They say if you want something done, ask a busy person.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Joy Dwight is such a person and will be recognised for her contribution to sport when she is presented with the prestigious Bob Barr Memorial Award at the Cowra Sportsperson of the Year Awards this Saturday evening, July 12.
Joy has admirably filled the tireless role of secretary of the Cowra Gun Club for approximately 31 years also performing the duties for the NSW Clay Target Association Central Zone which covers an area from Bathurst in the east to Condobolin in the west, Orange in the north to Boorowa in the south.
Joy is no stranger to awards which recognise her devotion to the sport of clay target shooting and other community organisations.
In 2013 she was presented the NSWCTA Inaugural Presidential Medal.
She was also inducted into the NSW Department of Primary Industries Hidden Treasures Honour Roll for 2013 which celebrates women volunteers who give so much to their rural communities.
“I’m very honoured and humbled in accepting it because you do it because you enjoy it,” she said of the Bob Barr Memorial award.
“Like all sports and organisations if you don’t enjoy it you don’t do it and I’ve enjoyed it from the beginning. I enjoy the friendships.
“It is a source of great pride especially when they come out of the blue.
“A lot of it I owe to Noel [Joy’s husband] and my family - without their support you can’t go on. I’m hoping to keep being involved for a while yet.”
Making her commitment to the sport more commendable, Joy has never been keen on pulling the trigger.
Taking an interest when Noel started participating nearly 40 years ago, Joy assisted in the kitchen before filling in while the then current secretary was on maternity leave.
It is a position she hasn’t left.
“I had one shot and my ears rang for a week and I don’t know whether I hit the target or not,” she said.
“So, I was the cartridge carrier and that was my title.
“Our daughter shot [Marilyn - Sportsperson of the Year in 1989/90], she started when she was
about 12.
“Clay target shooting is a very, very friendly sport - it doesn’t matter where you go in Australia.
The friendships that you build up are amazing.
“Noel became involved deeper and deeper as a referee and rules supervisor with the Zone and he was president of the Zone at the time and I took it on. Noel has since resigned and other locals stayed on so I have also.”
Although clay target shooting doesn’t enjoy the high profile of other sports, Joy is quick to point out that it is an Olympic sport and Australia has enjoyed great success on the world stage.
Dual Olympic and multiple Commonwealth Games gold medalist Michael Diamond and the first Australian lady to win Olympic gold for shooting Suzy Balogh have both graced the Cowra traps while Joy names the defeat of another shooting icon as an added memorable moment.
“The highlight of my daughter’s shooting career was when we went to Tasmania for the Nationals and she beat Russell Mark in one event and made the Australian team,” Joy said.
At times, sport shooting has received a bad wrap, but Joy is confident in the product.
“In Victoria, shooting is a school sport - most people who take up shooting are well aware of the consequences of not using the equipment properly,” Joy adds.
“If they fall into bad hands that’s when accidents happen - in the right people’s hands under control everything is fine.
“To my knowledge, we have never had an accident in clay target shooting - there are rules and if the rules aren’t obeyed then people aren’t welcome. It’s an Olympic sport and a family sport - it is not just for adults and men - juniors, ladies, men and veterans can all compete.”
A fervent paper and pen advocate, Joy explains the sport has moved with the times and she is reluctantly making steps also.
“There are more ladies shooting now which is really great - Marilyn started as a junior and progressed to senior ranks and some other girls are doing the same thing,” she said.
“Like everything it modernizes a bit, such as automated clay target releasers and computers, but the basics are still there. I’m a pen pusher, but I’m learning.”
And in many ways, Joy is now relying on the friendships formed over the years at the club to help on other levels.
“Noel has Parkinsons and it is an outlet for him,” she said.
“We have gun club every month and it is something he looks forward to - chatting with people that he knows and getting out of the house and that regular routine, he enjoys those outings.
“He’s disappointed that he can’t shoot of course, but he was quite proud when we had the Charity Shoot for Parkinsons NSW and Marilyn came and had a shoot. The shooting fraternity is wonderful and they raised $4000.”
So, after more than three decades on a committee filling an executive position, what advice does Joy have for those that baulk at being involved?
“You have to have a good committee which we have and have had for years, since I have been involved they have worked together. Everyone knows what they have to do and they get in there and do it,” she said.
“You rely on a lot of good people and you can’t operate without the support. People have different expertise in areas and it is a matter of working with those strengths.
“If a decision is made that you don’t agree with, then you have to move on and work for the betterment of the club and that’s the way I think everything works for us and at Zone level it seems to be the same.
“We might disagree wholeheartedly at a meeting, but majority rules and you have to make that decision work.
“A club can’t run without a committee - get in at the base - even if you just come to meetings and go from there and see how you go. Find out how things are going and how things run.
“Being on the committee is not that daunting, if you know the club is looking for a president or treasurer you may put off being involved for fear of getting that job, but every club needs the workers on a committee which is entering from the base level - if they feel they can add to it and take on an executive position then they can think about it in the future.”
Stellar secretary, dancer, teacher, loving wife and mother, community advocate and non-stop contributor.
Joy Dwight is all of the above and a fitting recipient of the 2013-14 Bob Barr Memorial Award.
Congratulations.