WHEN John Vogels left school at 14 he probably never imagined one day he'd be recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The former state government politician was made a member in the general division of the Order of Australia (AM), for his significant service to the Parliament of Victoria and to the community.
Mr Vogels, who is fighting prostate cancer, said throughout his community work and political life he'd always stayed true to his values.
"I left school at 14 and when I got elected to parliament it was first time I saw a computer or an iPad," he said.
"I put mine in the boot of a car and every year we got a new one and they'd say you haven't used it.
"I said no, when people ring me up or they want me I drive there and look ... I meet the people.
"I learnt these values from my mum and dad and volunteering for 20 years with Apex."
Mr Vogels said it was his first wife Lynne's battle with cancer that triggered his involvement with the Timboon and District Health Service.
Lynne died of breast cancer 25 years ago and Mr Vogels said at the time the state government was talking about turning the hospital into an aged care facility.
"I knew how much that hospital was needed," he said.
"My wife was dying of cancer.
"We were an hour from Warrnambool and we're a long way from Colac."
Mr Vogels said after his wife's death he was encouraged by others to run for council. He was elected and later became Mayor of Corangamite Shire.
"Then I was approached to run state government and I said ok I'll have a crack at it," he said.
"I won a seat in 1999 for the seat of Warrnambool which they then abolished and made it in South West Coast, so my electorate wasn't there anymore."
Mr Vogels was then approached to run for the upper house Western Province seat in 2002 which was also later abolished and became the Western Region. The new seat ran from Melton to the South Australian border and also took in Geelong and Ballarat.
Although he won the seat, Mr Vogels thought it was too big a distance to cover and he wanted to do more at a local level.
Mr Vogels was the chair of Wannon Water from 2011-2015 and said he was lucky to have worked with good CEOs.
"I used to say when I became chair, 'you guys have got all the certificates on the wall, I don't want any surprises so keep me informed. I left school at 14, I haven't got any certificates," he said.
He said he was surprised to receive the honour but that everything he had achieved was due to a team effort.
"Everywhere I've been I've had fantastic support from the community and the people I was on boards or committees with," he said.
"I most thoroughly enjoyed all the things that we did together.
"These were never one man shows."
"I'm very humbled, (but) anything I've ever achieved happened because I was part of a team."
Service to the community remains a priority and ten years after Lynne's death Mr Vogels married his wife Maryanne who is now the chair of Timboon and District Health Service.
