ASHLEY Donaldson has seen them all come through his basketball programs over the years.<\/p>\n
From NBA stars like Matthew Dellavedova and Dyson Daniels to the elite of the AFL including Dyson Heppell and \u201cbest of the lot\u201d Scott Pendlebury.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s Mr Donaldsons\u2019 service to local basketball and athletes in general that saw him awarded a medal in the Order of Australia Medal on 26 January.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an honour he said he never dreamt of receiving, but he is thrilled to be alive to see it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know how people say I dreamed of winning this or that, well this had never entered my mind,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI used to see who won the sporting medals and a lot of them had deceased next to their name, and I always thought I hope never have deceased next to my name if an award comes out in the paper.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, at the moment I am shortening to be here on the day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Donaldson has a long service record when it comes to local sporting programs.<\/p>\n
He has been part of the Bendigo Jockey Club for over 50 years and is a member of the Bendigo Sportsman Association.<\/p>\n
Sports administration is something Mr Donaldson always had an affinity for.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy wife hated me going to a meeting,\u201d he said. \u201cI would come home, and I\u2019d be president or in some other role. I\u2019ve always been an organiser.<\/p>\n
However, it\u2019s basketball where Mr Donaldson has had the greatest impact, working for Basketball Victorian Country from 1996 to 2011.<\/p>\n
He was also a board member of the Bendigo Braves from 1985 to 1996 and was on the formation committee of WNBL side the Bendigo Spirit.<\/p>\n
Mr Donaldson\u2019s involvement in basketball all comes to down to happenstance he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I came to Bendigo in 1960, I had a couple of clubs chasing me for footy, Eaglehawk and South Bendigo were a couple but anyway Golden Square got me a job,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 1960 they had a A-Grade team in the summer basketball comp, which was more or less footballers keeping fit and they asked if I wanted to play.<\/p>\n
\u201cHad I of signed for one of the other clubs I may never have played basketball and may never have been involved in the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ASHLEY Donaldson has seen them all come through his basketball programs over the years. From NBA stars like Matthew Dellavedova and Dyson Daniels to the elite of the AFL including Dyson Heppell and \u201cbest of the lot\u201d Scott Pendlebury. It\u2019s Mr Donaldsons\u2019 service to local basketball and athletes in general that saw him awarded a […]<\/p>\n