Bathurst's Margaret Hargans receives OAM on Queen's Birthday

Mrs Hargans is among the 947 Order of Australia Medal (OAM) recipients on the 2021 Queen's Birthday honours list.

Naturally, it was quite a shock for the quiet achiever, who said her first thought was 'Who did that to me?' when she found out she would be receiving an OAM.

"I thought there must be people who do more around the community," she said.

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But, as much as she downplays it, her list of contributions to Bathurst is lengthy.

Mrs Hargans was a volunteer for the Bathurst Agricultural, Horticultural and Pastoral Association from the 1980s to 2005, serving as vice president, ring master and broadcast steward, and was the association's president from 2004 to 2005.

She has been a volunteer for numerous groups in the community, including Bathurst PCYC, Bathurst Women's Refuge, the Arab Horse Society (Western Area), and Walang Bush Fire Brigade.

Her skills have been passed on to students at All Saints College, Kelso Public School and Marsden Boarding School when she was a volunteer teacher in the areas of lead light, horse riding and leatherwork.

But perhaps what she is best known for is her volunteer work at 2MCE, which started in 1978 and combined her love of radio with her natural presenting voice.

"I'm mad about radio. I've been listening to the radio since I was a little kid, I actually prefer it more than TV," Mrs Hargans said.

"... I've loved [2MCE]. It was like a family when I first started."

Over the years she has done a one-hour comedy program on Saturdays, programs based around history, jazz music and classical music, and has presented Talking Newspaper.

The radio station recently celebrated its 45th anniversary and Mrs Hargans said she was "tickled to death" to see it still going strong and producing new talent with Charles Sturt University.

"We've had some fabulous journos come out of the journalism course out there and entertainers, like Amanda Keller and Andrew Denton," she said.

While Mrs Hargans has a disability, having lost her hand in an accident when she was two years old, it has never stopped her from being active in her community.

She said "volunteering is life's blood", and it is something she will always be passionate about.

Of her OAM, Mrs Hargans just hopes it makes her three children, Tracey, Bradley and Greg, proud.

"I'm proud for my kids. They're the absolute stalwarts for me, they're the three most beautiful people in the world," she said.

"I'm so proud of them and I hope they are proud of me."

And they are, with Greg saying he's known his mother was "remarkable" since he was a child.

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