Denise Hinton awarded Charles Valentine Medal

Bankstown City FC’s loyal serving and influential female administrator Denise Hinton was awarded one of the biggest honours at this year’s Football NSW’s Gold Medal Dinner with the coveted Charles Valentine Award.

Denise Hinton epitomises everything that the Charles Valentine Medal stands for.

She is a volunteer who has been operating all aspects of Bankstown City FC National Premier Leagues NSW Women’s program for the past 6 years.

Denise is almost like another Charles Valentine.

She contributes between 30-40 hours of volunteering a week, for 40 weeks a year, doing all things for her beloved Bankstown City FC NPL NSW Women’s including:

• Acting as Women’s Football Convener, professionally, efficiently and kindly interacting with Football NSW and other clubs
• Coordinating all Club volunteers and managers for match day operations
• Organising functions and fundraisers
• Working in the canteen on every match day, cutting rolls and serving customers, and re-stocking for no reward
• Setting up the field and then cleaning change-rooms, grandstands and club rooms at the end of a match-day
• Always being an open ear to more than 40 senior NPL Women’s players, listening to concerns, providing solutions, and being there as everybody’s second mum.
• Doing all club registrations and administration
• Dealing with the concerns of parents and finding solutions
• Donating food and drinks to players for training sessions and match days.
• Driving players to games and training when transport is not available.
• Buying players new boots and equipment to ensure they had it and didn’t feel left out.

Denise’s outstanding contribution comes from a very noble place.

Her main motivation is seeing the club continually progress its standing in Women’s football, seeing players progress from juniors into First Grade, or onto bigger and better things like the Matildas.

She has presided over the Club being promoted from the third tied to a now established top tier Womens club in just 5 years.

As members of the football community would know, Denise is the first to arrive at every training session and match day, and the last to leave.

She never seeks accolades, never seeks attention or recognition, she always just works and delivers. She rides every goal in every age group, and nobody is happier than Denise when the club song is screamed out loud on the field.

Denise is a single mother who is continuing to raise four children.

She is had a difficult year, experiencing the death of both her father and former husband. Despite these setbacks, Denise still put every fibre in her body to ensure that business as normal continued for Bankstown City FC to have a successful season in 2019.

A volunteer like Denise is impossible to find, a person who does what they do for the love of the sport and club. A volunteer with no personal interest or agenda.

A volunteer who goes above and beyond, every single time, even in face of personal adversity.

Football NSW would like to congratulate Denise Hinton on receiving such an accolade.