Gunnedah Shire Council has welcomed ten new Gunnedah professionals to the community.
Hosted at the Gunnedah Information Centre last Tuesday, Gunnedah Shire Council mayor Colleen Fuller OAM greeted a new group of doctors, paramedics, tradespeople and teachers at an official shire event.
“For all of the people that are new to town, welcome to Gunnedah,” Cr Fuller said.
“And whatever we can do as a council, we’re happy to help you.
“Thank you all very much for coming, and we hope you feel welcome.”
Part of the new residents of Gunnedah was Beth Moran.
Beth is a paramedic previously stationed in Newcastle, and has a particular interest in rural and regional paramedicine. Settling into the community has gone well so far for Beth who said that she has really felt the ‘country town hospitality’.
“The community has been super welcoming, and everyone’s been there to offer a hand,” Beth said.
“Every paramedic station offers very different types of jobs, and out here you get very high acuity work, which I’m really keen for.
“I think I’ve realised [Gunnedah is] bigger than I thought it would be, there’s a lot of trendy cafes, a lot of sports teams, which I’m really keen to get a part of.”
Another welcome was extended to a former Gunnedah local Dr Sarah Woodford who has returned to service the community as a rural generalist.
Dr Woodford was previously a recipient of the Gunnedah Community Scholarship Fund.
“I would like to welcome, particularly today, someone I’m very proud to say many, many years ago, we funded a scholarship too, Dr Sarah Woodford,” Cr Fuller said.
“It’s very exciting to have Sarah back in her hometown.”
Dr Woodford officially started at a local practice a year ago but was unable to attend last year’s welcome ceremony, but is excited to be back in Gunnedah.
“From as soon as I decided to be a doctor, I knew that rural medicine was going to be for me,” Dr Woodford said.
“I didn’t necessarily know at the time that that would bring me back to Gunnedah, but I think over time I came to value the service that the rural generalists in the town were already providing to the community, and I realised that I could also contribute to that and come back to my hometown.
“As soon as I decided to do general practice as a career, I decided that coming back to Gunnedah would be something I wanted to do as part of my training. It’s very rewarding to come back and look after a community that has cared for me in so many ways for my whole life.
“Even when I was studying in Sydney, I was still being supported by Gunnedah-based scholarships, and people were still touching base and asking my parents how I was going. So, I never felt like I lost that connection, but it’s beautiful to be reconnected in physically.”
Other professionals included Susan Hannigan, teacher-librarian, Joshua Hua, math teacher, Trista Hill, head teacher and mentor, Ainsley Symington, paramedic, Kayne West-Riley, wall and floor tiler, Vish Dorakumbura, teacher, Nicole Prior, new principal at St Mary’s College and Joana Deegan, teacher.
The afternoon was attended by Cr Rob Hooke, Cr Rob Hoddle, Cr Ann Luke, and Gunnedah Shire Council’s general manager Eric Groth.
