Orange City Life is proud to be able to award our next volunteer ‘Volunteer of the Month’ to Riding for the Disabled (RDA) Orange volunteer Albert “Boss” Duff. 

The Volunteer of the Month is just a small way we can thank and highlight the deeds, big and small, of the many people in our community who go out of their way to help or volunteer their time to make our city a better place to live.

“How can I describe him… He's an absolute treasure,” says Riding for the Disabled Orange President Robyn Livermore,

“He is interested in the horses, the children — and he's the main person behind the maintenance team. They've been putting in new fences, troughs… He's just one of those really handy blokes.

“He came in here probably four years ago or five maybe and just took to the whole thing in a very genuine way. He's a very genuine man and very humble.”

As well as regularly travelling out to Clifton Grove to check on the horses, Boss is also an assistant coach and loves passing on his extensive horse experience to the kids.

“He had to do some courses to get through that, and he's done that… he's just so valuable to our centre,” continues Robyn.

Boss is there every week first thing on a Wednesday morning to get the horses out of their paddocks, up to the stables where he then manages the volunteers who assist with grooming, checking feet and saddling ready for the morning riding session.

Boss heads up RDA’s Maintenance Committee and Horse Committee and has actively taken to improving the maintenance of the 50-acre facility, whether it be fencing, weed control, mowing or installing new troughs and watering systems.

And he is always eager to promote what RDA Orange do, whether it be selling raffle tickets in the shopping centre, manning the barbeque for their sausage sizzles, or holding the bucket for donations at local shows.

“He's just one of those special people that come up every now and then,” says Robyn.

For Boss, who was given the name by his dad when he was ‘just a little ankle-biter’, volunteering with RDA Orange has been a rewarding way to spend his retirement.

“I grew up on the land, up on a big property between Molong and Orange and been around Orange on different farms up until I retired  — and then I got bored!” says Boss, whose wife eventually stepped in to get him out of the house.

“She said, ‘How about going down to Riding for the Disabled and see if you can help out there.’ So I've been here five years now. I just love it!

“Like I said, it gets me away from the house for a couple of days and gives me something else to think about and it's beaut working with the kids and horses! I grew up on horses, but with the kids and everything like that, it's just great. I really love it!”

Do you know someone who goes out of their way to make life better in our community? It could be a friend, neighbour, colleague, committee member or co-worker — we want to hear from you!

To nominate a person you deem worthy for our Volunteer of the Month, send us their contact information along with details of their good deed, and they will be in the running to be rewarded with a $100 gift voucher from Ashcroft’s IGA.

Write to us at Suite 3, 241 Lords Place, Orange NSW 2800, email us at reception@oclife.com.au with the subject line “Volunteer of the Month”, or drop your nomination into our office.