Rick Rolff nearly fell over when Port Macquarie Surf Life Saving Club recognised his half-century commitment to the club on March 11.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
And it had nothing to do with his knee replacement surgery three weeks ago as they named their new surfboat after the club stalwart.
"I wasn't involved in any of the talks about whose name to put on the boat which created a few suspicions but I didn't realise they had it organised," he said.
"I nearly fell over when they said it."
Rolff admitted it was an "extremely proud" ceremony where his involvement in the club dates back to 1974 when he first joined.
"If I do a patrol next year it means I've done patrols for 50 years in a row. I've been a member of the boat fraternity of our club for that long I just think there was nobody else left," he said.
The club stalwart said it was a show of respect for people that have done hard work over the years and have been "good committee blokes" and good workers for the club.
"You're doing something you love and you don't realise what you do over the years," he said.
"I've been through that many people, boats, sweeps and different personalities... but if you work with them and keep them going in the right direction everything seems to turn out alright."
Despite the honour of now having a club surfboat named after him, his 50-year presence at Flynns Beach will continue for a while yet.
"I had a knee replacement three weeks ago, but I'll keep going the way I've been going," Rolff said.
"I'll just do the same job. It's not something I've aimed for, [but] it's just an honour that they wanted to put a name on it (the boat) for somebody that's done a lot for the club."
IN OTHER NEWS:
