CALLING THEM HOME

 

Where would we be without the volunteers who man some of the most valuable services in our communities.

Meals on Wheels, local museums, service groups like Apex and in our lovely coastal town of Eden, Marine Rescue.

Jenny Drenkhahn had a foot in many of these camps and her family of brothers are also very active supporting the town and it's community.  

The are the gold in a field of chaff - not often obvious or putting themselves in the lime light but so valuable that when they have to step back the loss is deeply felt far and wide.

Jenny is disabled though still living at home.  She continues to help out where she can.

AT HOME ON THE WAVES

 

People who live in small country towns are often spread like vegemite around communities - giving their time, expertise and energy to a myriad of causes and organizations.

Welcome to Jenny Drenkhahn’s world – that of a valued, well-trained volunteer.

 l met Jenny – one of the movers and shakers of the Eden Killer Whale Museum – when volunteering to write “Soundings”, the museum newsletter – previously one of Jenny’s tasks.

This freed her up to complete an eight month project, transferring 244 records of marine surveys by Captain Dick Jolly onto the museum data base, providing information for researchers and historians.

Jenny joined her brother and aunt and volunteered at the Killer Whale Museum in 1978. She is often found giving a guided tour, chairing a meeting, or stepping up to the mike to MC a museum function. As a life member of the museum, and currently secretary of the executive panel, she is also involved with SEHGI – the museums of our South East area.

 I was pleasantly surprised to hear Jenny’s voice on our local community radio station, presenting her program – “The Waterfront Report” – a goldmine of local information with a strongly nautical flavor. I sensed that she was very comfortable sitting behind a microphone, and noted how she chose each word she spoke with care.

 Then I discovered she’d followed in her mother’s footsteps, working four hour shifts as a radio operator with the Marine Rescue and Coastal Patrol, her voice a lifeline to seafarers, guiding those in danger on the seas to a safe haven.

 Jenny is very calm in the face of crisis. Her no nonsense approach and attention to detail makes her a wonderful listener with the ability to react quickly, passing on essential information in firm measured tones.

 Eden Coastal Patrol maintains a data base of 1,060 vessel names, registration and mobile numbers, constantly changing as boats are sold and vessel names changed. Updating and maintaining this system is a huge undertaking. Jenny’s meticulous eye for detail is invaluable in this work.

 While sitting in the hot-seat at the microphone, logging on details provided by vessels in the area, Jenny monitors three band widths with seven radios operating along with the fax and computer. It’s a lot to comprehend and keep track of, while providing each vessel with updated weather forecasts and warnings of storms and big blows.

 Jenny told me of a kayaker heading down the coast who ran into a big South Easter, the wind creating huge seas. She lost communication with him and became concerned. With his mobile phone out of range, and the weather worsening, she notified the water police. The kayak capsized losing all the communication gear.  The bloke swam for the coast towing his kayak.  He managed to make land at Bittangabee Bay where the police found him.

 Opening her home to stranded yachties during wild Sydney to Hobart races, is for Jenny, just another way she can help out those in distress.

 She’s our Eden behind-the-scenes hero!