Our Ange is the president of the club and took on that role as no one else would four years ago otherwise the club would have folded. The club has been going in the beautiful town of Murwillumbah since 1972. Ange works tirelessly for our club, volunteering her time and energy to help our small group of riders (about 70) constantly. She also volunteers her time for helping neighbouring clubs set up and pack up their equestrian events. In early 2017 Murwillumbah was devastated by the floods of x cyclone Debbie and Ange was there without hesitation and rallying us all to help clean up, repair and restore our Showgrounds. She believes in our lovely sport and unwaveringly goes out of her way to help others. Ange has volunteered for the upcoming Commonwealth Games and nine years ago gave one of her kidneys to help a friend in need. Ange is so very deserved of this recognition and award and I can guarantee any funds received would be donated back into our club and sport.

Nominated by Alissa Anderson, club secretary

Graeme has been a member of the club since the initial foundation period. He has been a club champion player on a number of occasions. Prior to his retirement and up to the present time Graeme has organised and supervised many tournaments and events associated with petanque. Since his retirement from active participation he has continued upon his desire to provide coaching and promotional support for the sport of petanque and the Hobart club. He has appeared on a number of media and community news bulletins promoting the game and regularly provides initiation sessions for beginners, including Tas TAFE courses for novices as well as skills enhancement programs for advanced players. Graeme is a gregarious and well respected member of the petanque fraternity in Tasmania who is deserving of reward for his undertakings to the benefit of all.

Nominated by Eric Hartill, club player

I’m nominating Michelle because not only does she work her guts out every year for our club, she also works extremely hard for the Horse Riding Clubs Association of Victoria and her other club Bulls Adult Riding. Not only does she organise entire events, source volunteers, weed, mow, build jumps, she somehow finds the time to ride her own horse! Michelle is the epitome of that person who never says no and always works to find a solution to every problem. She deserves every bit of recognition she can get, but somehow saying “thank you” never seems like enough. We love you Michelle for all the hard work and help you give back to our sport each and every day.

Nominated by Zoe Warrell, colleague

Warren is a bloke who has spent limitless hours at all times of the week doing everything from mowing, watering, cleaning the grounds, game day setup, security, and take day, canteen – basically the club wouldn’t function without Warren’s dedication and passion for the Eagles, who have finished as NPL NNSW Premiers the last three years, Grand Final winners twice and represent the Hunter in the NPL finals series, an amazing achievement from an amateur club in the west of Newcastle.

Nominated by Todd Blackwell, fan

Elva Wright is the best and true stalwart of our club, always the first to arrive and the last to leave. She takes that very seriously and I haven't managed to arrive before her yet! A substantial first was when she arrived in Robertson after her marriage to a lovely local. That was over 60 years ago. The little village had one sand tennis court but no tennis club, clubroom or facilities. Elva got cracking to start the Robertson Tennis Club! Another first: she then instigated competition tennis in the Wingecarribee Shire! Elva has taken on every role in our club over the years - president, secretary and treasurer. Multiple times! She still loves playing social tennis every Tuesday and competition tennis every second Thursday.

The club started with mixed couples and this was very well supported and popular, men and women played in competitions. (Robertson Tennis Club now has 'ladies' comp team). Soon, Robertson needed another tennis court. Elva is a tall, powerful and active person. She tirelessly worked alongside the men, her husband included, to clear the area and build the court. Due to the popularity of tennis and its social side, it wasn't long until yet another court was needed. The three courts have subsequently upgraded to concrete. Elva wanted to share her love of tennis with all players and shines in competition tennis! She is applauded for her deadly force and accuracy with a racquet and ball and gained the honour of Sportsperson of the Year. We look to Elva with her great memory and very sharp wit for: the history of our club; anything to do with other Tennis NSW clubs in our shire and state; and accurate information about almost everyone and thing in our village. Testament to Elva's enduring popularity and friendships was shown on the tragic death of her husband Fred in late 2017. The church hall was packed and people stood at the open doors. A great number of Robertson locals, all tennis club members, fellow competition players from the Wingecarribee Shire plus officials from Tennis NSW and Wingecarribee tennis. It was wonderful to meet all in her large family who came from many parts of Australia and overseas to honour Fred and support their beloved Elva.

