Geoff Hanson has spent decades helping his community

For nearly three decades, Mr Hanson has dedicated himself to the NSW State Emergency Service (SES), earning not only the respect of his community but now an Emergency Services Medal at this year's Australia Day ceremony.

At the age of 70, he remains undeterred, even after 28 years "without a break".

"Despite the fact that I'm 70 I'm still very happy to do that and very fit to do that and I'm very good at navigation in untracked country," Mr Hanson told the Leader.

The retired teacher also coordinates large-scale searches for people - or bodies - lost in the bush.

But he says the most difficult part of his job is not the most dangerous.

Though he does spend time on - and in - raging floodwaters, he says his biggest challenge is paperwork.

"I'm currently re-writing all of our working at heights documentation for the SES. I've been doing that for the last few years," Mr Hanson said.

"The hardest bit is actually getting all that documentation updated to keep us on the cutting edge and to keep the whole platform consistent. It takes a huge amount of time."

But he says his experience from nearly four decades as a teacher makes him uniquely equipped to tackle the monumental task.

"It's quite interesting because a lot of the members in the Manilla unit are former students or their parents," he says with a laugh.

But despite his cheerful demeanor, he admits his years of service have taken their toll at times.

"I do have a bit of PTSD from a couple of nasty rescues," Mr Hanson said.

"I have a very long list of deceased people I've dealt with over the years. That's how it goes if you do this work."

Despite the toll on his mental health, Mr Hanson persists, motivated by the tangible impact he can make with every life he's able to save.

His advice to the next generation, particularly for young men, is to have the courage to know when to ask for help.

"A lot of young men are not good at dealing with PTSD because they feel they have to be tough," Mr Hanson said.

"One of the things I do when training them is make sure I talk to the blokes and tell them to go and get some help if it happens to ya."

On a lighter note, he encourages everyone who is able to volunteer to "get up and have a go," as the valuable skills gained through the organisation can come back to help you when you least expect it.

"My oldest girl was in a car accident when she was 20, and I was behind her in a second car. Because I'd done road crash, I knew exactly what to do on that occasion," Mr Hanson said.

Thankfully his daughter's wounds weren't serious.

When he isn't out saving lives, the retired teacher said he enjoys finding other ways to be involved in his community, leading to a laundry list of reasons for him to be recognised.

The list would be too long to fit into one article, but one of Mr Hanson's proudest achievements was being the founding treasurer of Tamworth's St John Ambulance brigade.