Ms JODIE HARRISON (Charlestown)— Mr Greg Powell, who has retired after fifty years of teaching‑forty-four of them at Warners Bay Public School—has become synonymous with that little school by the Lake.

Throughout Mr Powell's tenure at Warners Bay Public there have been ten Australian prime ministers, twelve NSW premiers, and thousands of young students' lives have been changed for the better by Mr Powell's teaching.

When Warners Bay Public principal Deb Hall set up an online document for former students and staff to leave messages of support for him, it was flooded with entries. Mr Powell began his teaching career in 1971 during the Vietnam War, when he was sent to Papua New Guinea as part of an Australian Army initiative to "educate native recruits".

He taught for seven years in the Blue Mountains before arriving at Warners Bay, which his now-grown children refer to as his "home away from home". Mr Powell said that he always wanted to be a teacher, and as online tributes and outpouring of affection from the school community attest, he has been a fantastic educator. I wish him a long and happy retirement.

A Community Recognition Notice is an opportunity for an MP to submit a short statement praising the work of an individual or group in the local community. If you have any ideas about people I can recognise with a Community Recognition Notice, please email and let me know!