Barts Named Queensland Volunteer of the Year

Western Magpies/Sherwood stalwart and Life Member David "Barts" Bartlett was named the QAFL Volunteer of the Year and then capped it off as being also named the Queensland Volunteer of the Year for the whole state.

Barts was nominated by Western Magpies Coach Brydan Morgan who recognised the amount of work Barts does for the club.

It is all for the love of the Magpies and ''the game" for Barts.

The QAFL citation included that Barts "has been involved with the Magpies for over 35 years and he has always put his hand up to do anything to help the club".

In recent seasons he has run the BBQ on match days with "Bart's Burgers" famous as the best in the QAFL.

He cleans and maintains the club surrounds to make the area as clean and presentable as possible, he cleans changerooms several times per week after training and matches and helps with ground maintenance. He also assists with junior training although this has been restricted recently by a degenerative left hip which had him limping quite significantly in the past year.  He is now recovering from hip replacement surgery in the past 3 weeks which hopefully will have him back as good as new again soon.

Barts has coached in various capacities in his time for the club, coaching the Sherwood Reserves in 1983.

He was recognised within the club with the conferring of Life Membership in 2014.

He has also had a long involvement with schoolboys AFL in the western suburbs and still helps out at school level local football and at regional and state carnivals.

He is a passionate AFL and Chelmer man and is a legend at Powenyenna Oval.

He was a seriously good athlete and footballer as a young man and when the Magpies conferred the Life Membership on him in 2014, Barts was not present to receive his badge.

He was in Melbourne receiving a Life Membership of Ivanhoe Athletics Club which just indicates that Barts is a bloke who loves his sport and gives far more than he has ever received.

It might not sound like a lot, but within minutes of Barts award being uploaded to the Western Magpies Facebook page he had over 160 likes and well over 40 comments.

This is a small sample but it indicates the esteem that the very likeable David "Barts" Bartlett is held in at the Magpies but also in the wider AFL community.

And how could you not love that crooked smile that is always on his face.

You beauty, Barts!!!