KEY POINTS:
New Zealand's largely rural landscape requires many more ambulance officers than the money available allows.
That potentially catastrophic reality is in large part allayed by hundreds of volunteer ambulance officers.
Lynn Mosley, a wife, mother of three and full-time manager of the Meadowbank Community Centre, is one of those volunteers - working from the Pukekohe station.
Chris Wilkins, operations volunteer manager for St John Northern, said St John had hundreds of volunteer staff around the country, but Mrs Mosely was "pretty exceptional" because of the number of positions she filled, and the high level of training she had reached.
Her training and skill level was that of a paid officer, and despite her volunteer tag, she was given no favours when jobs came in, Mr Wilkins said.
"When she's on duty, there's no discussion over what she gets sent to. She just has to answer the call. And she does.
"She's very dedicated, and even though she's not paid, she's very professional in the way she conducts herself and involves herself with us."
Her ambulance duties included attending emergencies and hospital transfers, but she also gave her time as a youth leader and provided first aid at events, he said.
Mrs Mosley said her motivation for volunteering came from her love of her community, and the knowledge she was making a difference to it.
"It does make a difference. If people didn't give their time, things wouldn't happen. You can't make changes without being prepared to get up and do something," she said.
"You're giving something to the community. And community is so important. Any organisation you can give your time to, it's much better than just giving money.
"If we want a great community to live in, we have to get out there and support it. And it's just a case of juggling what I'm doing and making sure I've got time to do it all. People go out sailing or golfing in the weekend. I go do St John."
