COHUNA resident Alan Fry has described the moment he discovered he was to receive a Medal of the Order of Australia as a “very pleasant shock”.
The 90-year-old Mr Fry received the honour in this year’s King’s Birthday honours list, for his service to the communities of Cohuna and Leitchville.
Mr Fry boasts an impressive list of volunteer and community roles throughout his time in the two districts, but he was humble in receiving his recognition.
With more than five decades spent giving back to the local community, Mr Fry said “this is just how things are done in a small town”.
“The whole point of it to me is that feeling that I am no more worthy of something like this than a lot of other people in a small town,” he said.
“There are several people across the Leitchville and Cohuna community that are every bit deserving of this as I am.”
The Lions Club has been a key part of Mr Fry’s community involvement since the late 1970s, holding multiple roles across a number of Lions clubs including Echuca, Cohuna and Leitchville.
The list of roles filled by Mr Fry at Leitchville’s Lions Club has included president, secretary, chairman, public relations officer and bulletin editor.
But Mr Fry said his involvement at district level for the 201V6 District, where he was deputy district governor and zone chairman in the late 1980s, was a highlight.
“I was first invited to join the Cohuna Lions Club around 1978,” he said.
“Then 12 months later Leitchville chartered a Lions Club, so I transferred to Leitchville.
“I was very fortunate with the Lions Club, not only was I involved in the local club, I was also invited to take on district responsibilities.
“Helping at district level was a great part of my involvement in the Lions Club.
“The Lions Club, no matter where they are, do a marvellous job and it’s great to be a part of it.”
Mr Fry has also sat on a number of boards and committees, including an 18-year run as a board member at Cohuna District Hospital, where he was president between 1973 and 1975.
He has been on a number of local committees, including Leitchville and District Progress Association, Leitchville Swimming Pool, and Cohuna and Leitchville schools.
Mr Fry said like others in country towns, once he was on one committee it was hard to say no to joining others.
“It was a wonderful experience being able to sit on boards with people who were much more experienced than I was,” he said.
“I think this happens with a lot of people, when you’re involved in one thing and somehow people think you do a good job, you get invited to take on something else.”
This was all done while Mr Fry and his late wife Pat were the proprietors of Leitchville’s AT and P Fry Farm Supplies between 1966 and 2014.
Mr Fry has also been a justice of the peace since 1976 and a member of Royal Victorian Association of Honorary Justices since the 1970s.
This isn’t the first time Mr Fry has been recognised for his tireless efforts, having been named the 1992 citizen of the year for the Shire of Cohuna, and receiving the Melvin Jones Fellowship Award in 1993.
Now Mr Fry volunteers at Cohuna’s Neighbourhood House, particularly the all-abilities garden, a role he has enjoyed since 2020.
“I’m getting a lot of enjoyment out of that,” he said.
“They’re a wonderful group of people to work with, and I’m just amazed at the amount of work and good that they do for the district.”
