On Behalf of the Howlong Country Golf Club I would like to nominate Jan Wilson for the Community Coaching Recognition Award. In addition to being a volunteer fully accredited Golf Australia Community Coach, Jan Wilson was pivotal in the establishment of the Howlong Country Golf Club junior program. Jan is the Junior Coordinator for the Howlong MYGolf Program and is responsible for all of the administrative functions of the program as well as the practical component of the clinics and coordination of the coaches at each session. In addition to the Club based program Jan also coordinates the school program and conducts a MYGolf clinic for the Howlong Primary School. Jan is an incredibly organised person and has the ability to coordinate a large number of coaches, activities and students in an efficient manner. She is very well liked by all of her fellow coaches and is a great role model for the students. She has a pleasant, welcoming and friendly demeanour whilst having the ability to ensure that instructions are followed by students. Jan joined the program as a result of her daughter being interested in learning golf. Jan s Daughter was the winner of the Inaugural MYGolfer of the Month award and suffers from high functioning autism. With the needs of her own daughter it would have been easy to have focused on her own child however she is an amazing person with a great community spirit who is passionate about helping the juniors develop within her community. She has grown from being a parent, to being a coach, to being a leader, to having full ownership of a highly successful program. Jan has also recently been invited to speak to the Riverina Ladies Golf Association meeting on the 9th February where she will be assisting Clubs within the Riverina District to develop their programs and promote the benefits of the MYGolf Program. Jan s achievements include; 1. Her Growth and Development as a Coach, Leader and Educator. 2. Being a key part of a program that was pivotal in the Howlong County Golf Club being named the Jack Newton Junior Golf Junior Club of the Year in 2011. 3. Being a key part of a program that was named the Golf Australia MYGolf Centre of the Year in 2012. 4. Assisting in improving the level of participation of juniors. Not only has Jan been a role model for the students she has created an environment where the students feel comfortable and enjoy their golfing experience. A large number of female students against the male dominated trend are testament to this. In addition to being a role model for students she is also a role model for the Coaches. She has the ability to make all of the coaches feel comfortable and provides them with all the resources they need to undertake their roles. Finding coaches to support our program can be difficult, but with Jan leading this and making a daunting task for a new coach seem easy, we have been successful in recruiting and retaining a large number of coaches to enable our program to be successful. I have no hesitation in recommending Jan for this award, her contribution to our program has been simply outstanding and I have no doubt that we would not have been able to create the successful program we now have without her hard work and dedication. Finally, Jan is a very humble person, she is a true quiet achiever in every respect and I know she is going to kill me when she finds out that I have nominated her for this award! Chris Rebbechi is the General Manager of the Howlong Country Golf Club in NSW.
Author: Chris Rebbechi / Howlong Country Golf Club