Herald Sun | DECADES after they met at a footy barbecue, Dave and Jan Brown still share a love for their local club — and each other.
The two are among the greatest contributors at Kilcunda-Bass Football Club in South Gippsland.
For years, they have dedicated themselves to the competition, first as footy and netball players before a switch to the kind of roles that help keep the place ticking.
The Kilcunda-Bass Football Club will today host the Herald Sun Foxtel Full-On Footy Tour at which Dave will be honoured as the club’s “local legend”.
Herald Sun journalist Jon Ralph and Fox Footy’s Ben Dixon and David Parkin will be special guests at a family festival at the club’s ground this afternoon and an evening football discussion panel tonight.
Mr Brown said it was a great fundraising opportunity for a club that had been such a significant part of his life.
“For all we have put into this club, we have got just as much out of it,’’ Mr Brown said. “It’s a very special place.’’
Mr Brown first showed up in 1957, serving as a junior boundary umpire before joining the ranks of players the following year.
By the time they met, Mrs Brown was a dedicated netballer who’d cheered her beau from the sidelines. Both earned life memberships.
Mr Brown finally hung up the boots in 1987, as a 43-year-old with 295 games under his belt.
In the years to come, the two were regular volunteers: Mr Brown behind the bar and his wife in the kitchen, helping cater for functions.
“Sometimes we’d sleep on a blow-up bed on the clubroom floor after a long night,’’ Mrs Brown said.