I, and tennis players across our shire and state, know that Elva Wright most definitely deserves to win the BEST Stalwart Clubbie! What she has done for tennis, and continues to do, is amazing. She is the heart of Robertson Tennis Club (and beyond). She made it pump perfectly – it still does. We say a very collective THANK YOU ELVA!

Nominated by Lyndy Scott, club president

Some background on David and his involvement in the club: David was first attracted to the CCJMCC when he had two young sons and was looking for a venue where they could both ride together – as a nipper and a junior. The CCJMCC was the only club which offered that opportunity so he joined the club and travelled to the Central coast from his home in Sydney to achieve this. As his sons progressed and developed their riding skills, David saw the need for such a venue to continue and grow to accommodate more families like his. Witnessing the benefits and success of riding in a safe and controlled environment at Allen Park CCJMCC, David decided he should become more involved.

That involvement started about 22 years ago then after a couple of years part time David decided to take on a larger commitment and became a member of the committee culminating in him being elected as president of the CCJMCC in 2004. He also involved his family to donate their time and skills to the club. His wife Gracie has and continues to run the canteen and has also taken on the role of treasurer and many other supporting roles within the club. As their sons developed they trained and qualified as professional coaches and now coach the young members from the age of four years to seniors. Their task also involves the signing up of all new members and associated documents required by Motorcycling Australia for all new members.

During his early years with the club, David encountered some problems with the financial stability so he & Gracie decided to restructure the running of the club to ensure its long term survival. With a lot of dedication and devotion despite having to run his own business in Sydney, their efforts were rewarded by winning the NSW Motorcycling Australia Club of the Year Award in 2012. CCJMCC runs major events such as the Central Coast Cup and the Redloh Cup and is also allocated some NSW & National titles which attract competitors from around Australia and showcase the Central Coast and support its local businesses. The club proudly conducted its 45 year celebration meeting on the 18th & 19th November 2017.

Without these complexes, our young riders would be forced to move overseas or be denied the opportunity to participate in their chosen sport. I myself have been involved with the CCJMCC as a volunteer for the past couple of years and know how much of his time and devotion David Smith gives to the club’s continuing success. It is the low profile of this sport which does not give us the publicity and promotion it justly deserves, yet it is a sport which started in Australia has produced many world champions and is huge around the world. I consider David would be a worthy recipient of this award.

Nominated by Colin Adams, club volunteer

Mildura Dragon Boat Club (MDBC) was originally founded in 2009 by Tubby and his daughter, a breast cancer survivor. They recognised dragon boating as a sport to help survivors in their rehabilitation after breast cancer surgery. Tubby remains an active member of the club still today. He is also our oldest member at 84-years-old and is fitter than all of us! Tubby also swims competitively, regularly competing at Master events around Australia.

Tubby is certainly a loyal, reliable, and hard-working member of our club and is regarded fondly by us all. He remains our stalwart of the club. Tubby attends all our club events. He is usually the first to step in and help out. In the years that our boats were stored out in the weather, Tubby lovingly kept the boats in good order, sanding and varnishing the timber when needed. He would also arrive early to training and clean the boat. Tubby lives approx. 35 km from Mildura and drives a round trip of 60+ km each time to attend training and club events.

Last year the club purchased a forty foot shipping container to store our boats. We organized a working bee to paint the container. Unknown to us all, Tubby went down there for several days prior to the weekend and rubbed back & under coated a good percentage of the area. On the Saturday the painting was completed in one day, thanks to Tubb’s fantastic efforts.

