THE sun was shining bright, and the temperature was a positively balmy 25 degrees as Jamieson turned on a spectacular Autumn day for the Emergency Services Expo.

The crowds were out in force on Sunday April 23, for a day all about our local emergency service providers, the vehicles and equipment they use and the services they provide.

"We certainly had the weather for it," said Leading Senior Constable, George Crawford who organized the event.

"It was a great day and went extremely well, and we're thrilled with the level of attendance and involvement."

Over the course of the day, close to 600 visitors walked through the gates of the Jamieson Recreation Reserve.

"It filled up within the first 20 minutes and people stayed," said Crawford.

"There were moments when it did quieten down, and then a new wave would come through.

"So at any one time, there were about 250 to 300 visitors on–site.

"It was a fantastic turn–out for a regional event, and we were ecstatic with the level of engagement from both the stakeholders and stall holders, to the landowners, locals, tourists and campers."

Member for Eildon, Cindy McLeish MP was also impressed by the number of agencies and exhibitors in attendance.

"However more importantly, it was well attended by visitors and locals alike," she said.

"It is so important for people who visit the Mansfield Shire to understand the area."

The expo was very much a family–orientated event, with activities devised to promote visitor engagement.

"Jess Bolwell from the CFA organised a scavenger hunt, with questions for each of the agencies," said Crawford.

"It encouraged all the kids to go round to each stall and find out the answers.

"There was also a fair degree of parental input and collaboration on this task, with whole families keen to learn."

Another inclusive and beneficial event was the St John Ambulance CPR refresher demonstration which proved popular.

Community members were pleased to brush up on old skills, and gain some new ones, with local Ambulance Victoria members conducting a defibrillator presentation.

Wildlife Victoria demonstrated how to do pouch checks, and Dr Will Twycross came dressed as a giant green frog for his talk on snake bites.

"It was a great day, and the perfect environment to learn all about our local emergency services providers.

"And this extended not just to the visitors on the day, but to all the stallholders and exhibitors, creating that opportunity to network and reinforce connections."

In 2019, Leading Senior Constable Crawford organized a similar one–off event in Mansfield.

Taking place in October, the event concentrated primarily on fire preparedness and building community resilience, and preceded the cataclysmic Black Summer bushfires of 2019 and 2020.

"In retrospect it's hard to quantify the benefits of that expo, especially in relation to the environmental disaster that followed so quickly after," said Crawford.

"Then, we went straight into COVID."

Crawford organised the recent Emergency Services Expo in Jamieson as means to re–engage the community after the struggles of the last few years, creating a space for the shire to get together, build resilience and ultimately move forward.

"It was about creating something positive," he said.

"We also have a couple of big projects on the go in Jamieson at the moment, which we wanted to acknowledge.

"We're pushing not only for a community ambulance service in Jamieson, but also a community hub."

On the back of the huge success of the April 23 event, Crawford has been repeatedly asked whether the expo will become on ongoing feature on the Jamieson calendar.

"It was a huge privilege to host such an amazing event, however it did demand a massive amount of organization and energy from everybody involved," he said.

"I'm extremely spoilt with the Jamieson community.

"The whole township is very supportive, and though I may have initially spearheaded the expo, without the community's efforts and assistance the expo would never have been the huge success that it was.

"The expo was about the whole Mansfield Shire and everything that the region has to offer.

"From Merton to Merrijig and Tolmie, and all the outlying communities, when something happens we support one another.

"It's what make me inordinately proud of our community."