The Central West award winners were announced at Bathurst RSL Club on Thursday, with more than 100 finalists in the running.

Bathurst twins Katrina and Makayla, 24, Benham (who now live in Parkes and Orange respectively) and younger sister Larissa, 17, jointly won the Young Volunteer of the Year award.

The trio have long been involved with St Johns Ambulance since they joined as cadets when they were young teenagers.

Katrina moved to Parkes three years ago to work as a registered nurse at the Parkes Hospital and was “absolutely” thrilled and almost speechless when her name was called out alongside her sisters.

Their mother, Debbie Lynch-Benham, was a finalist in the Adult Volunteer of the Year category for her many years with St Johns.

She said she was very proud of her three daughters for volunteering their time, not just with St Johns but also on Daffodil Day, Anzac Day and the Cancer Council.

“They’ve always been community-minded,” Mrs Lynch-Benham said.

Katrina said she wasn’t expecting to receive an award.

“You don’t do it to be recognised, you do it because you love it,” she said.

“Now that I’ve been recognised is just an added bonus.”

Katrina started with St Johns 10 years ago and it all began in the oddest of places – at the movies.

“It’s a funny story actually, we were 13 or 14 and going to the movies to watch something and mum said ‘how about you go to this because a volunteer group is raising money’,” she said.

“I was a very shy, introverted kid and I loved what they were doing...and mum thought it was a great way for me to get out and socialise.

“I’ve always been interested in medical things.”

In her nomination, Katrina has been described as a brilliant mentor and role model both in and out of St Johns.

She has been actively involved with St Johns, attending weekly training nights in Bathurst and Parkes and attends duties around the community where she administers first aid to those who need it.

Katrina is also a mentor and support person to other members, a teacher within the cadet division, has competed in first aid competitions as a cadet representing the central tablelands, has undergone extra training in her own time and has helped run camps for the younger cadets.

She has been awarded the Cadet Of The Year award several times, the Community Service award and the prestigious Grand Prior Award.

Katrina has marched on Anzac Day and represented St Johns at dawn services, has volunteered her time to the Cancer Council and Daffodil Day for the last 20 years, and has assisted other charities such as Relay for Life, Legacy Day, Clean Up Australia Day, Red Nose Day, Smiths Family, The Heart Foundation, carolling at Bathurst hospital and Kelso Nursing homes.

“It is invaluable the dedication Katrina has for helping others,” her nomination read.

“By volunteering with St Johns, Katrina has enabled many events to run that could not go ahead without first aid volunteers. These events range from local sporting events, fetes, to motor events and major festivals.

“Katrina has managed to take the obstacles she faced in her life and has used them to help others and to strengthen herself and her own abilities.”

Katrina said she loved getting out there, giving back to the community and making a difference.

“To watch eight-year-old cadets work their way through the ranks (at St Johns) to become 18-year-old [seniors] is incredible,” she said.

And Katrina’s love for the Parkes community is what has also kept her here.

“Originally I was only going to be in Parkes for 12 months because I didn’t want to move away from home,” she said.

“But I fell in love with the town and the people.”

Other Central West Award winners on Thursday included Windradyne man Barry Fuller, who won the Senior Volunteer of the Year category for his many years with Bathurst Meals on Wheels.

Winning Adult Volunteer of the Year was Cowra man Greg Nicholls, while Volunteer Team of the Year was awarded to the Orange CultureHub Committee.

All Central West winners will now go on to compete at the state finals in Sydney in December.

Almost 110,000 nominations were received for this year’s awards out of an estimated 2.4 million volunteers across NSW.