist them," Mr Haynes said.
"But also to have a place to come together as a community after a hard day of trying to work through their home, their situation."
They launched and manage the GIVIT fundraising campaign, which has raised almost $900,000 for the community, and liaise with the many organisations that want to donate or support Eugowra in any way.
Visiting, saying g'day and supporting local businesses, continues to be one of the great ways to do that and one of the many tasks the committee has done is coordinate visits from clubs and groups.
Two years on, so much has been achieved: so much cleaning up and repair, businesses reopened.
But there's still work do. Assessments under the $40 million central west resilient homes package have just begun.
"We continue to advocate behind the scenes for our community: not just the Eugowra community it's for the central west," Mr Haynes said.
The group is among those calling for further funding for the resilient homes package, but also for further funding packages that have been made available to other regions hit by disaster.
Businesses need more support, and there's also a need to make available land for residential development so that people who may be eligible for a buyback can stay in their communities.
"It's important to note all of our communities which have been impacted, our communities and our villages, including Eugowra, we're all growing communities," Mr Haynes said.
"We've got younger families, our proportion of young families and children is continuing to grow we need the infrastructure but we need the accommodation in our communities to be able to support the growth that we've seen pre-flood and to be able to continue because that's really the lifeblood of our communities."
They also have a focus on preparedness for potential future flooding, ensuring the learnings of 2022 inform future warning systems and responses.
The flood recovery committee is working with the State Emergency Service and the floodplain advisory committee with council on this, as well as looking forward to welcoming the new community and evacuation centre online in the near future.
Mr Haynes also acknowledged the employers of everyone on the committee, and all who have made it possible for them to dedicate their time to the work that's been required.
