A range of emotions overcame Julie Dowleans when she was told she was to receive an Order of Australia Medal for her service to the community of Wee Waa.
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The community-focused woman felt all the usual things - humbled, grateful, honoured - but there was a tinge of sadness there as well.
The person she thought of first when she heard the news of her OAM was her mother, Thea Orman, who passed away in 2006.
Thea was the one who inspired her daughter and sent her down a path of giving back to the community.
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"She was a big influence on my life," Mrs Dowleans said.
"That's what makes this harder in a way. She would have been so proud of me.
"I am very much my mother's daughter and mum was very involved in the local community - the cancer support group and a lot of other organisations.
"She's the first person I wanted to tell. I'd ring her every couple of days when I lived away but it's such an honour. I'm so humbled but there's a bit of sadness as I can't share it with mum and dad."
After being born in Tamworth and then growing up in Wee Waa from the age of five, the 57-year-old spent time in several towns before moving back to Wee Waa in 2004 to care for her mother.
She had previously volunteered for different organisations and once she came back to Wee Waa she got right back into it.
The retired support worker is involved with the 2MaxFM 91.3 community radio station, the Wee Waa and District Historical Society and Namoi Echo Museum, the Lions Club of Wee Waa and the Wee Waa and District Garden Club.
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And Mrs Dowleans doesn't look like slowing down any time soon.
"Helping others is my passion," she said.
"What you give out, you get back two-fold. You learn so much from your community.
"I'm very passionate about my community. About being rural and the isolation we're in out here. If something's happening, we all get involved. It doesn't matter what circle of life you're from."
