Jenny officially retired from her role as a Social Support Coordinator with Cowra Special Needs Services (CSNS) on July 3, after 15 years with the service. 

She said she now plans to make more time for family but reassures people that she isn’t going anywhere and still plans to help out the community groups she is a part of, including Legacy, the Cowra Eisteddfod and the Cowra Musical and Dramatic Society. 

“It’s just some time for me and my family, grandchildren, just to spend a bit more time with them,” she said. 

Jenny’s work with people with disabilities started before she joined CSNS, taking up the role as a teacher’s aide at Cowra Public and Mulyan Public School. 

“It was something I sort of fell into… Just being in the right place at the right time,” she said. 

“When the teacher’s aide position become available, I sort of thought, that's something I’d like to try and it all stemmed from that.”

After funding cuts to schools for teacher’s aide, a new opportunity arose with CSNS. 

“It’s been wonderful, I’ve made some wonderful friends,” Jenny said. 

“It was really interesting with some of the service users there, that had been there for quite some years but some of those, I actually worked with at the school as a teacher’s aide so then got to reconnect with them once they left school.

“It was always a challenge… but that’s the nature of the industry, that sector, that’s what it is all about.”

CSNS Manager Tracy Ford paid tribute to Jenny’s contribution to the service at a special morning tea. 

“We just wanted to have the opportunity to say thank you to her and hope she enjoys her retirement with her family,” she said. 

“She was just wonderful for the volunteers, the aged clients and supporting them in our community... she does so much more than here as well in the community with so many different services and will continue to do so.”