FOR Kerrie Sturtridge, keeping the secret of her Order of Australia award was “pure torture”.
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The normally bubbly and exuberant Glen Innes hairdresser said it was almost impossibly hard to hide the information – for months – from her customers.
“It’s been so hard to keep this secret from my clients, because they are my friends. They are people who come every week. And I haven’t been able to say a word!” she said.
The mother of two, and grandmother of three, is a serial volunteer.
From helping people in wheelchairs get around town to aiding families with serious medical crises – nothing is too much to ask of Kerrie.
Her OAM citation notes that she organised the Glen Innes Disability Expo in 2015 and another in 2017 as well as the Wedding Expo.
She’s been both president and treasurer of Quota Glen Innes and even the past District Governor. She’s a member of the Karinya homes committee.
You will even find Kerrie helping out as a volunteer at the 2019 Australia Day service, where she will receive the Order of Australia for service to the community of Glen Innes.
Kerrie is modest about her achievement.
“There’s no ‘I’ in volunteer,” she said.
“I just think there are other people who deserve it more than I do. What I do – it’s a team effort. I don’t do it alone.
“The town needs volunteers. It’s an ageing population and there’s just things that we can help do,” she said.
“it just works – and without volunteers where would we be? People wouldn’t be able to afford to do anything.”