By Tanya Steele
A highly regarded SES Unit Controller officially stepped down from his position recently, but has no plans to slow down as a volunteer for the community of Emerald.
Ben Owen will still be here for his community when the pager goes off, but has officially stepped down from his role as SES Emerald’s unit controller on 1 May, with Jess Rice stepping up for the job.
Jess Rice has officially assumed the role of controller, and after a few days off duty, Mr Owen said it has felt ‘a bit weird’ because for so long he has been in tune with everything happening at the unit.
“Now, all of a sudden, you don’t have to be or not to the same level, not the same degree,” he said.
“I think personally, I’ve learned and developed so many skills as a controller – I can stand up in front of a room of people now and present something that I could never imagine doing before,” he said.
Ms Rice said that Ben has been a pillar of the Emerald SES Unit for over 20 years, and his contribution is nothing short of remarkable.
“With more than 1,500 responses, his service speaks for itself—but it’s the deep operational knowledge, and care he’s shown for every member and community that really defines his legacy,“ she said.
“I had the privilege of serving as Deputy Controller of Members under Ben for a number of years and witnessed firsthand his passion for the service and the community.“
Recalling fondly the years of experience, camaraderie and mateship under his belt at the SES, Mr Owen said he made the decision not to apply for the controller position six months ago.
“I let management know that I wasn’t going to reapply, and it was an opportunity to do different things within the service and let someone else take the reins,” he said.
Ms Rice said stepping into the role of Unit Controller at Emerald is both a great honour and a deeply personal milestone for her.
“I’ve been a member of the unit for seven years now and have loved every moment of serving in one of the busiest units in the state,“ she said.
Mr Owen said he has felt highly valued in his role and said that when he and his family lost their own house around late 2021 during the major storm events at the time, people in the community reached out to him.
“To check if I was all right and offer support,” he said.
Emerald SES broke the news via their social media page, and the community has been leaving messages of thanks and support for Mr Owen and his time and expertise serving.
After 11 years within the roles and hitting 21 years with the SES, Mr Owen said he felt he had reached a certain stage as a volunteer.
“You sort of sit back and go, well, have I got the energy to keep driving and get new ambitions for the unit, or have I got an opportunity to pass it to someone else and see what they do with it?” he said.
“I think that’s probably where I was at.”
As to what has kept him coming back for more, Mr Owen said one major goal he was passionate about was getting a new building for the Emerald unit.
“The initial drive was the push for new accommodation for the unit – we were housed in a not fit for purpose building and we were operating out of that up until three and a half years ago,” he said.
Mr Owen said the unit was pushing at all levels of government for funding, which took a lot of work from him and the management team.
“That was a big drive for a fair bit of the time,” he said,
Mr Owen has enjoyed the collaboration that being in the SES brought, along with the reward of mentoring other members and interacting with all levels of government.
“Around what we do and what our needs are – I think it just came the job that we’re always underfunded, we’re always campaigning,” he said.
“With volunteers, it’s a fair chunk of that time spent is to raise money… it affects the ability to train and respond.”
Ms Rice comes to Emerald after recently taking on the challenge of setting up the brand-new Officer SES Unit, which she said was a unique opportunity to build a unit from the ground up.
“My focus there was on cultivating a strong team culture built on trust, courageous conflict, commitment, accountability, and results,“ she said.
“Drawing inspiration from the work of Brené Brown, I’ve worked hard to lead with curiosity and vulnerability – two values that I believe are key to creating high-performing, connected teams. I’ve learned a lot from the Officer experience and am proud of the solid foundations and bonds we built together.“
Ms Rice said while it was ’bittersweet’ to step away, she knows the Officer Unit is in great hands with their new Unit Controller, Kristy Noorbergen.
“She shares many of the same values and will no doubt continue to grow the team’s capability and cohesion.“ she said.
“I’m looking forward to bringing those learnings back home to Emerald and building on the strong legacy Ben leaves behind.“
As he settles into his slightly different change of pace, Mr Owen said the community should be ready for the season ahead.
“If people can just still be prepared that the rains will come, the winds will come, and the power will go out,” he said.
“Be ready when winter arrives.”
