He has completed thousands of missions, helping those in need throughout the New England north west.

Mr Owen said given the number of missions he has been part of, it's hard to think of one moment in particular that sticks with him. But being there for the good moments is something he always cherishes.

"There's no one job that actually stands out, it's the jobs that have favourable outcomes like reuniting loved ones that have been lost that are the best," he said.

"It's hard to quantify one stand out job, but being able to help people in their time of need is very rewarding."

The desire to help people was ingrained into Mr Owen very early in life. His father volunteered with Fire and Rescue NSW.

He has been around the state with the Westpac rescue service since joining in 2002, but it is Tamworth where he feels most at home.

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"Loyalty and my family kept me coming back. The service gave me a chance as a 20-year-old volunteer rescue crewman and I was forever grateful and still wanted to contribute to the service wherever possible," he said.

Mr Owen was named Australian Helicopter Aircrew Member of the Year by the Australian Helicopter Industry Association in 2018.

And he is now passing his expertise onto colleagues, haven taken up a role as a training and checking air crew officer.

"Being able to pass on my experience, help train staff on our new generation aircraft and apply skills learnt over the last 20 years to help Northern NSW in their time of need is an absolute honour," he said.

"And I am so proud that we have a world class service to provide for regional NSW."

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