Brigade leader named Young Citizen of the Year

IT’S very rare a member of a local fire brigade’s senior management team would be eligible for an award dedicated to acknowledging young people in the community. But 24-year-old Chiltern local and recently-crowned Indigo Shire Young Citizen of the Year Kurt Sorenson isn’t like most young firefighters, having spent more than half his life with his local brigade, where he now serves as 2nd Lieutenant and training coordinator. Mr Sorenson accepted the award at last Friday’s Chiltern Australia Day ceremony while surrounded by his fellow CFA volunteers, whom he credited for mentoring him since he joined the brigade’s junior ranks as an 11-year-old. “I’d just started playing under 14s footy and the coach at the time was the captain (of the brigade) – I used to live up the hill from the fire station, so every time I’d ride my bike past, he’d bail me up, so eventually I signed up,” he said. “I just had a keen interest in the fire brigade, and I think it was 2018 when they needed a training officer at the time – our training officer was moving across the state for CFA – so they tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I wanted to have at it.” Mr Sorenson’s leadership qualities have been touted in recent years, with his calmness on the fire ground and his guidance of the brigade's junior program among a number of widely-respected traits. He said he looked forward to continuing to expand his leadership qualities and responsibilities over the coming years. “I’ve always sort of been in the front seat as a crew leader pretty early on, but I’ve always had good people sitting next to me driving the truck and prompting me and mentoring me,” Mr Sorenson said. “I think Shannon’s (current captain Shannon Beacom) got me eartagged for being next (captain), but I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing at the moment and once Shannon’s had his time I’ll move into that role. “We’ve got a really good crew at Chiltern, everyone seems to get along and even the brigade management team over a number of years before I was involved has always been so strong, so we’re in a really good spot at Chiltern. “I do my little piece of the puzzle, and everyone else does theirs and it all seems to work pretty well.”

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