Whilst AGM season can be focused on committees, elections and season reviews, one of the nicest parts of our game is the chance to celebrate and honour those that gone above and beyond in service of our game. This year we saw this ultimate accolade bestowed  upon two of NSW Juniors finest servants. At their AGM on Saturday morning NSW Country Juniors awarded Life Membership to the late John Hamilton and later that day NSW Juniors awarded Kerry Brady Life Membership. Both were worth recipients and much deserved for their services to the junior game in our state.

John Hamilton - Life Member CJRU

At the NSW Country Juniors AGM on Saturday 23rd Nov'19, the Committee and all Zone delegates voted unanimously to award the late John Hamilton a Life Membership of NSW Country Junior Rugby Union.

John was a passionate rugby man and a real advocate of juniors and their access to pathways. Having been a past President of NSW Country Juniors and having held many other roles within Country Juniors as a coach or manager - John represented the true spirit of what Country Rugby means to the bush.

John had also held roles as Vice President of NSW Junior Rugby Union as well as VP Representative.

Unfortunately John lost his battle to melonoma only two weeks prior to being honoured with this award. The entire NSW Junior Rugby community has a lot to thank John for - his years of service has left the game in a much better state for his efforts. I know I speak for us all in congratulating John and his family on this much deserved award.

He was a true rugby man and will be missed.

‍

‍

Kerry Brady - Life Member NSWJRU

At the NSW Juniors AGM on Saturday 23rd November 2019, the Committee, Zones and Districts voted unanimously to award Kerry Brady a Life Membership of NSW Junior Rugby Union.

As the nomination said - Kerry has been a long standing servant of NSW Junior Rugby holding positions across all committee levels. She is of good and upstanding character and we think a worthy nomination.

Kerry’s roles on the NSWJRU Board include but not withstanding

·        President 2013, 2014, 2015

·        VP Representative 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013

·        Secretary 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020?

She has also served as the competition manager for our affiliate Sydney Junior Rugby Union and her present role as Shute Shield Competition manager. There are also many other roles within clubland that Kerry has held over the years – such as Rugby Manager at Eastern Suburbs 2007-2012.

During this time Kerry has shown a great passion for junior rugby and her knowledge is second to none with regard to running our large events such as State Championships and other Representative fixtures.

Kerry has been an integral part of helping define the competition space and her stewardship has helped steer the competitions and pathways to the much stronger position that it enjoys today.Over this time we have seen such things as the Sydney competitions move from Zone to whole of Sydney / Graded competitions. The National Representative pathways have changed many times over this period but we have always maintained a vibrant NSWJRU Pathway.

We congratulate Kerry on this award and can think of no-one more deserving.

As a testament to Kerry’s achievements - in 2013 she also won the ARU Nick Farr Jones Spirit of Rugby Award.

Here is a quote from Waratah's media on 24th October 2013.

Sydney Juniors administrator Kerry Brady has won the prestigious Nick Farr-Jones Spirit of Rugby Award for 2013.

Chosen for consistently upholding the spirit and ethos of Australian Rugby through her work with Sydney and NSW Junior Rugby Union, Kerry received her award at tonight’s John Eales Medal Ceremony, sharing the stage with fellow NSW winners Michael Hooper and Israel Folau.
‍

‍
Among the three-man panel to decide the winner, Nick Farr-Jones praised her outstanding contribution to the grassroots game.

“Kerry’s contribution to NSW Rugby over a number of years has been exceptional, her sensible management style and her ability and enthusiasm have impressed us that much over the years, that we jumped at the opportunity to bring her onto our Community Rugby staff,” said the NSW Rugby Union Chairman of the Union’s decision to appoint Kerry as Sydney Junior Rugby Union’s Competition Manager in March of this year, after she had previously been Rugby Operations Manager at Eastern Suburbs.

She is currently President of NSW Junior Rugby Union and, as tournament director, has managed the NSWJRU State Championships for the past six years.

Also quick to praise her contribution was NSW Waratahs Head Coach Michael Cheika. “I had the pleasure of working with Kerry this year, she’s got a real passion for what she does, she really wants to see the juniors be a big part of rugby in this state.  I speak to a lot of clubs and they say Kerry’s work around junior rugby is brilliant, she’s a deserved winner.”