19/05/2026
For our second National Volunteer Week highlight please welcome former Unit Commander and Emergency Services Medal recipient, Evelyn Lester!
Evelyn joined the unit in 2002 and quickly became part of the very foundations of the unit. In the two decades she has committed to the SES since, she's taken on roles everywhere from the field to Incident Management Teams and behind the scenes. From 2008 to 2019 she also took on a position as Unit Commander, dedicating vast amounts of time to the unseen background work required to keep a unit up and running.
She was thrown onto the fire in her very first week with the service, going straight into 7 days of assisting the RFS during severe bush fires in Glenorie and has only become more exciting since. Evelyn was part of the response efforts to over a dozen major incidents from severe hail storms in Blacktown and The Hills in 2007 to incidents further from home such as the aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Yasi in 2011.
Her incredible career with the SES and her dedication to helping her community has been acknowledged a number of times with local, state and national awards including the Emergency Services Medal, National Emergency Medal, Commissioner's Unit Citation, Director General's Unit Citation, Hills Shire Council Citizen of the year and NSWSES Life Membership.
As Evelyn says, "The most rewarding part is being able to assist the community while working alongside such a wonderful group of volunteers."
Thank you for your service and incredible contribution to the community Evelyn.
NSW SES
