Dedication reaps award

A NEW award named after a dedicated volunteer will be presented annually to a deserving resident in south-east Melbourne.
The Juan Carlos Loyola OAM Award for Community Service is presented by Narre Warren North MP Luke Donnellan and will be given to someone who has shown a long-term dedication to the local community through their volunteer work.
The award is named after Endeavour Hills resident Juan Carlos Loyola OAM, who has worked tirelessly for twenty years with the Doveton Special Soccer School which he founded March 1993. The school gives young people with a disability an opportunity to learn to play soccer. Mr Loyola originally arrived in Australia from Argentina in 1977 and started working with the disabled in 1989. By 1990 he was working with the Special Olympics as the state coach while also playing in the state soccer league for Brunswick.
The Doveton Special Soccer School has been highly successful over the past 20 years, involving hundreds of young people across the south-east in sport.
In the past seven years, 19 players have gone on to represent Australia across the world.
The inaugural award was presented to Mr Loyola on Wednesday 27 March.
The committee for selection of the award in future years will be Mr Donnellan MP, Juan Carlos Loyola and local resident Tricia Clarke.