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They served stoically during and after the Hunter's worst storm in 30 years, and Seventh-day Adventists at Avondale College have thanked them for doing so.

They are representatives of EnergyAustralia and the New South Wales Police Force, Rural Fire Service (RFS) and State Emergency Service (SES), and they have been flooded with letters of encouragement.

"We needed these men and women to help us recover," says Dr Bruce Manners, senior minister of the church on the college's Lake Macquarie campus. He spoke with several employees and volunteers in the aftermath of the storm. "The hours they put in amazed me. They worked tirelessly so life could return to normal."

Manners and his leadership team launched a letter writing campaign on August2 and members of the community responded, writing 155 letters. The church displayed the letters on a wall in its foyer this past Saturday (August 11). It will produce a book of the letters and forward copies to each of the organisations.

During the worship service, Bob Kalaf, past president of the Cooranbong Chamber of Commerce, and Ken Paxinos, a Lake Macquarie councillor, presented certificates of appreciation to the storm heroes. Manners referred to the biblical story of the Good Samaritan, noting noble acts of service transcend culture, religion and ethnicity.

Responses from the recipients were positive. Tyson Killicorn of the RFS described the service as "encouraging." Ken Hawkes of the SES said, "When you've been working for two or three weeks non-stop, you start to get a bit tired of it. [The certificate and the letters] make you feel a lot better."