Pilbara ambos awarded with Order of St John admission

Three Pilbara ambulance volunteers have been recognised for exceptional service at the annual Investiture of the WA Commandery of the Order of St John.

Rebekah Jenaway of Wickham, Andrew Price of Onslow and Janelle Cockayne of South Hedland were admitted as members in the Order of St John this month, the highest honour St John can bestow on a volunteer or employee.

All three of the Pilbara recipients are long-term volunteers with St John, having been with the service between nine and 20 years.

Admittance to the Order of St John is a recognised honour under the Australian Honours System and to qualify a volunteer’s service must be recognised as “outstanding”.

Ms Jenaway, who has volunteered with St John for two decades and is currently the Wickham and Roebourne sub-centre chairwoman, said she was proud to receive the honour.

“It was a really nice recognition and something that made me feel I belong to something bigger, because the Order is so old and is the charitable side of the business. It’s something really fantastic to be associated with,” she said.

“It was really lovely to be recognised for being a volunteer and contributing over the years.”

Mr Price said he volunteered with St John to give back to the community and the work had inspired him to consider becoming a paramedic.

“There is a huge variety of work that comes from a being a volunteer with St John — we deal with trauma, cardiac problems, respiratory problems, car rollovers, strokes,” he said.

“It’s a good thing to do when you’re living in a small town to do your part for the community, and you learn quite a bit about yourself.”

The St John Investiture service was held at Government House in Perth and conducted by WA Governor the Honourable Kim Beazley.

Ms Cockayne, Mr Price and Ms Jenaway were among 38 people to be admitted to the Order.

St John WA chief executive Michelle Fyfe said the Order of St John was a British Royal Order of Chivalry and being admitted was a “great honour”.

“We are very proud of all those recognised this year, some of whom have dedicated more than 50 years of service to the community,” she said.

“Occasions such as the Investiture ceremony bring attention to the remarkable volunteers and employees at the core of St John who help deliver a world-class ambulance service and help make first aid a part of everyone’s lives.”

St John has held an Invest-iture each year since the early 1900s.