Tubby was a member of our gold and silver medal team at the recent 2017 Australian Masters Games (AMG). The competition held 84 races over the two days and had 350 competitors. Mildura (and Tubby) competed in 18 races. The team took away 11 members. We competed against teams like the Rainbow Warriors, Motley Crew and Southern Warriors who were made up of members from clubs in a region of their state. They chose their best paddlers for the events they entered, and had lots of spare members, being hard to beat. Mildura were successful in two of the six events we entered. We won gold and silver medals. This is a fantastic feat for a small regional club at national level. In the majority of events Mildura paddled in we shortened our time each race up to five seconds in total. It must be noted; Tubby competitively swam in Devonport for several days before the dragon boat masters commenced. He won 14 Gold and three silver medals as well as one gold and one silver for dragon boating. Not a bad feat for an 84-year-old.

Nominated by Kate Redman, club treasurer

Adam has been playing, coaching, umpiring, team managing and unofficially assisting with hockey at Camberwell since he was five or six. He has no official position and seeks no plaudits but gives so much time and energy to the game and club. He is a committed player and team manager for the lower grade men’s club, and manages teams he does not play in just to ensure they make the field each week. He single-handedly runs a summer hockey competition with hundreds of competitors each year. He umpires whenever needed. He has done all of this while studying medicine in country Victoria - and driving back each weekend to assist and play - and then while working as a doctor at The Alfred. As an example of his commitment last year, he worked all night at The Alfred and then showed up to play in his team’s final having had two hours sleep. He got hit in the nose and badly injured but played through to the end!

Nominated by Naomi Levin, sister

Marilyn has been the clubs legacy for over 10 years as a volunteer. Marilyn arranges Xmas gifts each year, donations, BBQ's, preparation of monthly club nights. Completes all shopping items for the club and overall devotes her time to the club daily. Marilyn has had a heart attack, on a disability pension and despite her barriers she is always there for the kids. Yes I feel the club provides just as much to Marilyn as she provides the club however her hard work and behind the scenes work is not unnoticed and should be rewarded. Its people like Marilyn that makes a club run smoothly with chaos and hard work hidden. We appreciate you Marilyn.

Nominated by Olivia Hewa Gajaman, club secretary

Glen has been involved in Lacrosse almost his whole life. Junior player, senior player, State Championships and international lacrosse – always putting his best foot forward, for the game, for the team, for the club. He has always been there to help out but specifically within the last 10 years Glen has been "that guy" ... the one who ensures that the grounds are in the best possible order, that the markings are always the best, that the marquees are out and up, the BBQs are alight and cooking, the showers are clean, the bar is fully stocked and that stuck door on the equipment shed, well that’s fixed now too. All in his own time, rain or shine, no payment and not expecting anything in return ... loyal, reliable, and hard-working, he just loves the game that much. I played many successful games with Glen back in our day and it is always a pleasure to see him now. A smile a wink and a shaky hand but Glen is there seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Nominated by Greg Hamilton, friend/ex-player/past president

Our club is small with a gravel field which requires a lot of upkeep. Marty is the first to turn up and the last to leave almost every working bee, training and game day throughout the season and our small summer comp. He does anything from chipping out weeds sometimes nearly half the field is covered to spraying, mowing, marking lines, levelling out the field, sweeping/blowing off dust on the lines, welding and repairing goals, minor repairs to clubhouse, setting up and shopping for canteen, cooking BBQ immediately after stepping off from his game. On home games he is there very early tiding everything and setting up and will be the last there packing up.

Marty turns up without fail every Thursday afternoon at 4pm, sets up and takes a group of up to 20 children aged 10-12 runs an hour session of basic drills then a small game. He then will help out with our under 13 team for an hour when needed then it’s into training the men’s side which he plays in. Last year the team had to be made up with a lot of junior boys which had never played men’s. As the season progressed we gained more and more which meant Marty had the burden of dropping three players for finals. Marty ran most training. He was manager for the men’s as well as coach/player, he was a standout player in the midfield who didn’t miss a game and took his team all the way to win the premiership. This year he is in the process of organising a summer comp. He is also hoping to take on coaching a first for Benalla under 11 side which 2 of his sons will join and the youngest members of our club finally get to play "real hockey" which they are very excited about. Without generous people like Marty volunteering all this extra time our club wouldn't survive.

