He warmly congratulated Senior Citizen of the Year Clare McMahon for her work in Kiah and Young Citizen of the Year Jessica Duthie for her work with children.

Mr Cullen was recognised for his dedication to the community with his 44-year career in the Rural Fire Service, his sporting mentorship, and agricultural show support.

"I'm blessed to have the opportunities I've had with the community, with the Rural Fire Service, to work locally, across border, in other states, with agencies, volunteers, councils in those areas," he said.

He spoke of the changes to the RFS when the Bega Valley and Eurobodalla joined forces, and said he really enjoyed the opportunity of having had the responsibility taking on the management role for the Far South Coast.

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Mr Cullen thanked the council for their, "tremendous support" in terms of equipping the fire control centres and supporting volunteers and staffing.

He also thanked his family by acknowledging how, "time-hungry, "unpredictable", and often dangerous his job has been over the years.

"I give full credit to my lovely wife Robyn, [and children] Nathan, Bree, and Mark for taking that up while I was away from home. It's certainly comforting to know that is happening while you're away from home."

He also paid homage to his parents in their role instilling strong values in him.

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To those that nominated him, he wanted to acknowledge how proud he was to receive the honour, "you've done a bit of spadework on me, but certainly I thank you for putting my nomination forward."

He rounded up his speech with a pertinent message to all, "please look after yourselves, please look after others, and keep your eyes wide for people who may not be travelling so well."