Their intent was to showcase the Nambucca Valley as a welcoming location for those leaving the ADF and their families.

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The We’re Here – In the Nambucca Valley initiative began in March 2019 and, remarkably, the Nambucca Valley is still the only district in Australia reaching out to those considering separating from the ADF.

The ‘We’re Here’ initiative was born out of concerns held by Vietnam veterans – Jim Cameron OAM and Wayne Mason OAM – regarding the plight of the current generation of veterans.

Jim and Wayne wanted to show veterans that the Nambucca Valley was well worth considering as a location to move to with their families or as a place to live in retirement.

A significant factor of ‘We’re Here’ is that most major employers in the Nambucca Valley are supporting the initiative through guaranteeing job interviews to advertised vacancies for those leaving the ADF.

At last week’s ADF Transition Seminar, attended by over 400 ADF personnel and their partners, the We’re Here team spoke to around 50 attendees who had not previously considered relocation to the Nambucca Valley following their military service.

We’re Here’s Mr Todd Vercoe told News Of The Area, “Naturally the lifestyle aspect appealed to many people but the guaranteed job interviews and reasonable medium house price in our district really got some people interested.”

The We’re Here team offer attendees a carry bag containing a specially produced booklet detailing the benefits of moving to the Nambucca Valley and a USB memory card that contains detailed information on the district.

The We’re Here committee is made up of volunteers from the executive of the four RSL sub-Branches in the Valley (Nambucca Heads, Macksville, Bowraville and Stuarts Point), the Deputy Mayor and representatives from Legacy and other veterans.

We’re Here is supported, although not funded, by the Council and State Government.

Since its official 2019 launch volunteers from the initiative have attended several ADF Transition Seminars in Newcastle, Sydney and Brisbane, however seminars were halted during the pandemic.

“We would love to see more employers and businesses in the district who want to get involved with this very unique initiative to email us at hereinnambucca@gmail.com,” Mr Vercoe concluded.

By Mick BIRTLES