Nominated by Mel Gillies, wife

Jeff Waldron is a one in a million. A bachelor, who is deaf & works at the Mulleraterong Centre which is a Disability Service Provider. Jeff works tirelessly for the club. He drives the equipment trailer to each away game after packing it, unloads it & sorts it at the destination, then hangs around all day, packing the trailer back up, cleaning up the rooms and unloading it back to the club. He works on the main gate at home games selling raffle tickets & taking admissions, He walks around the crowd with raffle ticket winners, Mans the money takings for Thursday night meals at the club, Makes and donates things to the club such as cabinetry and tables, Time keeps, Takes rubbish to the tip, Cleans rooms after home games. Jeff works tirelessly and the club is one of his passions, and he receives little thanks or recognition. There would be countless things that I have missed, but a true blue club stalwart.

Nominated by Ashley Lambert, club president

Jeff has played for Saints since 1977. When he stopped playing in around 2003 he began coaching teams from U5 right through to U18 teams, sometimes coaching two teams each year. Jeff also refereed in his teens. He became a committee member during this time, and most recently has spent 10 continuous years on the club committee, eight of those as President. Jeff participates in working bees, obtaining sponsors, referees or is linesman on senior men’s and women’s games when the referees don't show up, and is the delegate for the club to NQ Football meetings. Jeff has coached Townsville representative teams and was a Qld Academy of Sport selector. He mentors other coaches and managers and sees that coaches are provided with training/learning opportunities. He maintains his coaching licence and attends whatever coach development sessions are on offer. Most recently he oversaw the building of a new $300K+ clubhouse which provided the club with toilet and shower facilities as well as storage, canteen and social interaction spaces which it never had in its 40+ year history.

Nominated by Annette Gregory, wife and co-committee member

After spending only a couple of minutes with Steve Moxey (nickname Moxey) you would quickly see what a friendly, warm-hearted and top bloke he is. Moxey has been a life member of our Hills Triathlon Club for a number of years and although his official title is “Timing Coordinator”, Moxey is much more than that. He is the heart and soul of our club and a very well respected and admired member of our committee.

Steve Moxey is as hard-working as an OX, which is quite ironic since his surname even contains those letters. He is the first person to arrive to start the daunting job of setting up transition and is always the very last person to leave after packing up. Typically there are between 250 to 300 people who participate at one of our club races, so there are plenty of bike racks to assemble and timing mats to set up. Other responsibilities Steve helps with is liaising with race officials, members, visitors, volunteers and is a truly inspirational unsung hero always putting others first. Moxey has done the timing now for five years now. Before that he spent four years as race director and was instrumental in building our club race series to the professional level it now is. In fact, thanks to Steve’s leadership as and dedication as Race director, then as timing coordinator, our club now boasts the most successful club race series in the nation.

Moxey has many great qualities about him and doesn’t ask for any recognition when helping out. He does what he does for the love of the sport and to provide a safe and fun environment for all of our members and guests participating in events. This is proven with his role of timing coordinator which has meant he has to sacrifice doing his own Sprint distance race so he can be there for the club. During his time Moxey has been at the forefront with helping our club grow to be the biggest triathlon club in NSW (possibly Australia), with approximately 440 current members. This is a wonderful achievement for not only our club but for the sport of triathlon, as it was only about 15 years ago our club started with about 10 members! Whether it be helping new members and teaching them the ropes or jumping on a BBQ, he is there wherever needed. I personally like to think of Moxey as like Rexona…. He never lets you down. Keep up the amazing work you do Steve Moxey and thank you for the countless hours you put in. On behalf of the club and all that you’ve helped over the years we can’t thank you enough. You are very kind fellow for always going above and beyond to promote a friendly atmosphere for people of all ages and abilities.

Nominated by Robbie Glover, committee member

Alison deserves to be Club Stalwart because without Alison Peel Hockey wouldn't function. Alison runs the registration process, looks after the website, manages teams and oversees the marketing and promotion of the club. In addition she is involved running the hockey carnival teams and coordinating many junior events.

Nominated by Jerome Buck, friend