Special honour on the menu for Townsville greyhounds volunteer

By Andrew Smith

The Olsen name has been synonymous with greyhound racing in Townsville for decades, but it is the contribution of a family member away from the track that is now earning all the plaudits.

Judy Olsen’s dedication to the greyhound industry in the North Queensland city has been recognised with Racing Queensland’s Cheer A Volunteer award.

The 75-year-old was a regular smiling face in the canteen at the track at the Townsville Greyhound Racing Club for around 20 years until earlier this year.

Judy first got involved in the greyhound racing game through brother-in-law Glen Olsen.

Her late father-in-law Joe Olsen and late husband Robert were also legendary dog men in the region's greyhound caper.

“We had our first dog in 1979 - her name was Future Income, and that came from the parents-in-law, and she had three litters of puppies and they were all winners,” Judy said.

“One of them called Victory King was in the Australian Cup for the dogs down there in Melbourne.

“We'd also won two Townsville Cups: one with Owey and one with Michelangelo, and a Cairns Cup.

“They all were winners that we had and then in 2000, I decided that I would start up the food here at the track.”

Judy ran the canteen at the Townsville Showgrounds track on race days, cooking and preparing all the food to ensure trainers, handlers and race patrons would be far from hungry or thirsty.

She also washed and fixed the rugs for the dogs and made the trophy rugs for several years while involved at the track.

With the club going through some financial hardship, Judy recalled how she refused to be paid for her role at the track.

“I didn't charge for the sweets, and everything was donated for the first 18 months, I made sure of that,” Judy said.

“After that the president said, ‘I think we better start paying her’ and I said ‘Well, if you want to pay me, I don't want to do it.’

“I said I was doing this for the club because at that time the money was just not here.

“I told my husband I want to do this for the club because at that time it was really struggling.”

Former Townsville Greyhound president Gary Heath paid homage to Judy’s work ethic and generosity during her time at the club.

Heath said the stalwart had been well and truly deserving of receiving a Life Membership in recent years.

“Judy went to the extreme - she even bought all her own ingredients to do all the catering, and she'd never accept any money from the club,” Heath said.

“She donated all that food herself and everything…without her we wouldn't have made the profits that we made.

“We would have struggled to get done what we needed to get done without her bringing all the money into the club by her volunteering with the catering.

“I was lucky in my time that I had so many volunteers do so many things, but none more so than Judy.

“She went above and beyond with everything that she did.”

Judy was a mainstay at the track for around 15 years, before stepping away from her raceday duties.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, she made a return to the canteen before hanging up the apron for good just after the Townsville Show in July this year.

While stepping away from the role, Judy is still helping out around the track handling dogs for other trainers before and after races.

“I just love being here, I love the club,” Judy said.

“When I wasn't doing the food, it was really upsetting me - I'd come over and I'd think ‘I should be up there serving food,’ but they had other people.

“I'm just here for the club and if they need anything done, I’m here to do it – I can even drive the tractor if they want but that ain’t going to happen (laughs).”

Judy believes the club is going from strength to strength, with RQ recently commencing a trial of 14-race cards at Townsville meetings held on Tuesdays.

But she said the need for volunteers would always be crucial to ensure the code continues to thrive in the tropics.

“Which club doesn’t run without volunteers? None of them really,” Judy said.

“I love the camaraderie with a lot of people - some people can be a little bit funny, as in they don't understand some of the things about the dogs.

“I'm very forward - if I think something's going on, I will say something because otherwise nothing gets done (laughs).

“But I love the club, I love coming over here and I like helping people - it's just me.”

Clubs are encouraged to nominate their valued volunteers for the award, which is sponsored by Mittys.

State-wide, there are more than 8,300 volunteers who make an invaluable contribution to the industry, providing their time and expertise to sustain Queensland’s three codes of racing.

Click here for more information on Cheer A Volunteer and to nominate.