Now he can add a Medal of the Order of Australia to his tally.
Mick was honoured on the King’s Birthday last week with an OAM for a lifetime of community service to Corowa.
From night meetings and gate duties at the local footy club, to the Corowa Picnic Race Club, for so long Mick has been the man that just gets it done.
His son Dave is proud of his dad and said Mick’s consistency over such a long period of time giving to the community had left a mark on Corowa that few could match.
“Dad’s not a man who ever sought the spotlight,” Dave said.
“He's a man who simply rolled up his sleeves and got on with the job.
“As a kid, I remember him heading out to meetings many nights each week, counting the takings from the football club home matches and wrapping up coins in brown paper bank rolls before coin-counting machines were invented.
“Because that's what the club needed, Dad just got it done.”
Mick’s life memberships of the Corowa Football Club, Tennis Club and Picnic Race Club speak for themselves.
His involvement in the Coreen and District Football Association, the Catholic Church, and the Corowa Golf Club, where he served on the board and played a key role in steering the club through serious fiscal challenges, tell the same story; a man embedded in the fabric of his community, giving more than he ever took.
A man of few words, Mick said it was a nice feeling to receive an OAM.
“I don’t look for accolades, but when they come along they’re nice,” Mick said.
“It’s just about being involved in the clubs.
“You partake in the sport, and it just follows on from that.”
Arty Warhurst volunteered with Mick at the footy club in the late 60s and early 70s, helping him form a social committee when the club was running low on money in the years after the 1968 grand final win.
Arty said there was no better person to be treasurer than Mick Kelly.
“Mick did everything by the book; everything had to be accounted for; he was very black and white like that,” Arty said.
“He was treasurer on all the committees back then, and he was always working around the club.
“Mick was always a highly respected man in the community.”
Now in his 80s, Mick’s sporting days are behind him, but he’s still a supporter and member of the Corowa Rutherglen Football Club and can still be seen around the clubhouse.
Congratulations Mick Kelly OAM, for an honour well deserved.
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