Kevin’s dedication earns him Paul Harris
Local police youth resource officer leading senior constable Kevin McLaren was recently awarded a Paul Harris Fellow by Warragul Rotary Club.
Paul Harris was the founder of the Rotary movement and Rotary clubs award a Paul Harris Fellow to recognise a community member for their long, continuous and outstanding community service.
Kevin was joined by a number of his work colleagues to receive his award at the surprise presentation at a recent weekly meeting of Warragul Rotary.
After working in both the Australian Navy and Air Force Kevin joined Victoria Police in 1990. He worked as a police officer in Melbourne and the Latrobe Valley before moving to Warragul in 2003.
Sport, whether it is basketball, football or lawn bowls, has been a central part of Kevin McLaren’s community service.
For many years he has been actively involved in administration, coaching and umpiring of basketball at the local, state, national and international levels. He has umpired local basketball matches up to five times a week.
Since 2003 he has been the camp manager for the Australian Country Junior Basketball Cup. In the near future he is going to New Zealand as manager of the Australian under 17 basketball team
Kevin McLaren was the senior vice president of the Yarragon Football Netball Club in 1999 and 2000. Not content to slow down a little and just play Saturday pennant lawn bowls Kevin is the current vice president of the Yarragon Bowling Club.
A strong empathy with young people has seen Kevin spend much of his police work in recent years as a police youth resource officer working with primary and secondary schools, community organizations and sporting clubs.
Kevin had a key role in establishing the Bike Ed Challenge throughout Gippsland and Victoria.
In 2013 Kevin McLaren instigated a drug awareness and education program with a particular focus on the drug ICE. The program has seen Kevin speak at many schools, businesses, work places and community seminars across Gippsland.
In accepting the award Kevin said he was lucky he was able to combine his love of sport and interest in working with young people in his personal, community and working life.