They will do this until the dry season begins - then Ms Schefe coaches two local secondary netball teams and umpires for the Katherine Netball Association while also devoting many hours each week to being secretary and treasurer of the Katherine Rugby League Club.

And she loves every minute of it.

"It's very rewarding to help organisations," Ms Schefe said.

"It's good feeling that you can actually help somebody, or help a community and help a club to function and run the program for the season or for years."

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Not only does it feel good, but volunteering is essential for everyone in the community, Ms Schefe believes.

"If we don't have the volunteers, you don't have the club," she said.

"It doesn't matter whether it's a sporting event, or it's a community event. Without them - what do the kids do? What do people do?

"It's very important to have volunteers, I think, in any town, whether it's in Katherine, big cities, or small towns."

Ms Schefe became involved with the Katherine Rugby League Club after moving to the region from north Queensland 13 years ago.

"We were living out on a station, and the kids were keen to do sport, so we went to sign up my eldest son with the rugby league club, and they were looking for some volunteers, and that is how I started," she said.

"The people involved with the committee were great, and they became good friends, and the kids enjoyed playing rugby, so I stayed on."

That was a decade ago, and this year she is one of six nominees from Katherine who, along with 43 others, are vying for a Top End NT Volunteer of the Year Award.

There are eight categories in the Top End section of the NT Volunteer of the Year Awards: Chief Minister's Volunteer of the Year Award; Chief Minister's Youth Volunteer of the Year Award; Chief Minister's Emergency Services Volunteer of the Year Award; Study NT International Student Volunteer of the Year Award; Community Volunteer Organisation/Team of the Year Award; INPEX Lifetime Contribution to Volunteering Award; Excellence in Volunteer Management Award and the NT Volunteer Certificate of Appreciation.

Ms Schefe has been nominated for the Chief Minister's Volunteer of the Year Award for her dedication and commitment to sporting clubs during the last 10 years, notably the Katherine Rugby League Club and Katherine Netball Association.

In the past, she has been nominated for the Katherine Australia Day Australian of the Year in 2016 and 2021, and she has been nominated and won the national 2019 Not-for-Profit Treasurer of the Year.

The NT Volunteer of the Year Awards recognise the outstanding contribution of Northern Territory volunteers, volunteer-involving organisations, and corporate volunteering programs at work in the community.

Also in the running for the 2021 Chief Minister's Volunteer of the Year Award and Emergency Services Volunteer of the Year Award is Katherine's Tamara Willcox, who has made an impact during her first year of volunteering with the St John's Ambulance Australia NT branch.

Ms Wilcox's dedication to volunteering at events, 'vivacious and friendly' personality, and willingness to take up any opportunity that comes her way has resulted in her rapid ascension of the volunteer ranks.

The other Katherine Top End award nominees are Kylie Leonhardt- nominated for Chief Minister's Volunteer of the Year Award for her her work with the Katherine and District Show Society and Australian Stock Horse Society; Jan Murphy - nominated for Chief Minister's Emergency Services Volunteer of the Year Award and INPEX Lifetime Contribution to Volunteering Award for her work with the Katherine Volunteer Bushfire Brigade; Anna Kerwin - nominated for INPEX Lifetime Contribution to Volunteering Award for her work with the Katherine and District Show Society; and Leroy Gazey - nominated for the Chief Minister's Youth Volunteer of the Year Award and Chief Minister's Emergency Services Volunteer of the Year Award for his work with the Kathrine Bushfire Brigade, NT Emergency Service and Australian Air Force Cadets.

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A spokesperson for Volunteering SA& NT ( which established the awards in 2014) said the prizes promote the important contribution of volunteering to the social, cultural, economic and environmental wellbeing of the Northern Territory, while 'paying tribute to those who inspire and promote the spirit of volunteerism through exemplary endeavours'.

Nominations will be assessed by an independent Judging Panel chaired by Volunteering NT and the winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in Darwin on November 11.

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