His SES voluntary goes way back to the 1980s when he lived in the Riverina town of Culcairn serving as the SES Units Controller and was part of the Thredbo disaster relief where their units assisted for several days.
A school teacher and married to a school teacher Tracey, they raised two children, Jessica and Tim in their years in Culcairn (community involvement with sports and church) and then Binnaway (similar involvement) where they took up an interest in the Christian movement "Emmaus Walk" and represented the State at an international conference in the United States.
In 2005 the family relocated to the Tweed coast in northern New South Wales where Ian was the assistant principal of Ocean Shore school and Tracey took up a teaching appointment with Centaur school. Having temporally rented in Ocean Shores they soon purchased a home in Terranora and reconnected with the local SES.
A few months later Ian Carlson was diagnosed with Lymphoma cancer and found himself medically discharged from the NSW Education Department. Numerous people and community groups got behind Ian, including SES personnel and the congregation from the Banora Point Baptist Church.
At these events were taking place, Well-Being Australia chairman Mark Tronson and his family had relocated from Moruya on the NSW south coast to Tweed Heads so as to replicate the athlete respite ministry for Australian Institute of Sport SE Qld Sport Unit athletes. They began attending the Banora Point Baptist Church.
Mark Tronson sought the Lord for someone to accompany him to his SE Qld AIS Sport Unit visits encouraging athlete and coach respite and Ian Carlson became that person and for six years to 2012 they made regular trips to Brisbane with Ian as the driver. He particularly enjoyed watching the young AIS cricketers in the nets at Allan Border field as he coached junior cricket in Culcairn.
Meanwhile his voluntary service in Tweed Heads SES grew in leaps and bounds and his community accomplishments was awarded by being named Northern Rivers Volunteer of the Year for 2009. Last year Ian's SES Unit won the Volunteers Section of the National Safer Communities Award.
Ian Carlson, continually struggling with his Lymphoma, has grown in stature amongst his SES colleagues and when the SES Commissioner's Medal was announced there was much acclaim in the Tweed Heads Unit.
The Banora Point Baptist congregation has supported Ian and Tracey Carlson as his health situation became more evident over this six year period. They have in turn been stalwarts in their service to the Lord Jesus Christ and the local church.