When Imelda Laidler first arrived in Kiama, she wasn’t just looking for a sea change. She was looking for a way to belong.

“I’d been coming to Kiama since I was nine,” she says. “I always dreamed of retiring here, and when the time came, I came down to build a life that was mine.”

Imelda started that journey at Vinnies, walking in on a whim after a knockback from another organisation.

“They were welcoming from the start,” she says. “I was there for over four years. We had such a great group of girls. We all got on like a house on fire.”

But when things changed at the shop, Imelda started looking for something new and found it at the Destination Kiama Visitor Information Centre.

“I didn’t really know what I was doing at first,” she laughs. “But the staff were just so warm and welcoming.

They said, ‘Do whatever you feel comfortable doing,’ and always made a point of thanking me. Every single shift.”

Now, a year and a half in, Imelda is one of the centre’s most engaging volunteers, helping tourists and locals alike find their way in town with a friendly smile and plenty of local knowledge.

“It’s the people,” she says. “You get to chat with visitors from all over the world, locals popping in, travellers passing through. That’s what I love. My family would tell you it’s very me.”

Volunteering helped Imelda move beyond her family circle and create new friendships

“We want visitors to know there’s more to Kiama than just coffee. It’s about the walks, the history, the stories,” she says.

The Visitor Centre team, she adds, is something special. “It doesn’t matter what age you are. Everyone gets on. No cliques. No drama. Just people who care about this town and each other.”

As she prepares for a trip through India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Imelda has also agreed to send back a Postcard to Home, a series The Bugle runs with local travellers sharing snippets of their adventures.

Even when she’s abroad, Imelda is proudly Team Kiama.