Bendigo local, George Flack CFP® FFPA, has been awarded an OAM for his service to the Bendigo community and to the finance sector.

The FPA congratulates long-term stalwart of financial planning and Fellow of the FPA, George Flack CFP^® FFPA, for being awarded the prestigious Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia in the General Division for ‘service to the community of Bendigo and to finance’, as part of the 2020 Australia Day Honours List.

However, according to George – the Founder and Director at Flack Advisory – receiving this national honour was a complete surprise.

“I’ve been focusing on my City Council work, as well as my involvement in numerous community organisations, like the Bendigo Country Fire Authority, that I didn’t see this coming,” George says.

The 67-year-old admits to nearly missing out on his award, with the Honours Secretariat emailing George’s nomination to a discontinued email address.

“I never actually received the official email,” George says. “Thankfully, they phoned me at work and that’s how I eventually found out about my nomination. I needed to accept the nomination before they could formally approve it, which the Governor General did. This was an incredibly exciting time for me, but I had to keep the news to myself until the 26th January, which for anybody who knows me, wasn’t easy!”

George, who was born and raised in Bendigo, received his OAM for his service to the Bendigo community, which includes:

• President and Board Member of the Bendigo Athletic Club since 2000;
• President of the Victorian Athletic League, 2000-2007;
• Voluntary Chair, Relay for Life Bendigo, 2000-2005;
• Member of the Marist Brass Band since 1964;
• Past secretary, treasurer and member of the Bendigo Country Fire Authority, since 1967;
• Member of the Bendigo Tourism Board, 2001-2007; and
• Chair of the Bendigo Tourism Board, 2004-2006.

George’s OAM is also in recognition to his service to financial services, which includes his 33-year involvement as Owner, Director and financial planner at Flack Advisory.

Recognition of service

With his long list of community involvement, it’s hardly surprising that George has racked up some serious awards over the years, including being named Citizen of the Year for the City of Greater Bendigo in 2000, as well as being a torch bearer for part of the relay leg for the Sydney Olympics that same year.

“I was incredibly proud to carry the Olympic torch through the Castlemaine and Chewton area. It was a marvellous honour,” he says.

In 1990, George was also made a Life Member of both the Bendigo Athletics Club and the Marist Brass Band – two community organisations he is still actively involved in. He has even written two books on the band’s 110-year history.

And in 1996 and 2004, George was also named Money Management Financial Planner of the Year.

No one goes out to achieve honours

As a recipient of the OAM, George intends to use his award to further help the Bendigo community, as well as the financial planning profession. He adds that it was particularly significant to win the award for service to finance, as it provides the highest official recognition of the profession, for which he has worked in over three decades.

“No one goes out to achieve honours, it’s just something that occasionally comes along,” George says. “However, the OAM will help me promote the financial planning profession and the value of good advice to a much broader consumer base.”

One of his achievements he looks back on with pride is the work he was involved in with getting both men and women the Aged Pension at the same time. George was also involved in the writing of the estate planning units in the Diploma of Financial Planning course from 1992-1994, and he was a member of the Department of Social Security/FPA working group from 1994-1995.

“The OAM will also enable me to showcase the terrific work that many people in Bendigo do everyday through community involvement and volunteering. Hopefully, this will raise greater awareness for our volunteer organisations, like the Bendigo Country Fire Authority. All these volunteer organisations play a vital role in keeping a community together.”

He adds: “This award is not just for me but it’s also for all those amazing people who I have been involved with in my local community and profession over many years.”

George Flack, far left

Slowing down

Although ‘firefighter George’ is no longer on active call to battle bushfires with his local brigade, that doesn’t mean he is winding down into a comfortable retirement. Instead, this year he will be seeking a second four-year term as a councillor for the City of Greater Bendigo, saying that he still has a lot more to offer his local community.

“For this second four-year term, I won’t need to be as committed to the daily operations of my business. I’m still a Director of Flack Advisory but I’m no longer seeing clients, so I have the ability to put more time in for council matters.

“Diana Rogers CFP^®, Emma Nicholls and Claire McLean AFP^® are my three planners, and by the end of this year, all the planners at Flack Advisory will be CFP^® professionals. They are all fully committed to the profession and educated in what they are doing.”

Although George might be stepping away from practising financial planning, he has no intention of slowing down. In fact, the ‘boy from Bendigo’ credits his career longevity and remarkable dedication to his community to three key attributes: a positive attitude, a genuine desire to help others in need, and good health.

“I’ve been running for 55 years. I believe that by looking after my health and wellbeing, that has flowed through to everything I do,” he says. “Importantly, my community involvement has enabled me to showcase the best of what it means to be a financial planner, and that’s something I’m particularly proud of.”