Gunnedah Touch Association junior coordinator Will Dowe was named NSW Touch Volunteer of the Month for October.
Will is set to receive a $100 Visa gift card at the NSW Touch Football Senior State Cup at Port Macquarie from this Friday to Sunday, while Gunnedah has two mixed teams competing at the event.
The award came just over 12 months after Will was named Administrator of the Year at the annual NSW Touch Football Blues awards night.
Having moved to Gunnedah nearly 20 years ago, Will joined the committee about four years later and took on the secretarial role for a couple of years before taking a break due to family commitments.
After rejoining the committee seven or eight years ago, Will became the junior coordinator due to his eagerness to help enable youngsters to have more opportunities in the sport.
Will helped build a junior program from scratch in Gunnedah, with the program now having more than 250 young players and eight representative teams across gala days, Northern Eagles Junior Championships, and the NSW Touch Junior State Cup.
“Our focus at the club is to raise the standard of touch football in our region (North West),” Will said.
“To do this, we think there must be more local carnivals and tournaments to get our kids playing competitive touch against other clubs.”
Gunnedah Touch Association secretary Peta Lawrence nominated Will for the volunteer award following the Gunnedah gala day, as she considered Will’s work in this gala day was worthy of a nomination.
Will has also been involved in holiday clinics, Monday night junior touch, an array of courses, gala days and representative touch football.
The award winner has also been involved in setting up fields and ensuring teams, referees and uniforms are organised. He has also offered support and encouragement to help build a positive culture at the club.
