Tracy Provest recognised for 50 years of volunteering with the SES

That was 50 years ago, and her long service and dedication to the organisation was recognised during a special presentation on Sunday, March 24.

Ms Provest was among more than 30 SES volunteers receiving long service awards during a service in the St Georges Basin Country Club.

And she revealed her start with the SES was unlike most of the others recognised during the awards afternoon.

Ms Provest was part of the ranger guides organisation in the Sutherland Shire, when an SES leader recruited several of the guides to set up and all-girl rescue team.

Ms Provest said the amount of training was an attraction.

"It inspired you to keep going because you learnt so much," she said.

As the years progressed Ms Provest maintained her involvement while moving around the state due to her work as a secondary school teacher - to the North Coast, Port Macquarie and eventually Ulladulla in 2003.

For many of those years Ms Provest was in leadership positions, at times juggling roles as unit commander while working full-time and raising young children.

She said it was the people that kept her involved in the organisation.

"The people are incredible."

"It's an amazing way to give back to the community, and they keep you coming back because everyone is there because they want to make a difference," Ms Provest said.

"It's busy, but it's the people within the organisation, and the difference they want to make.

"But it's also the people in the community who really need our help," she said.

Demands for help were growing as the community aged, Ms Provest said, "because there are more people who struggle with making sure that their homes are storm ready".

There has also been a greater focus on preparing for tsunamis, and planning how to protect people living in coastal villages with only one road in and out.

And Ms Provest recently undertook training in how to handle road collisions involving electric vehicles.

"Training is a really big part of what we do, so that as a group of people we're ready to help the community with whatever it throws at us."

She said even after 50 years she was still learning new things.

However a strong focus remained on responding to storms and flood damage, which Ms Provest said was becoming more frequent as a result of climate change.

"Flash flooding has increased even in my time in the Shoalhaven," Ms Provest said.

To respond to the changing weather patterns many SES units were setting up sand bag dumps, and teaching people how to protect their properties by diverting water flows, she said.

A storm caused one of the biggest jobs the Ulladulla SES confronted during Ms Provest's time in the region.

That was on Father's Day in 2010, when the storm hit about 3.30am, cutting power that was not restored for five days, closing schools and prompting 940 calls for assistance.

SES crews were out answering calls for help by 4am that day, Ms Provest said.

"It was a really huge event for the Ulladulla unit."

There have been more big events, from responding to the Black Summer bushfires to travelling all over the state to help people in other regions battling the worst that the climate can throw at them.

Ms Provest said she was "fortunate to belong to a unit where lots of people put their hands up to go help wherever they're needed".