It wasn’t terribly long ago that long-time club member and paddling volunteer Julie Keillor first discussed her nomination for the Australian Institute of Sport’s Volunteer of the Year honour with The News.
The big moment finally came on Wednesday, December 4, when Keillor flew interstate to join a raft of tenured servants from other sports in the running.
With the night’s first award nomination, the bevy of recognition Keillor had received to put her in this position was capped when her name was called as the winner by AIS chief executive Kieren Perkins.
As for the moments following?
Well, emotionally, everything might not have been all together.
She made no bones about where it all ranked among her experiences to date, though.
“It was the greatest night of my life,” Keillor said.
“When they announced I had won, I couldn’t believe it. You don’t think what you do is worthy of nationwide support in sports other than your own, but I was shaking like a leaf.
“I started crying the moment I got on stage, but Kieren was very gracious; I got through that part, but then I had to make a speech.
“So many Olympians and Paralympians came up and talked to me during the night.”
One of the personalities lining up for a word, just casually, was three-time Olympic canoe and kayak gold medallist Jess Fox.
Described cheekily by the Australian Sports Commission online as Keillor posing with a fan, the Shepparton native’s brush with the most decorated paddler in the history of the Games brought her another scarcely believable feeling.
“Jess was waiting to congratulate me and tell me that she really admired what I did for all abilities in Shepparton,” Keillor said.
“That was just amazing. She’s the epitome of our sport, but such a gracious person as well.
“I was too shy to ask for a photo last time (at the Paddle Australia awards), but this time, they pointed me out to a foyer so we could get a professional one done.
“That was another thrill and it was just a wonderful night.”
However, eventually there was time for the raucous celebration and all the associated revelry and shoulder-rubbing to subside.
There was time, more importantly, to take in just what this kind of recognition really means.
The magnitude of being selected as the nation’s top volunteer, over everyone giving their time selflessly to far more established sports, was not lost on Keillor.
“When you think about all the sports and clubs all over Australia, it’s a massive thing,” Keillor said.
“Kieren told me about a lady from the ASC who was on the selection panel, got through six of the roughly 150 nominations, pointed at mine and told them, ‘This is the winner’.
“Thinking about all the people who have done voluntary work over the years and the contributions they make, it’s so humbling that they chose me.
“It’s all about wanting to raise the profile of all abilities access.”
It’s always worth bearing in mind, though, that Keillor’s work extends further.
She finds her greatest delight in mixing and integrating the various cohorts she instructs down by the water.
She’s had to endure a reckoning within all the awards, having to be the centre of attention as someone far from comfortable in the limelight.
It’s all for her students, though.
“I acknowledge that I’m good at what I do at the lake,” Keillor said.
“It’s not just all abilities people I teach; we have primary school kids come through from Kyabram as well.
“If one sees a turtle down near the water, they’ll call out and everyone will just — zoom — take off in that direction.
“To see that it’s open and free and everybody has a good time, that’s the joy. I can’t help but feel that way every time I go.
“Life just gets more reaffirming all the time.”
Keillor extended particular gratitude to fellow Shepparton club member Barry Bell for his mentorship, himself a former winner of Paddle Victoria’s Volunteer of the Year award.
The award couldn’t have come at a better time for the club as a whole, with its annual Lights on the Lake, a free and barbecue-catered event featuring vibrantly decorated boats on the water, running Friday from 5pm.
