Hannah Morris appointed Port Fairy SES unit controller

The Koroit resident, who is a CFA captain and member of the State Emergency Service, was part of the team that saved houses in the 2020 Port Fairy and 2022 Allansford floods. She was on the ground removing trees and fallen powerlines during this month's storms.

After more than a dozen years with the SES, she is the new Port Fairy unit controller, replacing Stephen McDowell, who stepped down from the role after 11 years.

She said the decision to jump at the opportunity to lead the Port Fairy team was something she'd thought about for a while.

IN OTHER LOCAL NEWS:

Ms Morris will be in charge of 18 volunteers on the ground and eight staff who do administrative, fundraising catering and finance roles.

"I've got a passion for watching other volunteers grow as well so that's something I really like to see, building the skills of everybody," Ms Morris said.

She said she wanted to build on the foundations Mr McDowell had laid.

"We've got a good fleet and strong membership and obviously the building's immaculate," Ms Morris said.

"We'll hopefully be able to do some more recruiting and boost our membership."

She said she had joined the unit because she was passionate about volunteering.

Ms Morris is also the Kirkstall Fire Brigade captain.

"My family has strong connections to volunteering," she said.

"Dad's always been in the fire brigade at Spring Creek."

Outside of volunteering, she works as an animal nutritionist for Ecklin South-based Farmgate Stockfeeds across the district formulating grain mixes and balancing the diet of sheep and cows.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: