Last night the NSWRL honoured the backbone of our great game, the volunteers, at a gala dinner at the Waterview function centre in Homebush.
Here are all the awards presented on the night with a spiel from their respective organisations.
The Western Suburbs Junior League “Jim Medway” Club Person of the Year Award:
WINNER: LORRAINE HARRIS
Lorraine has been with our club for 16 years, in this time she has
been assistant treasurer for 7 years and treasurer for 5 years. Lorraine assisted in organizing our 3 reunions that we have had which was a massive task collecting money and collating the guests lists and allocating tables.
Lorraine has always put the club first, even through her serious surgery this year she kept her position and has done a great load of work for the club.
Lorraine just about knows who each player in the club is and that shows how much of a club person she is, she can also tell you who our past players are.
Lorraine’s knowledge is invaluable to our club and we are very proud of her.
The St George Junior League “Robert Stone” Memorial Award :
WINNER: GARY MCCOULLOUGH
Gary is affectionately known as “The Sheriff” – the frugal dollars man.
Gary has held the position of Honorary Treasurer with St George JRL since 1994 the longest serving treasurer in the districts history.
Prior to Gary’s involvement with the St George JRL he was involved with his local junior club, the Illawarra Catholic Club JRLFC and held various positions on their board.
Gary has a banking background which holds him in good stead to keep us on track and mostly in the black.
Gary is a life member of the St George JRL Inc and is well respected by his peers and many friends, he is indeed a valued member of our Board and he deserves our appreciation.
The next award was the NSWRL District Representatives Volunteer of the Year, we would like to acknowledge the below nominees:
Bob Cooper - Balmain
Paul Arraj – Canterbury,
Ron Easton – Illawarra,
Dave Caire – Parramatta,
Tom Anderson – Penrith,
Ken Dashwood – South Sydney,
David Parkes – St George &
Ross Norman – Sydney Roosters
WINNER: ROSS NORMAN
Ross has been involved in the Junior Reps for the Roosters in various roles for over 30 years. He is currently our game day manager, he also looks after all of our equipment, drinks and any requirements for training sessions.
From November to May Ross is the first one to training and the last to leave 4 nights a week, as well as being the first and last to leave on match days.
He opens grounds, locks them up and spends many days before work picking up specific training gear or replenishing drinks and ice etc.
He is a big part of our Junior Rep program and without him our jobs would all be considerably harder. He uses his own van as our Junior Rep equipment van and never asks to be compensated. He is a legend of our club and we love him dearly.
The South Sydney Juniors Award:
WINNER: KAREN SASSINE
Karen is Newtown Junior Jets Secretary, as well as being an active Coach, Trainer & Team manager. She is a tireless volunteer for the Club & an avid campaigner for Junior Rugby League in general.
She has the ability to engage our Club Members and enlists their assistance in a host of the Clubs activities including assisting with the BBQ, serving in the canteen, delivering pamphlets, selling raffle books & general fundraising.
In 2012 Karen encouraged and challenged mothers to take up roles in the Coaching Staff, leading the very first all-female coaching staff in the clubs history. Karen's side, the Under 10’s, went on to win the Premiership.
Karen is the heart of our club and is the very fabric of our clubs success.
The Penrith & Districts Junior Rugby League Football Club Award:
WINNER: KERRI MCDIARMID
Kerri has been involved with Junior Rugby League for 19 years now, when she found her love for league watching her son and team mates running around the field on an early Saturday morning.
Kerri has been with Western City Tigers coming up to 13 years and like so many, held every position in the club, starting at Team Manager, Canteen Manager, President, Training Co-Ordinator, Senior and Junior Coach and Secretary.
Kerri has built an excellent rapport with Blacktown City Council and through this has negotiated with them in relation to the development of their grounds including a new canteen block, which was much needed as the old one was broken into on a very regular basis.
Kerri says “even though I’ve never played footy, it’s in my blood now and I look forward to the next 10 years to see how our junior and senior game will develop”.
The NSWRL Schools Competitions Volunteer of the Year:
WINNER: DAVID WHITTOCK
David began his involvement with CHSRL in 1977 and since then has taken many varied roles including Team Selector, Coach, Trainer, Manager, CHSRL Convenor, ARL Schoolboy Championship Convenor, Vice President NSWCHSSA, Chairperson NSWCHSSA Blues Committee & NSWCHSSA delegate to ASSRL.
David has given over 30 continuous years service to the sport he loves, Rugby League, and every task has been completed with David's typical sense of humour, efficiency, passion and the sheer ability to get on with people from all walks of life.
The Parramatta District Junior League Football Club Award:
WINNER: ANNETTE REGAN
Annette started with the Seven Hills Club in 2000 & has been a tireless worker since that day.
Initially she filled the position of manager for both boys sides & managed teams from 2000 to 2005 also backing up with the ladies in the canteen.
In 2006 she took over the role as canteen manager for both our grounds – a huge task in itself.
Annette is well known for buying lollies & ice creams out of her own money to give to deserving kids at our club.
Annette is seen at the ground at 7.30am to get things started and finishes as late as 8pm and then still find time to run her own household.
This women is a true champion and a real asset to our club
The North Sydney District Junior League Football Club Award:
WINNER: DAVE CHAPPLE
Dave began his involvement in Rugby League as a team Manager with the under 7’s in 1982. He continued in this role until 1988 when he took over as coach of the Under 13’s. He coached again in 89 with the under 14’s.
1991 saw Dave take on the role of President of Berowra JRLFC a position he held until the end of 2000.
1999 he became a Board Member of North Sydney JRL & in 2008 became Vice President a position he still holds.
In 2009 Dave received life membership to the North Sydney Junior League
The NSWRL Multicultural Volunteers Award:
WINNER: AMELIA HORO
Amelia has been a great servant to Junior League for 21 years and has played a significant role in the establishment of the NSW Maori Rugby League which continues to celebrate culture and positive integration of Junior Maori players into NSW.
Beyond the Rugby League field Amelia and husband Mark are highly active in the community in providing care and mentoring for many of the young aspiring Junior players in providing them a home away from home.
Amelia has a great passion for helping the youth and their families reach their full potential through the valuable time she invests in them. She is a credit to the great contribution woman play in Rugby League
The Illawarra Junior League “Col & Billie Purcell” Award:
WINNER: STACEY CHATER
Stacey has been the Dapto JRL registrar for the past 4 seasons & also assists on the general committee. She is always happy to help with the organization of trivia nights, pie drives & other events to raise much needed funds for the Club.
Stacey also regularly assists in the canteen at most home games.
For the past 6 seasons, Stacey has been team manager for the current Under 13 team, & presents each player with a special memento at the conclusion of each year.
On many occasions Stacey has been known to help out with anyone who requires a lift to a game, and treats each boy as if they were her own.
Outside of rugby league, Stacey works full time, however this does not stop her from donating countless hours to the Dapto JRLC.
Stacey is a very giving person, and displays a 100% commitment to her Club.
The Cronulla Sutherland Junior League Volunteer of the Year Junior League Award:
WINNER: GRAHAME WAGENER
Grahame is the current President of Engadine Dragons.
He does just about everything that’s needed to make a Club successful - from working in the canteen to picking up meat, to organising functions.
He single handily organises our annual Sportsman’s Lunch which is our biggest fundraising event.
Grahame established the Junior Disability Comp in our district. He has set up a Homework Centre where our boys can be assisted with any difficulty they may have with Maths & English.
He uses this time to reinforce the rules of the game & that it is paramount to play like gentlemen.
Grahame is also Vice President of the Cronulla Sutherland JRL and is a true representative of all that our game embodies.
The NSWRL.com.au Media Volunteer of the Year:
WINNER: ADAM BAGNALL
Adam acted as the Media Officer for new VB NSW Cup side Illawarra Cutters in 2012.
He travelled to every match throughout season 2012 and provided outstanding match reports, photographs, social media coverage and website content.
Adam was instrumental in getting a new Cutters website on the St George Illawarra Dragons main site which increased support for the team in its inaugural season all while he was still attending university full time.
The Balmain Junior League - “George Thompson” Memorial Award:
WINNER: LEONI BARNETT
Leoni has been a member of Leichhardt Wanderers for over 20 years and is the current secretary of the club. She also acts as Ground Manager, is the Clubs Public Officer, Clubs Gear Steward, managers her sons Under 11 team & is a spectator at her daughters mini league matches.
In addition to her elected roles, Leoni is actively involved in organising functions and raising funds for both the Club and Community.
This year she organised the Inaugural Ladies Fundraising Function for the friends and families of Leichhardt Wanderers.
The function raised $5,000 which was donated to the General Paediatrics Division of The Children’s Hospital at Westmead to purchase specialist equipment.
She always displays and promotes sportsmanship and is a wonderful role model for all at the Balmain Junior League.
The NSWRL Indigenous Volunteer of the Year:
WINNER: JIE PITMAN
Jie has given high quality leadership to the indigenous and non-indigenous youth of Western Sydney through the game of rugby league.
His leadership shown over the years with organising and undertaking the administrative and implementation duties of the Western Sydney Indigenous Rugby League Program and being a senior coach for St Marys RLFC, Inspires the young people he works with including the local indigenous men and women.
The energy Jie brings to every Game day, training session, committee meetings or just seeing him in person demonstrates his pure leadership and personal attributes and values.
I know that Jie is a very proud Indigenous man of Western Sydney, and I am proud to be involved with what he does.
The “Les Matthews” Referee Volunteer Award (joint winners):
WINNERS: JOE ATTARD & ALAN POLLOCK
Alan Pollock has been assisting the Parramatta RLRA in the development of new referees consistently over the past ten years.
He has been unstinting in his dedication of time, both in courses and in on field coaching both for the Saturday competition with the Parramatta Junior League and the Sunday competition with the Catholic Convent Association.
In this role he has been in the position of on field buddy over the past four seasons, and a constant mentor and advisor to our newest members. Additionally he attends our weekly training sessions conducting skills drills, and taking time to follow up on the previous weekend's on field observations.
The ARL Development – Volunteer of the Year Award (joint winners):
WINNER: CHARLIE BATES
Charlie’s junior league work has extended to Australian Rugby League Development events since its inception in 1999.
Charlie tirelessly and without question helps out with gala days, holiday clinics, runs canteens, organises and lends out rugby league gear whenever needed.
He even cleans the clubhouse and junior league fields every week so that they are ready for training and use whenever they may be called upon.
Charlie is a rugby league enthusiast through to the core and still enjoys his work with the game as much now as he did when he started his volunteer work 46 years ago.
The NSW Rugby League – “Gordon Lowrie” Award:
WINNER: PATI BARBER
The NSW Rugby League – “John Quinn” Award:
WINNER: JOSEPH CHIDIAC
Joseph is the President of both NSW & ARL Wheelchair Rugby League. He first got involved in Wheelchair Rugby League when he was invited to establish and coach an Australian team to play a touring French team in 2004.
Since then he has been the driving force in adapting the game of Rugby League to be played by people with a disability.
He has put together teams for the 2008 Festival of World Cups and finally helped established a Wheelchair RL competition in 2009.
The 2012-13 competition now boasts 8 teams and is continuing to grow in popularity. His commitment to this form of the game can be attested to by many of us who receive his emails in the early
hours of the morning.
The NSWRL Junior League Life Member – Awarded to
WINNER: CATHY CROWE
Cathy has had a long association with St George JRFL of well over 10 years with an admirable propensity to “put her hand up” when work needs to be done.
However Cathy’s assistance is also generously given outside her specific St George JRFL activities including school carnivals, gala days and other development projects.
In amongst all of the volunteer activity Cathy still manages to find time to be a full time mum and hold down a full time position with NSWRL.
Cathy certainly personifies the old adage of “if you need something done give it to a busy person”, well when you give it to Cathy it gets done