Joy Reid has been named the 2021 Vanessa Dempsey Award recipient for her significant contribution to the engagement and support of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander netball participants and communities.
Fondly known as Nanna Joy, she has been a significant support for the Koonibba Netball Club for as long as it has been around, while also supporting the football club.
Without fail, she attends every Game Day, supporting the girls at the club, even when they travel. For the past 26 years, Nanna Joy has handed out socks to the little subbies (GO) girls each week and been a voice of support and comfort for every player at the club.
Her positive words at the end of each match brings smiles to everyone’s faces as she tells them how proud she is of them.
Not only does she encourage the girls within the club, Nanna Joy is also there to support Aboriginal girls who play for other clubs.
During finals, she is always first to arrive and last to leave, and there’s no doubt many players look forward to seeing her at their games.
Considering everything she does for her community and the impact she has had on the Aboriginal netballers around her, Joy is an incredibly worthy recipient of the 2021 Vanessa Dempsey Award.
Award Criteria
- Any individual, netball community group, Association or Club is eligible.
- The nominee has made significant contribution in engaging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the netball community.
- The nominee supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through the sport of netball.
- The nominee has developed opportunities, competitions or programs for inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
- Applications must provide evidence of consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and/or communities to ensure the initiative meets the needs of the community.
- A nominee may only receive this award once.
