Once a year the Governor-General of Australia bestows honours on citizens who have been of great service to the nation and its people. On Australia Day 2014, Ian Waters of the Capalaba Ward (congregation) received that honour.
Mr Waters was honoured for “service to youth through the scouting movement.” His work in risk management, including his time as president of the Risk Management Institution of Australia and his work as the founder and inaugural president of the Genealogical Society of Queensland, were also mentioned as examples of his service to the community.
Mr Waters joined the scouting organization as a cub scout in 1955. Almost 60 years later, he is still giving service to that organization. He has been a scout leader in his local troop, a district scout leader, assistant area commissioner, region commissioner, and assistant chief commissioner.
| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
He says he feels both honoured and humbled to have received the award. He was quick to state that “while worldly accolades are all very well, in their place, the real test of what we accomplish in this world will not take place here on earth, but in the next life.”
Mr Water’s service to others also extends to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where he has devoted much selfless time in many volunteer capacities.
It wasn’t the details of his service that Ian Waters wanted to share. He wanted to give thanks to his late wife. “Marylyn was an incredible woman who was dedicated to our family and the community,” he said. “So much of what I am, what I have and enjoy, I owe to her. This is not my award, it is our award.”