THERE aren’t many bigger volunteer awards in NSW Netball than the Anne Clark BEM Service Award. So when Beverley Thorpe from Jervis Bay Netball Club and Shoalhaven Netball Association, received the award Netball NSW’s 2015 state dinner, it was a huge honour.
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“It was a complete surprise to receive the award and I couldn’t stop crying for two days after the ceremony,” Thorpe said.
“I had no idea, as my daughter Janine Hamilton and the committee were involved in getting my up to the awards.
“Janine told me that nobody else couldn’t make it and other people of the committee had other plans, so as a life member, I was next in line, so I agreed to go up.
“Winning the award is a great honour and makes me emotional just thinking about it.
“At the end of the day, it’s just nice to be rewarded for something you do and enjoy.”
Thorpe has been a long-standing member of both the Jervis Bay Netball Club and Shoalhaven Netball Association (SNA) for over 30 years. At club level, Thorpe has coordinated the twilight competition for 10 years, and has managed the club’s division one team for over two decades, leading to a life membership in 1996. During this time, Thorpe has also been the NetSetGO program manager for the last 18 years and is also regularly seen every Saturday during the season, helping in the canteen or wherever she is needed.
“I love being involved with the 5-7 year old girls on a Saturday morning,” Thorpe said.
“They’re gorgeous but are little buggers at the same time.
“At the start of the season, some of them can’t even catch a ball but by the end of the season, they are pretty good.”
Thorpe ’s long list of accolades paints a picture of her service to netball. At club level, she has received the president award in 1994, along with 15 years (1998), 20 years (2003) and 30 years (2013) service awards, as well as person of the year in 2008. She became a life member of SNA in 2000, and was included in the Hidden Treasures Honour Roll in 2013, in which the Department of Primary Industries celebrated women volunteers in rural communities.
“I think the sport of netball, in the Shoalhaven, is in good hands moving forward,” Thorpe said.
“The bunch of ladies running it now are doing a great job managing all the clubs and nurturing the talent.”
Proof in the pudding is former Shoalhaven netballer Kaitlyn Bryce winning the Nance Kenny OAM Medal – DOOLEYS State League player of the year, at the same awards night.
