Penola’s Ken Batt got a huge surprise when he was presented with the Australian Government Volunteer award 2023 for his services at the Penola Bowling Club.

Mr Batt has been a volunteer of the club for almost two decades and was awarded life membership last year.

However, he had no inkling about the latest recognition.

“I did not know anything about it,” Mr Batt said.

“The Penola club secretary Norman Vaughan and myself had visited Tony Pasin’s office talking about what grants were available on a few occasions and this particular day he said to me come for a ride to the Mount, we will go and see Tony again.

The pair headed off and went to the Member for Barker’s office and saw names on the table.

“I said to Norman my name is there, but where is yours,” Mr Batt said.

It was not until Mr Pasin addressed the gathering and spoke about how important volunteers are in the community that Mr Batt realised what was going on.

“I was the first person to be called up and still in shock but very proud to receive the certificate,” he said.

“This certificate is not just for me, it is for all the volunteers at the bowling club.

“We have done a lot of work at the bowling club over recent times and it would not have been possible without volunteer help.

“I am just the driver of the works.”

One of the projects he has been involved with was replacing grass at the eastern and western ends of the green with pavers some four years ago, with the northern end completed just recently to complement the new shade cover.

“To keep the grass looking good it was very time consuming and now we also are saving on water.

“The pavers are also much safer for bowlers, especially for the older members and aesthetically it looks fantastic,” Mr Batt said.

The club’s annual meeting was held recently with Maria Hunter being elected president, Mr Vaughan secretary and Chris Skeer treasurer.

It is the off season now until September however meals will be available on the second Friday of each month at the bowling club.