Aileen MacDonald has received an Order of Australia Medal after dedicating years to the business community, Rotary and the Liberal Party.
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"It's very humbling," Aileen said.
"My parents are what you call 10-pound poms, so I think they'd be really proud, as would my family.
QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY HONOURS:
"I couldn't do any of what I do without the support of my family, the Rotary Club members, the people involved with the Chamber of Commerce, it's not just me.
"When I look at this award, it's because I've been involved with different groups," she said.
Aileen made the Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to the community of Guyra. Specifically, it listed her involvement with the Guyra and District Camber of Commerce, of which she was president from 2016 to 2019, as well as her decade of service with Rotary, and her many years in the Liberals.
Still involved with all three, Aileen is currently honorary secretary and publicity officer of the business chamber.
"My husband and I had operated a small business and knew what it was like so I joined the chamber of commerce."
She became president around the same time that Guyra Shire was amalgamated with Armidale's council and came up with five priorities for Guyra, to make it part of the merged council with its much larger neighbour, which achieved what Aileen called her greatest achievement, when she helped gain water security for the community.
The administrator Ian Tiley came and met with the chamber's executive, where he was given the list. Number one was water security, which led to the Malpas pipeline construction.
"Then we had Mother of Ducks Lagoon, the main street, the rail trail and agribusiness."
"I was fortunate that I got to chair that committee to put together a planning document for regional growth," she said.
Her time in the Liberal Party goes back to 1998. Aileen was the Country vice-president of the NSW Liberal Women's Council, until December 2019, and she still serves as the Country and Regional Vice-President of the party.
"Because it was the Liberal Party and most people in country NSW aren't Liberals, I didn't really talk about it that much," Mrs MacDonald said.
"But I was still involved, trying to put a rural perspective to the Liberal Party."
Recently, that has included raising the plight of rural communities as bushfires and drought took their toll.
"I had a lunch down in Sydney and I invited the CWA CEO to come and talk to members of the Liberal Party about what's going on. They had an idea, but it put it into perspective for them," Aileen said.
The party's women's council organised to come up to the Armidale Show and hand out care packs.
"They collected items people hadn't been purchasing, like make-up and perfumes, things that you treat yourself with but people hadn't been doing that.
"They put together care packs and distributed them at the show to ladies of the land."
They also got to hear their stories, Aileen said, and took them back and said this is the reality of what is happening in the bush.
She was president of the Guyra Rotary Club, 2018-19, and has also been secretary, and also served as secretary of the Rotary District 9650.
And the community work continues in other areas.
"I'm trying to do Renew Armidale, which is revitalising our urban spaces, that's slowly kicking off. It started last year."
But looking back at her years of service, Aileen has always taken on key roles with the chamber, the Liberals and Rotary.
"When I do something I don't just join, I feel like I've got to be involved," she said.
