HILLS HORNETS LIFE MEMBERS
Life Membership is the highest honour that Hills Basketball Association can award its members. Life Membership recognises players, coaches, technical officials or volunteers who have contributed to the promotion and growth of basketball in the Hills District. A person awarded life membership, is recognition for their contribution over an extended period (10 years) where they have worked to foster the partnership and development of basketball at an elite and / or grass roots level. Through a contributor’s participation they have demonstrated an invaluable service to the sport for the Hills Basketball Association.
Angus Wildblood
1985Angus Wildblood
Angus Wildblood joins the Association, becoming a member of the first Senior team ever to represent the Hornets. Since then, he has been a constant in the sport and an active volunteer in our community. Angus has been a court announcer at our Senior games since the early days, and remains a part of our NBL1 game day. Angus became a life member in 2019.
Richard Slowgrove
1986Richard Slowgrove
Richard Slowgrove’s involvement with Hills Basketball began in 1986 when he and his son, Rick, walked into the courts at Valentine Park, Parklea. Soon enough, his wife Barb was collecting door fees and Richard found himself on a sub-committee. Richard progressed from the Referee Committee to the Board, eventually filling the role of President. Richard and his family played an active role in the transition to the new stadium in 1995 and he was made a Life member in 2007.
Janet Blanch
1987Janet Blanch
Janet Blanch became a part of the community in1987, supporting her daughters, Tanya & Nicole. When government delays slowed progress on the new stadium, Janet personally contacted (and charmed) every Politician, Local Government Councilor & State Governemnt Minister to help lobby for the Hills Basketball Stadium. Janet then sat on the Board as President until her retirement in 1997.
Evan Bennett
1989Evan Bennett
Evan Bennett joins the club, taking on roles as a local competition and Representative coach from 1989 – 2007. In his time at HBA, Evan has been a board member, the club Vice President and coached in the National Wheelchair Basketball League. Many Hornets who have been coached by Evan remember him fondly as the best coach they’ve ever had. Evan became a life member in 2008.
Ros Graham
1987Ros Graham
Russell and Ros Graham join the Hornets community in 1989, with Ros looking to continue refereeing somewhere close to home. Over the next 35 years, they have seen all three of their sons, Tim, Nick & Ben, evolve as players, officials and coaches, all graduating from our Representative program. Ros has won Scoretable Person of the year many times. Russell has been a coach, board member, President and even a player in our over 40’s representative competition. Both Russell and Ros have donated countless hours to making Hills Basketball better. Russell became a life member in 2018 and Ros followed in 2020.
Russell Graham
1987Russell Graham
“I started playing basketball when I was 10 years old in a small Queensland town. My journey brought me to Sydney, where HBA has allowed me to continue my love of basketball and has been part of my family’s journey over many decades. I have been able to rub shoulders with many caring, energetic and dedicated people in a friendly environment. HBA has always been a community oriented organisation, nurturing our young people in a safe space, giving them confidence and turning them into leaders. ”
Trish Nicholls
1995Trish Nicholls
Trish & Steve Nicholls joined the club in 1995. Trish initially started as a Referee and Referee Instructor, whilst Steve was coaching their daughter Olivia’s local competition team. Eventually, both become leaders in our officials community. Steve was a member of the Hills Board, a position he held for 20 years, 10 of which as Club President. Trish completed her first statisticians qualification at Hills Basketball, which evolved into something much bigger than she had anticipated. She sat at the score bench for almost all of Hills Hornets home games from 1998 until her retirement in 2023, expanding into roles at the Sydney Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games and over 20 years on the NBL panel. Steve became a life member in 2015, quickly followed by Trish in 2016.
Steve Nicholls
1995Steve Nicholls
” I am particularly proud of being involved in nurturing young Hills officials, many of whom have gone on to become very successful in their careers. Hills Basketball Association has won the BNSW Referee Program of the year many times thanks to the support that Steve Burke and the Hills board give every year. ”
Allen Dean
1995Allen Dean
Allen Dean began his career at HBA in the mid-90s, and in over 25 years at the club, Allen has officiated at the local competition, representative, State League and SEABL level. Allen also held roles as a supervisor and administrator in our Officials department, where he introduced and implemented the Green Shirt program that still remains today. Allen still officiates local competition games now, at 73 years old, whilst his 2 grandsons have started playing in our local competition. Allen became a life member in 2024.
