By Emily-Rose Toohey
Granite Belt Support Services’ (GBSS) Fiona Marsden has been involved with the organisation for 32 years and last month, she decided to step away from the service with her sights set on writing.
Her years-long volunteer work included 27 years as treasurer and some paid gigs in the early 2000s, before making her move to president for the last five years.
“I was a writer, not a mathematician,” Fiona said.
Her involvement with GBSS started in 1988 when her husband and herself adopted a baby with down syndrome.
“We started going to an early intervention group at the primary school and there was an opportunity to employ an occupational therapist,” she said.
“After that, all we had to do was become an incorporated body, which we did in 1990 – that’s how it started.
“In the mid-90s, we expanded our services to provide services for adults and families and we just grew.”
Furthermore, she said the service officially moved its operations to a building in 2003, which enabled them to grow and employ even more staff.
“We’ve grown enough that we’re attracting good quality financial and support staff,” she said.
“It’s been a really core part of my life and it was hard to take that step back.”
After Fiona’s mother passed away last year, she said she was not sure where she wanted to go from there, hence deciding the leave her role at GBSS after their AGM in August.
“I really wanted to focus on my writing and I felt that the organisation had come so far and I was leaving it in a good position – they’re a great team of people,” she said.
“When I’m not busy and I think about it, I feel a bit lost, but I decided 32 years was probably enough.
“I just felt I needed a break, it was a really hard time with mum’s health, I was exhausted.
“Over the past 30 years, anything that’s not my family was GBSS, it’s been more than half my life when I’ve been closely involved and it feels odd not to be involved now.”
However, Fiona has been focusing on her writing, which has included attending a Romance Writers conference and at the end of September, the next of several published books will be printed as part of a series with local Dakota Harrison.
“I’ve been writing all my life, it started with FanFiction and in 2010, I started writing again,” she said.
“I’m focusing on my writing career right now and have a contract to write small town rural romance in a place that’s set like Stanthorpe – I’m doing that with another local.
“I’m also doing historical novellas and other short stories.”
