In May earlier this year, Terisa Ashworth was honoured for her work in the Bathurst community when she was named a Living Legend.
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She was one of seven different people who were acknowledged at a special ceremony, the others being Clifford Berry, Margaret Hargans, Ron Hollebone, Tony Lewis, Brian Mowbray and Ian Ramsay OAM.
Ms Ashworth, who had just completed the Bathurst Half Marathon on the morning she was named a Living Legend, said she was surprised when she found out she had been nominated.
“There’s so many fantastic people in Bathurst, so yes, it was a real surprise for me,” she said.
Ms Ashworth has lived in the Central West area for almost 45 years now, having moved from Sydney.
There’s so many fantastic people in Bathurst, so yes, it was a real surprise for me.
- Terisa Ashworth
Her great grandparents resided in Sofala, a town she called home, as well as Wattle Flat, before her family eventually moved into town roughly 25 years ago.
“It was when our kids were about 13 we moved into town,” she said.
“It was easier because they did so many activities already in Bathurst.”
She’s currently the CEO of the Bathurst Seymour Centre, having been at the centre this time round for 13 years.
“I worked and volunteer at the Seymour Centre previously for four years prior to now,” she said.
“I did have a gap away because I have done a lot of different jobs.
“When I was about 35, I thought I would do something meaningful. So when we moved into Bathurst, that worked out really nicely because I went and did TAFE. I did some different training courses and that went well, so I went to uni after that.
“I did some volunteer work at the Bathurst Seymour Centre around that time and I thought that’s a nice place to be. I was employed at different places, but I eventually came back to the centre because that’s where I really wanted to be.”
Bathurst Seymour Centre supports older people, people with disability and their carers to live as independently as they can in their local community.
“It tends to vary but we get around 20 to 25 people a day. We have a number of programs as well,” Ms Ashworth said.
“We are open Monday to Friday and open one Saturday a month. We’ve also got an evening group and some outreach programs. It’s quite flexible and we’re about meeting the needs of people.”
In her spare time, Ms Ashworth gets up to plenty of fitness.
She’s completed 27 Bathurst Half Marathons, 28 City2Surfs and 29 Edgell Jogs.
“It started when my kids were little and we did a lot of running, even when they were about five or six. At the time, there was something called the Blue Mountains Cross Country events,” she said.
“We participated in them together and since then, I’ve just participated in more running.”
Ms Ashworth will celebrate her 40th wedding anniversary next year.
She has two children – Wendy and Barry – and three grand children, aged fifteen, five and four.