Ocean Grove Barwon Heads (OGBH) Lions Club has presented Barwon Heads resident Rob Kuebler with the John Brady Community Services Award for his contributions to the local area.
Mr Kuebler received the award primarily for his many years of volunteer work at the Barwon Estuary Heritage Centre, also known as the Lobster Pot, where he provides education on the area’s unique coastal marine environment to visitors and school groups.
The award celebrates the life of long-time OGBH Lions member and former president John Brady, who died in 2019 after serving for many years as a pillar of the Ocean Grove and Barwon Heads community.
Lions Club member John Claringbold, who is responsible for overseeing the award each year, said Mr Brady was fondly remembered as “a bit of a character”.
“He was a joker, a storyteller; he always had a lot of laughs and had a lot of cheek,” Mr Claringbold said.
“He was one of those people who was a backbone of the club. So in awarding the John Brady Community Service Award we look for people or organisations that are part of our community and contribute to the community in various ways.”
Mr Claringbold said Mr Kuebler’s work at the Lobster Pot and the Barwon Heads Film Society, which he runs with his wife, epitomised the values John Brady lived by.
“I’ve known Rob a long time, he’s a very friendly and outward-going bloke, and he’s always been an active member of the local community,” Mr Claringbold said.
“His contributions at the Lobster Pot, educating and informing about the conservation of the marine environment, and also with the Film Society, have been significant.”
