His daughter, Samantha, had only a few words to describe it.

“He bloody well deserves it. He’s an awesome dad, I couldn’t ask for a better dad,” Miss Rath said.

Mr Rath has worked with the Orange Softball Association to bring Kandooz, softball for all abilities to the city.

“It’s a lot of fun, our motto is, ‘what we can do we will show you but it doesn’t matter what we can’t do’,” Miss Rath said.

Mr Rath said he brought the program to Orange after visiting Sydney for a softball trial for another daughter.

It was there Miss Rath spotted the program now running in Orange.

“She had a go and came back and said she wanted to run it here,” he said.

“We try to make it as fun as possible for the kids.

“There’s no outs, they all get to bat and then switch around.”

Mr Rath said the award came with a $100 grant which he said go straight into ensuring Kandooz continues.

Each Saturday 25 people from Orange, Dubbo and Bathurst arrive at Sir Jack Brabham Park to play.

Member for Orange Phil Donato said he enjoyed being able to provide acknowledgement and recognition for deserving volunteers.

“It’s great to see people who volunteer their time for such a great cause,” Mr Donato said.

“I’m only too happy to support these awards, present them and spend some time with them.”