Kevin Douglas has only one memory of his father, Les.
"I can remember him holding up a Waikerie footy guernsey in the living room of our small, asbestos house," he said.
Les Douglas died in a motor vehicle accident near Truro in South Australia 1956.
The accident shocked the township of Waikerie, in the Riverland, where he was a much-loved member of the local football club and community.
It's been nearly seventy years since his passing, but Les' legacy of community service and volunteering, along with the rebuilding of a family faced with such sorrow, has impacted far beyond what his eldest son ever imagined.
"Dad wasn't a top [football] player, but he was a wonderful organiser of social events and things like that," Mr Douglas said.
"He loved the club. And they loved him.
"When he died, the club and townspeople of Waikerie just fell into action — they organised and paid for his funeral, they fundraised to buy my mother and my brother and I a house in Adelaide and they paid for our education.
"That tiny community [at the time], they bandied around mum and us boys. It was just extraordinary."
Now aged 72, Mr Douglas, has been awarded Senior Citizen of the Year for 2024 in Mount Gambier.
"It really hit home — that community support. I guess it rubbed off on me a bit," he said.
Helping those others forgot
Mr Douglas – known by many as KD – has spent more than 50 years volunteering in and around the Mount Gambier community.
He takes pride giving a hand up, "not a hand out", to those most in need.
"The unloved and the unlovely ... people who society tends to avoid or ignore," he said.
"I can give a bit of time, I can give a bit back, and I get a lot of enjoyment from doing it."
Among his many projects, Mr Douglas for years organised an annual community Christmas Day lunch and companionship for hundreds of homeless, lonely or in-need locals in Mount Gambier.
It won Community Event of the Year at the same Australia Day awards this year.
"It's been wonderful. The event was started by local people and I carried it on for a decade because the need is always there, every year," he said.
He also volunteers at Sunset Kitchen in Mount Gambier, providing regular meals for people in need.
"I've met a lot of people – people that I love – and you get to understand their sincerity, just how grateful they are," he said.
"The 'thank you' and the smile on the kids' faces, it's heartwarming."
Teaching kids life skills
A former physical education and maths teacher, Mr Douglas in his working life sought to help students who were at risk of "falling through the cracks".
"When I started teaching I thought I knew everything … and early on, I took a fairly black and white approach because I wanted to get kids as far down the education path as I could get them," he said.
"After a few years I began to get more involved in behaviour management with kids who struggled with school.
"I think we still have people who believe every kid should be able to sit in a classroom for seven lessons a day, five days a week, but that doesn't exist."
He and some of his colleagues offered practical, community-based learning like home economics, everyday maths and volunteering to students "so they could get some confidence and self-worth out in the real world".
"I've had a number of those 'kids' come up to me in the street as adults and just quietly say what that part of their lives meant to them. You can live on those memories," he said.
"And I think that's where a lot of my volunteering emanated from, realising that there's a lot of kids who — if you give them a hand and direct them, and be fairly clear cut — you can make a real difference to the course of their lives.
"Always in the back of my mind, too, has been Waikerie and the drive to give a bit back."
Sport the great leveller for life
Like his father and mother, sport has been a mainstay in Mr Douglas' life.
He has played footy for South Gambier, West Gambier, Kongorong and Western Border Interleague, spent time coaching, and helped swim racehorses for late trucking magnate Allan Scott AO.
Other achievements include hosting a radio sports show, chairing panels for local tribunal boards, including soccer, basketball, baseball, softball and football, emceeing sporting events and decades of volunteering with harness racing and greyhound racing.
"My mum Thelma ensured my brother and I played a lot of sport, and I believe it is so important," he said.
"It has so much to offer — the responsibility, the organisation, the punctuality, all those social skills that are so important, the teamwork, the friendship."
In recent years, Mr Douglas established a "Catch for Cash" fundraising initiative at the Mount Gambier Greyhound Racing Club to raise money for local charitable organisations.
"When COVID hit, I thought there has got to be a way I can see my greyhound run, so I got a handler's licence to be able to go and catch and box," he said.
"Normally handlers get a bit of pocket money, $5 to $10 for going around to catch the dog and walk it back. I didn't need that, so we started a 'Catch for Cash' jar for donations to raise money for local charities and I think we've raised about $28,000 now."
In 2021, Kevin was presented with an Outstanding Service to Industry Award at the Greyhound Racing SA annual awards for his fundraising work and the assistance he provided to the local Quaran Care group.
"I really enjoyed working with the group to make them feel comfortable enough to come and visit the club, join in, and enjoy watching the races on a weekly basis," he said.
"I assisted one young lad to become a licensed handler and it was a real joy to do so."
Light shines amid cancer journey
For the past five years, Mr Douglas has continued his volunteering whilst also travelling to Adelaide for radiotherapy and chemotherapy for prostate cancer.
While the side effects can, at times, sideline him, he said he often reminded himself of his oncologist's advice.
"Early on he told me that my positive approach and the amount of activity I kept up with was better than any medication he could give me," he said.
"And I think that's spot on; you don't give up without a fight."
After the death of his father, Mr Douglas' mother couldn't speak of the accident, so for 60 years he didn't know much about the man so beloved by the Riverland community.
But on receiving his cancer diagnosis, he was ready to finally find out.
"I looked up all the old microfilms, all the old newspapers in Waikerie and Blanchetown at the Adelaide Library. I even met with some of his pallbearers at the funeral, and for the first time in my life I was able to get an understanding of the kind of man dad was," he said.
"He was just a great community person, and it hit home again how important community and companionship is."
Mr Douglas and his brother, Gary, returned to the Waikerie football club a few years ago to make a donation to the club's junior program.
"That's my 'why'. You've got to do what you can to help other people in need," he said.
On receiving his Australia Day award, Mr Douglas said he was humbled.
"It's nice to know my kids are proud," he said.
"And I think somewhere … dad's probably looking on, proud too."