A life of serving the community is never easy.
But listening to Mark Nordbye, it’s plain he regrets none of it.
Mr Nordbye is the current Royal Flying Doctor Service community transport program service co-ordinator in Cobram, but he has held many positions over the years.
For 15 years, between 1993 and 2008, Mr Nordbye was Katamatite’s sole police officer.
He said his time as a police officer had challenges and wasn’t always enjoyable, but the variety of his work kept it interesting.
“I’ve been to too many dead bodies ... but every day was different, and that was most enjoyable,” he said.
Many people may wonder how busy a Katamatite police officer would be, being such a small town, but Mr Nordbye’s official work patch was roughly 150 square kilometres in size.
Along with the usual police duties, Mr Nordbye initiated the Police Schools Involvement Program in Moira shire.
Upon leaving the police force, Mr Nordbye held jobs for Moira shire and Parks Victoria, among other organisations.
He was, and still is, a prolific volunteer, having served with scouts, school boards, Katamatite Football Club and Goulburn Road Safety Council.
He was also a councillor for Moira Shire Council between 2000 and 2003 and is still part of the Lions organisation and the Naring CFA.
“I’m the community safety co-ordinator there, plus I’m a level three logistics, so if a major disaster happens, then I’ll go into headquarters to do logistics down there,” he said.
Working now with the RFDS in Cobram co-ordinating the community transport program, which sees the transporting of clients roughly 100km from the towns to medical appointments and planned activities in Shepparton, Benalla, Wangaratta and Albury, Mr Nordbye said he couldn’t be happier.
“I think that what I love best is the fact that all our clients actually love the services,” he said.
“It’s really good that we can make sure that they can attend their appointments and be able to stay in the home longer.”
As co-ordinator, Mr Nordbye’s role is to communicate to the public about the program, recruit volunteer drivers, take the bookings of clients, and schedule the drivers.
His day typically begins at 8am.
Mr Nordbye said his years working different jobs and volunteering for multiple organisations have always seen him learning.
“You build a skills et on different things, so I’m always learning something new depending on what role I’m in,” he said.
Mr Nordbye said he couldn’t do what he did throughout his life without the love and support of his family members and he is eternally grateful to them.
“I must thank my family for putting up with me,” he said.
As for anyone thinking about volunteering as a driver for the RFDS community transport program, he said it was an absolute joy.
“The rewards are there,” Mr Nordbye said.
“Every day because you’re always helping people, and people are always very grateful for the assistance that they get.”