Here are some of the terrific people who work for our organisation and make such a difference in the lives of our clients.
Our People
Have you met our lovely Shannon?
Shannon MacRae is the face of St George Community Transport. She is the first person you’ll see when you walk into our office. Many of you will have spoken to her over the phone – and now you can put a face to the voice. Shannon reflects on her role at SGC,
“I love being able to help our clients when they call. It’s great hearing familiar voices on the phone and having a bit of a catch up.
Working with SGC is very rewarding and I love getting to meet some of our clients whenever I get a chance to get out of the office.
We have a fantastic team here and I feel that what we do makes such a difference to our client’s lives.”
Many of you will recognise this smiling face
Glen Packwood has been a volunteer driver for more than 18 years.
He has certainly seen a lot of changes since he first started. He used to play competition tennis and was playing against two women who worked at SGC.
When they heard him talking about his upcoming retirement, they quickly encouraged him to sign up with SGC and he has been driving ever since.
Glen said that the reason he has been with SGC for so long is because he really loves driving, and the clients are absolutely fabulous.
When Glen is not driving, he and his wife enjoy going on cruises. Glen was one of the founding members of St George and Sutherland Ulysses Club and he often jumps on the bike for a ride.
The face behind the smiling voice
Julie Dimitropoulos can still recall the day she first started her journey with St George Community Transport back in March 2003.
“I was offed the opportunity by one of the founders of the organisation, Pat Dawes, and I was excited to start a new career path, after working for many years at the Australian Taxation Office.
In those days SGC was significantly smaller and relied largely on volunteers who were the backbone of the organisation.
My father was also a volunteer driver for many years, and he was proud and honoured to provide this service and to give back to his community.
I started working in the buses part of the business, learning all about our fleet, drivers, and the many community organisations for whom we provided services. I was also in contact with our clients on a daily basis – all unique but with one thing in common – needing a helping hand.
After many years I moved into the payroll and accounting side where I still work today – it’s a privilege and honour to have this role.
Every day I enjoy coming to work where I can hear and see firsthand the caring and willingness to help others. This reinforces my belief in the heart of our organisation.
Outside of work I am part of a seniors tap dance troupe called “Buster Girls,” named after our famous Australian entertainer, Buster Noble.
We regularly perform at community events and nursing homes and love nothing better than to put a smile on the faces of our audience.
Super Effort Stephen!
Stephen McGeough started his journey with St George Community as a volunteer driver. He was volunteering on a regular basis 4-5 days per week, earning him the Individual Volunteer Award. This photo is of Stephen and his very proud mum, Fi, on the night.
Stephen is now a permanent full-time driver and when asked what he liked most about his role he said, “It’s the clients, they’re all so lovely and appreciative of the service, and they all enjoy having a chat, although I do make sure I speak slowly as my accent can be a bit tricky for some of them. I feel so lucky to be able to give back a little something to my adopted community.”
Our Marvellous Martine
Many of you will know and love Martine -our fantastic carer. Martine has been a full-time carer with St George Community for over 15 years and always comes to work with a smile and a cheery ‘hello’ to everyone.
Martine started out as a casual carer accompanying people to their various appointments and as we grew she was offered a full-time position.
“I love my work” says Martine, “where else can I get paid to do something I love? I get paid to chat to lovely people and become a part of their day – it is very rewarding.”
Our client is pictured here with Martine as they start their shopping.
