If you have a goal, Warrnambool’s Ray Lougheed says you should go for it – regardless of your age.
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Mr Lougheed also believes you’re never too old to get involved in the community.
The former ambulance officer is the state president of the Retired Ambulance Association and Warrnambool and District Food Share chairman.
The 69 year-old finds the roles rewarding and said older people had so much to contribute.
He encouraged others to volunteer to benefit both themselves and others.
“You have to,” he said.
“You can’t afford to rest on your laurels and think, ‘I’m not going to do anything’ or wait until people come to me or think, ‘I don’t want to do anything’.
“You have to be out there in the community.”
Mr Lougheed said it was nice to be able to give back.
“What do you do (otherwise) – just let your life go by?” he said. “I retired five years ago and I haven’t been so busy since I retired.”
He said retirees who did nothing aged quickly.
“I think if you keep your brain active and do things in the community that keeps your brain active and your body active, that’s the important part. You have to do things all the time,” he said.
Mr Lougheed is also known as ‘Rockin’ Ray’, a nickname which has stuck thanks to his 3YB radio program Down Memory Lane, which plays songs from 1920s to the 1970s and is popular with the senior demographic.
The retiree helped charter the Warrnambool Daybreak Rotary Club in 1998 and is a volunteer master of ceremonies at events.
He is passionate about his ambulance association work, which provides members with comradeship. He said that element was important, regardless of age.
Senior of the Year award nominee and SES training officer Gerry Billings, 72, echoed Mr Lougheed’s sentiments.
“It’s imperative people stay active,” Mr Billings said.
“Get involved with a volunteer organisation. The SES is a wonderful thing to be involved in. It’s taught me a lot over the years.
“It’s not so much by the textbook (knowledge) for us older ones; it’s the knowledge we can pass on across the board.”
Senior of the Year winner and former nurse unit manager Lorraine Blake-Hoey, 82, said people could always learn something new.
Mrs Blake-Hoey, helped establish Warrnambool Base Hospital’s palliative care unit in 1986 and volunteers for Legacy, Warrnambool’s hospice in the home, the Standing Tall youth program and seniors painting group.
“I think as you get older, if you don’t have other interests outside your work and your family, your life becomes very narrow,” she said.
“I think it’s terribly important as you get older to be involved in your community and to develop, because you keep developing and learning after you finish work.
“I think it’s just wonderful.”
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