Integral and prominent Inverell Highlander Heath Roberts was awarded a life membership at the club's annual general meeting (AGM) on Saturday.
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Having played rugby in Newcastle and with the Tamworth Pirates prior to moving to Inverell, Roberts wanted to continue his union involvement.
Straight after settling in, he attended an Inverell Highlanders committee meeting in 2004 and has been a huge part of the club ever since.
"When I moved to Inverell, I didn't want to play at the time, I was after a little break but I still wanted to be involved and that's why I joined," he said.
However, before long Roberts took the field in his green Highlanders gear as an outstanding reserve grade winger and third grade hooker.
Off-field, the stalwart has worn both president and vice-president hats, as well as founder of the Northern Inland 4x4 Caravan, Fishing and Camping Expo.
Held annually for four years, the expo was hosted at Rugby Park as an fundraiser and exciting event for the town.
"Due to drought conditions, the tough economic climate and no money going around, we didn't run it the past two years but Louise [Wilson] is taking that on next year and it'll be up and running. I'll be assisting her," he said.
During his time with the club, a number of Roberts' highlights including adding major infrastructure to the grounds.
Additional land for a third field, investing in quality electrical work, exterior fencing and irrigation for the second field were among those.
"We put in a lot of key infrastructure, mostly to enable the grounds to hold special events like the expo," he said.
As for the life membership announcement, Roberts said it wasn't something he ever expected but felt honoured to receive.
"A life membership isn't given out day to day, it's one of those things that are a huge honour to have. The Highlanders Club is like my second family," he said.
Looking to the future, Roberts said he was quietly confident the 2020 season would be a strong one for the Highlanders.
With Wilson taking on the reins as Club President, many things have been in the work behind the scenes to tackle players numbers and coaching staff.
"Looks like we'll have good, quality players and our coaching strength will be huge with Red staying on board, he is a great coach from New Zealand.
"They say 'if you haven't got cattle, you're not going to do any good', but this year it looks like we'll have the cattle. I think it's going to be a very competitive year, hopefully the club can do Inverell proud," he said.
Wilson was announced 2020 club president along side Jock Barnett as vice-president. Both thanked outgoing president Roly King, for his dedication over the last two years.
