Elaine named BT Volunteer of the Month

The third BT Volunteer of the Month award was awarded to Elaine Martin of East Kilbride for her hard work and the enthusiasm she meets every task with at the club.Elaine, aged 45, first became involved with the club as a keen supporter regularly coming out to watch her son play for East Kilbride.She quickly volunteered her services and is now a coach, secretary, fixture organiser and involved in organising social events at the clubhouse.One of Elaine’s largest contributions to East Kilbride was her determination, and now success, at starting a girls’ section which currently boasts 30 members.Elaine’s coaching role goes beyond training her girls’ for matches, as she also worked with the committee to transform a disused room in the clubhouse into a female changing room, with hopes of this facility cementing girls’ and women’s rugby at East Kilbride.On receiving her award, Elaine said: “I have been involved with East Kilbride for over ten years and have seen the numbers of children participating grow considerably.I love to see the kids develop through rugby and it’s very satisfying to see them progress to senior rugby. This year has been especially rewarding as we have managed to set up a girls’ team.”It’s not just the girls’ section that Elaine concerns herself with – she recently organised a sponsor’s/patron’s lunch, catering for more than 80 people, which raised thousands for East Kilbride’s Academy players.This coach-come-social convener also triples up to be East Kilbride’s membership secretary and is also the club’s contact for all midi conference fixtures, which includes reporting all the midi results to Scottish Rugby.On top of this, Elaine recently overseen the design of the new team strip at all age grades and still manages to find time to turn out to watch her son play for the U16s.Elaine added: “The future is looking bright for East Kilbride, with volunteers and parents wanting to get involved because they can see the club is constantly investing in their coaches and facilities to keep moving the club forward.East Kilbride is a great family club and our emphasis is on the children having fun and enjoying within the sport. It’s just great to be a part of it all.”Winners of the BT Club Volunteer of the Month award are invited to BT Murrayfield to attend the annual Scottish Rugby Club Awards Dinner. They will also receive up to£500 towards travel and accommodation to enable them to attend and can invite up to nine friends. To nominate your club, volunteer or try of the month for January, please click here.