Have you met this lovely lady yet?

Shannon MacRae is the 'face of St George Community Transport', 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.

"I love being able to help our clients when they call" Shannon told me. "It's great hearing familiar voices on the phone and having a bit of a catch up."

"Working with STGCT 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 many of our
clients lives."

Many of you will recognise this

smiling face

Glenn Packwood has been a volunteer driver now for many years, in fact, December this year will be his 15th anniversary!
He has certainly seen a lot of changes since he first started. When I asked him how he first heard about us he told me that he used to play comp tennis and was playing against two ladies who worked here. When they heard him talking about his upcoming retirement they quickly 'snapped him up' and he's been driving for us ever since.
Glenn told me that the reason he has been with us for so long is that he "really enjoys driving and our clients are all fabulous".
When he's not driving for STGCT, Glenn and his wife enjoy going on cruises, although currently that has been put on hold with COVID-19. Glenn was also one of the founding members of the St George and Sutherland Ulysses Bike club and often jumps on his bike for a ride - I assure you he cuts quite the figure in his leathers too.

The face behind the smiling voice

Julie Dimitropolos can still recall the day she first started her journey with St George Community Transport back in March 2003.
“I was offered the opportunity by one of the founders of the organisation, Mrs Pat Dawes and I was excited to start a new career path after working many years at the Australian Tax Office and in banking.
In those days STGCT 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 the community he grew up in.
I started working in the buses part of the business, learning all about our fleet, drivers and the many community organisations we provided services to. 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 honor to have this role.
Every day I enjoy coming to work where I can hear and see first hand 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’s Girls” (named after our famous Australian entertainer Buster Noble). Prior to COVID we regularly entertained at community events and Nursing Homes, and are currently rehearsing in the hope of performing again in 2021”.'

Super Effort Stephen!

Stephen McGeough is one of our amazing volunteer drivers and volunteers his time for a whopping 4 days a week!

Stephen was recently the very worthy recipient of the Individual Volunteer Award from the St George Community Awards - congraulations Steve!

This is Steve and his very proud mum Fi on the night.

When asked what he liked most about being a volunteer driver he said, “It’s the consumers, they’re all so lovely and appreciative of the service, and they all enjoy having a chat - although I do make sure that I speak slowly as my accent can be a little 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 - our fantastic Martine. Martine has been a full time carer with St George Community Transport for over 10 years and always comes to work with a smile and 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.”

Jasmine, who is pictured here with Martine is one of our regular participants that we take to work.

Ask Amalia

Our newest team member in the office is Amalia Betihavas. Amalia is our HR and Quality Team Leader and is in the office 3 days a week.

Amalia has held various positions in Administration, Finance, Information Systems, Customer Service, Quality Assurance and Work Health and Safety. Since joining us she has been working hard behind the scenes to set up a portal for staff to view our policies and procedures. She also works closely with the management team to keep up to date with the Aged Care Quality Standards and NDIS Standards.

“I am proud to be working with such an essential service to the community, and in such a great team environment - It’s great to hear such positive feedback from our clients.”

Welcome Amalia!

Mum and Bub doing very well

Our daughter Merelyn was born on December 3 last year and she is named after her maternal grandmother.

We are doing well and settling into a routine at home. Little Merelyn is starting to smile and coo.

In between frequent naps, she enjoys lots of snuggles, listening to music and wiggling on the play mat.

Our Sausage Dog has graciously accepted the newest addition to our household and sneaks into the nursery to try and steal her toys. Every day is a delight as we discover new things in this latest chapter of our lives.

I do hope everyone is still enjoying the Social Outings and I look forward to taking
Merelyn on some outings of our own.

Everyone knows this Social Butterfly

In 2013 I was studying at TAFE in a course that supported women to get back into the workforce when I joined STGCT as an office volunteer and Carer for the new Social Outings Programme they were starting.

Over the years I have come to know and make friends with so many of our wonderful consumers on the outings, and have seen so many strong, new friendships form between them. It is lovely to speak to you all on the phone, make your booking or just have a chat and share a joke. Some of you know my voice so well you don’t even let me finish before you say “Hello Lynne”.

I have the best job in the world thanks to the people who use STGCT Social Outings.