A local firefighter at Cashmore Fire Brigade has found the perfect balance between volunteering for her community, juggling two jobs and finding time to engage in extra-curricular activities.
For nearly 30 years, Kay Antony has embedded herself in the Portland community, living on a dairy farm, being a part of the local run club and running a short-stay accommodation business.
Among that, for the last 10 years, Kay has been involved with both CFA and VICSES and is the prime example of how a passion for community, leisure, and purpose can lead you to things you enjoy most.
“The brigade wasn’t too far from the farm, and because I was already a member of VICSES and enjoying it so much, I thought I’d go check out CFA,” Kay said.
“I like it for the social side. They are a great bunch of people, and I love turning up to build those connections, learn new skills and help people in the community where I can.
“As I’m self-employed for work, I can fit my volunteering and hobbies into my lifestyle quite well.”
Kay describes herself as an ordinary, everyday member of the brigade and has enjoyed making new friends and responding to local call outs.
“I’m not involved in the management group of the brigade, and in given time I might put my hand up to do other roles, but at this stage, I’m happy doing what I’m doing,” Kay said.
“I think it just shows that you can juggle a few things and they all work in well together and align with all your different interests.
“You don’t have to go to training every week if you can’t get there, they understand, you can just attend the following week when you’re available.
“I’m always encouraging others around me to get involved where they can.”
Being semi-retired now, Kay looks forward to having more time to jump on strike teams in years to come, having not been out on a deployment since the 2019 Gippsland summer bushfires.
At 53-years-old, Kay’s aerobic fitness has played a large role in her volunteerism, and it all stems from her passion for running marathons.
Having already competed in Tokyo and Boston this year, she has her eyes set on three more – adding to her grand tally of 16, including four ultra marathons.
“I’m going to run the Gold Coast Marathon at the start of July with my son, and it will be his first one, then I’ll head to Sydney in August, another world major and then the local Three Bays Portland marathon at the end of the year,” Kay said.
“I was lucky enough to be selected in the Tokyo ballot, which can be hard as an Australian, so I made the most of the opportunity and travelled over there for three weeks solo.
“The Boston marathon was probably my favourite. It is so iconic. We all piled into yellow school buses to get to the start line, and people lined the streets cheering our names for the entire run.
“While I have aerobic fitness, I probably lack the upper body strength, but at Cashmore, we’re all a team and we all bring different strengths and abilities which is great.”
