GROUP Seven stalwart John Anderson was been honoured for his more than 20 years commitment to South Coast Rugby League, by being handed senior life membership.
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This decision, on the back of a nomination by Jamberoo president Trevor Dallas and Group Seven director Warren Kelly, was agreed upon at the recent senior annual general meeting, at the Kiama League Club on Wednesday, November 13.
Dallas and Kelly's nomination letter reads as follows;
"As you are aware, John was a hardworking and very involved director of the senior league for many years.
"It was a role that saw him eagerly support all areas of the league.
"He willingly replaced the paid staff and management of the organisation when the sitting employees were on leave or otherwise not available.
"A task he fulfilled with a keen interest in ensuring the best interest of the League were maintained at all times.
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"He gave many hours freely even though he was going through a difficult period at home with the long illness and final passing of his wife Lyn.
"From there he combined the registrars' role where he ensured compliance with both policy and legal requirements.
"This occupied many hours of contact with all clubs and other affiliates of the league to assist in delivering the appropriate outcomes for the Group.
"His other role in the last few years has been a part of the match review committee and judicial process management.
"As you are aware, the tasks required here do not always take you to the top of the popularity polls, but John always placed the interest of the league at the forefront of all decisions and ensured due process was followed as best as he could.
"We, therefore, ask the directors of the league to support us and place this nomination on the agenda for the upcoming AGM to hopefully ratify our beliefs that John has earned this honour and a place with other worthy servants of this group."
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Anderson's involvement in Group Seven started in 1996 when he started as Milton-Ulladulla's delegate for the junior general meetings - a role which he held until 2003.
During the end of that stint, he also took on the Bulldogs junior president position (2000-2003), before transition onto the junior management committee in 2002 (until 2019) - leading him to becoming junior president for the 2018 and 2019 season.
Other Group Seven roles Anderson held included; assistant registrar (2004 to 2009), registrar (2010 to 2019) and senior board of directors (2007 to 2015 and 2017 to 2019) - as well as serving on both the judiciary and qualifications committee for numerous years.
"John was an unbelievable volunteer, who worked tremendously for the good for rugby league on the South Coast," Group Seven president Scott McLaurin said.
"Both the junior and senior leagues are in far better positions now than when he started with his involvement.
"I think his greatest asset during his tenure was stopping the creation of the junior 'super teams' - which could have brought the game to its knees.
"Despite being threatened, he was unfazed and only wanted the best for the game - he had no hidden agendas
"His departure definitely leaves a massive hole in our competition, so we will need numerous people to step up and help fill the void - a process we have started in recent weeks."
Anderson, who was on the Illawarra South Coast merged competition committee from 2010 to 2019, was elected as a Group Seven junior league life member in 2012, before receiving a Country Rugby League service game badge in 2018.
He also was on the Kiama Leagues Club board for directors for five years.
In other Group Seven news, Nick McInerney was recently awarded a 25-year service medal by the Country Rugby League Referees Association.