Lauretta Claus
1995Lauretta Claus
Having been a part of the sport since 1976, Lauretta Claus joined HBA in the 90s when her children, Michael and Emma, threw themselves enthusiastically into being Hills Hornets. Lauretta was welcomed into the Hills family as a manager, coach, referee and most notably, as a statistician. The preeminent position HBA holds in the stats community, acknowledged as amongst the best in Australia, is due in no small part to Lauretta as she has trained and mentored the majority of statisticians in NSW. Lauretta has deservedly received just about every accolade on offer for her work in this area, and became a life member in 2019.
Kathleen Parker
1995Kathleen Parker
Kathleen Parker dates her involvement with Hills Basketball back to the mid 90s with two and eventually three of her children representing the Hornets in Junior Reps. Kathleen put her hand up to help to the extent that in a year she describes as her most challenging and fulfilling, she found herself managing both a junior and a senior Representative team. Kathleen was involved in starting up the basketball programs at both Tangara and Redfield and still plays a large role in the clubs all these years later. Kathleen was named as both the BNSW Volunteer of the Year and made a life member in 2016.
Julieann Vella
1995Julieann Vella
Julianne Vella started her time with HBA in the mid-90s with her children, finding herself as manager, and occasionally coach, of teams ranging from Biddyball to Reps. In the early 00s, Julianne helped to establish the St Bernadette’s Primary School club which still enjoys a presence in our annual tournaments. In 2008, Julianne took her involvement to another level, becoming the Basketball Coordinator for Oakhill College, which was then and remains now, one of the largest clubs at Hills Basketball. Julianne became a life member in 2024.
Mike Brotherson
1995Mike Brotherson
Mike Brotherson’s involvement with HBA began when his sons, Paul and Mitch, first took to the sport. From day one, Mike’s friendly, helpful nature made him the obvious choice as team manager. Always keen to be involved as his boys progressed through the ranks, Mike added the coaching string to his bow. Mike continued to play local competition and even donned the Hornets uniform, playing in the Rep Masters competition. Mike was always the first one to put his hand up and assist the Association and while most parent involvement dwindles once their children move on, this was not the case with Mike. He continued an active involvement with HBA through his valuable contribution as part of our scoretable crew. Unfortunately Mike was taken from us far too soon and passed away in April 2019. His contribution to HBA was recognised in 2020 when he was posthumously awarded life membership.
Jann Partyka
1999Jann Partyka
Jann Partyka began her employment for HBA in 1999, after being involved in school clubs within our local competition since ‘95. From then, she drove the expansion of our local competition to the largest in NSW and set the foundations for the association to become what it is today. Jann has always been a perfectionist and her work at Hills Basketball is no exception. She always dreamed of writing a book entitled ‘The Rocky Road’, containing all the crazy stories of her time as Competitions Manager. Since her retirement in 2019, Jann remains a close friend to many in our community. Jann became a life member in 2015.
Mitzi Crawford
1996Mitzi Crawford
Mitzi Crawford joins the club, playing summer local competition with her friends from netball. After winning more than a few A Grade local competitions, she started coaching in the HBA Representative program in 2003. Since then, she has coached for about 14 years, winning the HBA Coach of the Year in both 2012 and 2016. Mitzi has been involved in our development as an associaiton as a committee member involved in the stadium extension project and the I Am A Girl program, as well as a board member. Mitzi became a life member in 2016.
Michelle & Pat Mahony
1996Michelle & Pat Mahony
Michelle and Pat Mahony have their first experience at HBA in 1996, as their son Alex began to play. Little did they know that it would become their second home for the next 22 years. In that time, they managed various teams, even after their children were no longer playing. Their dedication and willingness to help in any way they could, earnt them a spot as life members in 2017. Their personal highlight from their time here was managing the State League Championship team in 2014.
