Volunteers have long been the lifeblood of local communities and yesterday's awards ceremony honoured the contribution of individuals in the Central West and Orana-Far West regions.

Members of the Central West and Orana-Far West communities, along with special guest the deputy mayor of Bathurst Regional Council, Cr Ian North, gathered yesterday for the NSW Volunteer of the Year Award Regional Ceremony in Bathurst.

The award program is an initiative of The Centre for Volunteering, the peak body for volunteering in NSW. Now in its seventh year, this statewide award program recognises and thanks volunteers in NSW who generously give more than 235 million work hours each year in NSW, contributing an extraordinary $5 billion to the state's economy.

Pamela Lord of Cockburn was named the 2013 Orana-Far West Individual Volunteer of the Year and Margot Jolly of Parkes, the 2013 Central West Individual Volunteer of the Year for their outstanding contribution to the community during a ceremony co-hosted by The Centre for Volunteering NSW and the Bathurst Information and Neighbourhood Centre.

Mrs Lord has been volunteering for the Broken Hill Women's Auxiliary Inc. at the Royal Flying Doctors South East Section for 47 years, assisting in all aspects of the auxiliary's work. She also volunteers with the Broken Hill Auxiliary where Mrs Lord has been a hospital visitor to the Broken Hill Base Hospital for the past 47 years assisting patients and their families in many ways.

Mrs Jolly is the current chairperson leading a committee of 11 members to undertake environmental education and on the ground work across the Central West Lachlan district area. She chairs all monthly meetings and is the regional representative to Landcare NSW.

Mrs Jolly takes the time to provide support to all volunteers who come into the organisation and is able to offer them opportunities that fit their personal circumstances while allowing the organisation to maintain a strong Landcare community.

Both Mrs Lord and Mrs Jolly are now in the running to win the prestigious 2013 NSW Volunteer of the Year award from amongst NSW's 19 regional award ceremonies being held during October and November.

The 2013 Central West Senior Volunteer of the Year Award went to Russell Spencer of Forbes who has been volunteering at Lachlan Catchment Management Authority as well as the NSW Department of Primary Industries across the last 10 years.

In the Volunteer Team category the Patient Family Support Team at the Broken Hill Base Hospital was named the Orana-Far West 2013 Volunteer Team of the Year while the Orange Bush Nippers was named the Central West 2013 Volunteer Team of the Year.

The Centre for Volunteering's chief executive officer Lynne Dalton said the quality and quantity of nominations received from the Central West and Orana-Far West region was outstanding.

Nominations are still open for the 2013 NSW Corporate Volunteer of the Year and the 2013 NSW Excellence in NFP Volunteer Management. Both categories close October 31. Nominate online at www.nswvolunteer awards.com or call 02 9261 3600 for a nomination form.

The award program is generously sponsored by ClubsNSW, the industry body which represents the state's 1400 not-for-profit clubs, and Communities NSW.