After a fantastic season on the field, Benalla All Blacks celebrated everything good about the club off it last week, coming together for its first volunteers night celebration.
Panthers president Doug Aiton said the club’s volunteers night was its way of saying thank you to everyone involved behind the scenes.
“They put in the hard yards all year and then on grand final day,” Aiton said.
“It’s one of those things that gets overlooked, there’s a lot of people that help out, and that’s what football and netball clubs need.
“They need a heap of volunteers to help out, and quite often they get forgotten, they turn up every week, every home game and do their job, you need to say thank you in some form.”
The club was fortunate to have a dedicated group working year-round, Aiton said, including many who have been involved over a number of years.
“A lot of people go to the football or netball but don’t realise it takes a lot of people to keep the club going that may not get seen or recognised for the work they do,” Aiton said.
“And a lot of them have been around for a few years; it’s really good for the club and everyone was very grateful.
“We’re lucky in the respect that if someone isn’t there, someone else will put their hand up to do the job.”
Aiton said everyone had pulled their weight around the club this year, but mentioned a dedicated few who had gone the extra mile.
“Our best club person went to Rebecca Mudd, thanks to her efforts and a couple of others we actually had junior netballers this year,” Aiton said.
“She’s looking to the future as well with a few other things she’s looking to do which is fantastic, she was our best club person and for me that’s the biggest honour at the club.
“Suzanne Putt, she’s our timekeeper and she’s been doing it for years and years, it’s something she just loves doing, she knows the players by name but not necessarily to look at because she knows their number.
“It’s those sort of people that are there year in, year out and turn up every week, they make the job easier for everyone around them.”