Don Hicks’ long commitment to Echuca Bowls Club was recognised with the renaming of the club’s A-green. Photos: Jordan Townrow
There would be few whose commitment to sport in the Echuca-Moama region has lasted as long as Don Hicks’.
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After more than 70 years across football, cricket and bowls, 96-year-old Hicks’ near 50 years of service to Echuca Bowls Club has now been immortalised.
For the first time in the club’s history, it has dedicated one of its greens, what was once the A-green to forever be known as the Don Hicks Green.
Hicks, who is no stranger to accolades, honoured with an Order of Australia medal in 2015 and as Campaspe Shire Citizen of the Year in 2024, said this acknowledgement topped all others.
“This one's forever,” Hicks said.
“As long as the club exists, my name's on the board, and that's a fair recognition, I think.”
Hicks’ involvement at the club dates back to 1978 when he took part in a sporties night, and, after finishing his involvement with cricket and football, he would take on various roles as a coach, selector, president, secretary and tournament director.
Running the club’s major tournaments for more than 20 years, Hicks managed the club’s eight-day Easter carnival and 12-day May carnival, featuring hundreds of players.
Club vice-president John Blair said Hicks was famous for knowing every player’s name at the events year after year.
“(The carnivals) were full on, and I got to the stage where I might have been part of the furniture,” Hicks said.
“The wife did make a wisecrack one day that you may have to take your bed there.
“I just like being involved and being among people and I've been that way all my life.”
Even now in a non-playing role, although he did play until 2021, Hicks keeps involved with the club running the weekly Thursday men’s pairs raffle.
Club vice-president John Blair was proud to honour Don Hicks with the green dedication.
Not one for the spotlight, it was on one of those Thursdays that the club unveiled the green dedication, after Hicks evaded its earlier attempts.
“It was a bit of a surprise, because when it came to the annual meeting, the secretary asked my daughter whether I could go,” Hicks said.
“I've been going to annual meetings, but she said ‘I don't want him to give him a job, but we just want him to get there’, and I smelled a rat, so I didn't go.
“I'm not one for accolades, put it that way.
“They got me last Thursday here at the casual pairs when I ran the raffle and there were 56 bowlers here and a couple of life members, and they then displayed the name on the board.”
A shining example of long-term commitment, Hicks said volunteerism had always been key to a club’s continued success.
“Years ago, we had a paid barkeeper and our caterer was an outside person, and we were broke,” he said.
“Jack Turner was a new president who came in and he was the one that changed the club to what we are now, volunteers.
“Everybody got behind Jack with working bees and everything was all voluntary, the only paid person is our greenkeeper and I think that's the way it's got to go.
“Whatever it is, cricket, football or whatever, it’s very hard to get volunteers, but I think you can't leave it to just a few, everybody's got to do their bit.”
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