Richard Howard
1996Richard Howard
After coaching for some time at Parramatta, Richard Howard was recruited by Delmas Green to coach for the Hornets in 1996. Since then, Richard has been involved in both Junior and Senior teams, and while this was mostly in the Men’s program, he’s particularly proud of his 100% win record when filling in for Delmas in the U18 Women. Richard has coached State teams, Youth League and NBL1 alike, finding in recent years that his most rewarding work is lending his extensive knowledge to developing Junior athletes in lower divisions. Richard’s highlights include his 2003 undefeated season, with AJ Ogilvy, and his 2013 U18 State Championship against all odds. Richard became a life member in 2015.
Ron Josephs
1997Ron Josephs
Ron Josephs has been an active referee at Hills Basketball since 1997 and joined the representative ranks in 2000. In 2001 Ron was first appointed to the National Wheelchair League panel, where he remains an active member in 2024. Ron has contributed over 25 years to our Referee program and was made a life member in 2024.
Emils Duselis
1997Emils Duselis
Emils Duselis joined the club, successfully making his first U12 Representative team. From there, he started his illustrious playing career with the Hills Hornets, that included captaining several teams and general super stardom. For reference, Emils won his first banner in 1997 as an U12 Sydney Junior Champion and his latest in 2022 as a Waratah League Champion. Emils has had roles as a sponsor, board member and coach to his children who have now begun their journey in our Representative program. Emils became a life member in 2018.
Janice & Jim Roditis
1997Janice & Jim Roditis
Janice and Jim Roditis joined HBA when their eldest daughter Anita was just 6 years old. That was around the time that Jim’s local competition team ‘The Gunners’ made their move from Parramatta to Castle Hill. A team which is still going strong in 2024. Whilst Janice was a star employee, Jim managed and coached over 20 seasons, before joining the staff at HBA himself. Jim became a life member in 2017, closely followed by Janice in 2019.
Mike Eastaway
1998Mike Eastaway
Mike Eastaway originally joined HBA as a netball umpire back in 1998 but quickly saw the light and joined the ranks of basketball referees. By 2000, he had progressed to state level and won the Hornets Referee of the Year. Throughout the 2000s, Mike was officiating on junior and senior Rep games across the state, all while continuing to commit to several nights of local comp refereeing. Off the court, Mike served on the HBA Tribunal from 2003 to 2010 including a stint as Chairman. Even in 2024, Mike continues to rank amongst our most active local competition referees.
Joanne Taylor
2000Joanne Taylor
Joanne Taylor’s personality has shone through since the first day she walked through the doors of Hills Basketball Stadium with her daughter Aidan, in 2000. Friendly and outgoing, she immediately also proved herself to be helpful, volunteering to assist in any way she could. Following a familiar path, Jo was coach, team manager and mother figure to several of her daughter’s local comp teams before moving into the role of Rep team manager. Jo took on both paid and volunteer roles for HBA, well after her daughter had stopped playing and is probably best known as the face of Hills on Rep days, greeting Hornets and visiting teams alike as if they were guests in her home. Jo became a life member in 2020.
Brent Walkerden
2000Brent Walkerden
Brent Walkerden first joined HBA as a local competition player in 2000 after 20+ years at Parramatta, which later extended to representing the Hornets as a Master. Brent’s Rep coaching career began as a fill in back in 2002 but it wasn’t long before he was a permanent fixture in the coach’s chair. Over the next 20 years, Brent has coached in every age group in both boys’ and girls’ divisions. Brent has been an independent coach for several seasons now and has inspired the next generation with his daughter, Kiera, also joining the Hornets coaching ranks. Brent became a Life Member in 2022.
Paul Nelson
2004Paul Nelson
Paul Nelson joined the HBA ranks as a committee member in 2004. It was in his second year that he took over as Treasurer, where he remained for 11 years. After a few years in retirement, Paul was asked to come back for another 2 year stint, to round out a 13 year commitment to HBA. Paul considers his biggest achievement in that time, along with the other Committee members, was getting the additional two courts and stadium built and help make Hills the best Basketball Association in NSW, if not Australia.
