Dardanup Order of Australia medal recipient Jill Cross believes she has got as much out of her community work as she put in since she and husband Tom moved there in 1987.
"You don't do it (community volunteering) for the recognition, you do it because you hope to make the country a better place," Mrs Cross said.
"Through the groups and organisations you get involved with you make lots of good friends with people you might not have met otherwise.
"You pick up new skills you never thought you would ever have and you develop new interests through your community connections and the people you meet.
"It's really very satisfying, I get as much out of it as I put in. I'm lucky, I've got a really supportive husband," she said.
Since 2007 Ms Cross has been chairperson of Dardanup Bull and Barrel Festival, an annual celebration of Dardanup's dairy heritage and the more recent growth of local wineries, which brings visitors to the town.
She was a 2002 founding member and inaugural secretary of the organising committee.
The Bull and Barrel Festival has been held every October since, except for last year when a flooded sports ground forced its cancellation.
Ms Cross was also founder of the Dardanup Arts Spectacular and a committee member since 2006. She was also Dardanup Shire’s citizen of the year in 2001.
She has also chaired the Dardanup and Districts Residents Association since 1996, been secretary of the South West Agricultural Society since 2005, co-editor of The Dardanup Times community newsletter since 2000 and initiator of Dardanup Clean Up Australia Day activities since 2010.
Other community involvement has included fund raising for the primary school, Crooked Brook Forest Association, pony club and organising Dardanup's annual ANZAC ceremony since 2000.’
Bunbury couple Gary and Gaynor Pritchard were also presented Order of Australia Medals for their services to children as foster carers.
The long term foster caring pair were founding members of Foster Families South West in 2006 and past members of the Foster Care Association of Western Australia.
