Volunteer of the Year announced

AFL (NSW/ACT) is pleased to announce the winner of the 2010 Volunteer of the Year award is South Coast AFL president Katy Daniel.

Mrs Daniel, of Nowra, is a deserving winner of the award as she has shown effective leadership of the South Coast AFL league for the past two years. 

“I am extremely honoured and a little bit embarrassed to win the award,” Daniel said. 

“Although I have been singled out as the recipient of the award, I am grateful to receive it on behalf of the committee and other league and club volunteers who have helped bring the football on the South Coast to where it is today. 

“We have many great volunteers here who have been working hard behind the scenes  for a very long time and they must be recognised also.”

Mrs Daniel has been an eager contributor to Australian Football on the South Coast since moving to Nowra in mid-2002.  Previous to that she had been involved in the Victorian Football League in her native state of Victoria. 

Mrs Daniel’s recent achievements, among other things, have been to provide stability to the South Coast AFL league and its executive, and to improve relationships between the league committee  and clubs. 

“We have set standards for our clubs to follow and for our league executive,” she said. 

“Clubs know what is expected of them, week in week out, and those expectations are set and expected to be met. The same goes for the executive, in that the clubs now know what they can expect of us in our roles.

“Most importantly, I feel that I have given the league stability. We have had a very unstable history with respect to the committee and now we are settled and moving forward. 

“My final achievement has been getting representative football back on the South Coast AFL agenda, so much so, that it is the focus of our season outside the grand final. Players want to play rep footy, and clubs generally are supporting it, and that’s great for the league.”

As part of her award, Mrs Daniel receives a trip for two to the 2010 Toyota AFL Grand Final.  Although she is a Hawks fan, she won’t be  fussed if her favourite team doesn’t make it to the last day in September, as just attending the Grand Final will be a special moment for her. 

Mrs Daniel was chosen as the overall winner from a pool of 28 regional winners across NSW and the ACT.  Upon considering nominations from all 28 regions, the judging panel not only looked at the considerable hard work of all the candidates, but also the legacy provided by the volunteers to football as a  result of their efforts.

As part of the AFL (NSW/ACT) Volunteer Recognition Program, the 28 Volunteer of the Year regional winners will be recognised at local functions held towards the end of their respective football seasons. 

Other awards to be presented as part of the program include two AFL Merit Awards, which recognise long term service to football, and Coach of the Year state and regional awards.