LOCAL Harden icon Nic Nadycz (pictured above) has given thousands of hours of volunteer work through out his life on a local, state and national level; however his recent adventures as a volunteer at World Youth Day (WYD) he says were a unforgettable highlight.

After undergoing an accreditation and police check and taking part in two weeks of training exercises in Sydney, Nic was given his official WYD volunteer clothing and identification tag and for the week during the WYD events Nic fulfilled the role as Crowd Marshal and Team Leader.

Nic was one of 8,000 WYD volunteers that faced long exhausting hours ensuring the festivities ran smoothly.

Nic worked four 10 hour long shifts at Barangaroo and a total of 22 hours on Saturday and Sunday at Randwick Race Course during the Pope’s visits, only having two hours sleep on the Saturday night.

“It was a very pleasurable week but very hectic, I was exhausted when I returned home,” Nic said.

You would never think among the 500,000 people in attendance at the Papal Mass on the Sunday that you would ever run into anyone you knew, however Nic did; he ran into former Harden Ambulance Officer/Retained Firefighter, Craig Short, who is now stationed at Queanbeyan.

Nic who also volunteered at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 as a driver, shuttling athletes, special guests and Olympic officials around the Olympic Park and Sydney said an outstanding highlight of the WYD was the moment Pope Benedict stepped off the boat at Barangaroo.

“I am not Catholic, but when the Pope stepped off the boat I felt the same emotion as I did when the horses entered the arena at the Sydney Olympics opening ceremony,” Nic said.

Nic encourages local residents to give up some of their time and volunteer as it is a rewarding experience.

“You can volunteer in your community or in your church but volunteering as a nation is an amazing experience,” Nic said.