SALE Ambulance Auxiliary has presented long-time paramedic Bernard Goss with a certificate of appreciation for his 25-year involvement with Sale Ambulance Auxiliary.
The dinner for ambulance auxiliary members and partners at Sale Greyhound Club was also an opportunity to acknowledge his even more significant recent milestone – 40 years as a paramedic.
On October 20 last year the former Sorrento boy, who now calls Briagolong home, celebrated four decades in the job.
Based in Sale, Mr Goss is a highly respected paramedic and clinical instructor who has made significant contributions to the ambulance community, including volunteering with St John Ambulance, running a mental health support forum ‘How Are You Travelling’ for current and retired paramedics and affiliated workers, and being a founding member of the Victorian Ambulance Union.
He is also passionate about supporting the next generation of paramedics coming up the pipeline.
Mr Goss is a familiar face to many throughout Gippsland because of his community involvement, and his wife Miffy – herself a registered nurse – says there are not too many places they can go without being recognised.
“Most days it takes us a long time to do our shopping, because everyone stops to say hello,” she said.
“Everyone knows Bernie; he is hard to miss.”
It’s not just the distinctive handlebar moustache that gives him away, it’s the genuine compassion and empathy that have endeared him to the thousands of patients he has attended over the years, making him something of a local legend. While he and Miffy are not quite ready to retire, their dream is to have more time for recreation, spend more time in the garden and continue entering their preserves, marmalades and breads in the Sale Show, where they have won several first-place spots.
They also plan to buy an RV to travel Australia, COVID permitting.
