Maleny District Sport & Recreation Club Community Newsletter

Rick Vickers - Volunteer of the Year

Rick Vickers is well known to many on the Blackall Range - he and his wife Priscilla have been Maleny residents for over 20 years. Last week, his services to the community he loves so much were amply rewarded when he was named Volunteer of the Year by the Volunteering Sunshine Coast group.

Rick says he just enjoys doing what he loves doing, but his dedication to community life is outstanding.

Fellow Rotarian Greg Williams, who nominated Rick, said of the humble recipient “Rick has volunteered his time and services to a broad range of significant, difficult, complicated and essential organisational and event volunteering work for over 20 years.”

The Rotary Club of Maleny that he has been a member of 20 years, readily acknowledge him as their club organiser, mentor and master of ceremony specialist.

Rick has volunteered his services to numerous Range community organisations including Red Cross Australia, Maleny Rotary Club, Get Ready Maleny, Maleny District Sports and Recreation Club, Maleny Show Society, Blackall Range Woodcrafters Guild, Maleny

Community Centre, Maleny Neighbourhood Centre, and Friends of Mary Cairncross Association.

He is the Chairman of the Maleny Aussie Day Expo event, a huge event for the community, cancelled in recent years due to Covid, but about to be relaunched and he is also regularly in demand for his public speaking skills, stepping up as MC for Anzac Day and other local events.

Retiring to Maleny after 40 years with the Australian Defence Force, Rick continues to consult with the ADF on matters of specialised risk management and also with many other government and emergency departments. As a safety and risk management consultant, he is well suited to be involved in Maleny’s many diverse activities.

His latest role is as a member of the advisory panel to the Sunshine Coast Council regarding their new environmental park, with the recent release of the draft master plan to the public for the proposed Sunshine Coast Ecological Park, formerly 65 hectares of former grazing land adjacent to the existing Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve. Maleny salutes and thanks you Rick!