Trav has been completely unaware of this being bestowed upon him tonight, the highest possible honour at our club, with many iconic members of our association coming before him.
For those not aware, Trav’s involvement at the CBA began by registering his eldest son Harrison into our domestic competition, as many of our Cougar Family first begin. He was told that to enter a team, they must have a coach, so Trav and a mate decided to jump online and purchase a heap of basketball DVD’s to learn about a sport they had never been involved with in their lives. Following this, Trav was a long-standing domestic coach for the Spearwood Hawks and cemented himself as a proud community member and volunteer. This continued as his second son Rex joined the competition, with daughter Indiana following suit. Over the years he has coached and supported all his kids in their basketball journey, including as a team manager at WABL level.
However, it was in 2017, when he joined the board, that Trav’s legacy at our club truly began to take shape.
Outgoing CEO, Tyrone Thwaites recalls “I was lucky enough to join the board not long after Trav, before I soon after moved into the role of General Manager, with Trav named Club president. This was the beginning of a professional relationship that was pivotal for the association, but one I am very proud established a friendship that continues to this day. Trav has spent 7-years overseeing the association through a time that has seen arguably the most successful era in our 52-year history, inclusive of unprecedented growth that has seen the association triple in size.”
What most people do not know, is Trav stepped in at a time the association needed strong, decisive and empathetic leadership. His predecessor, Scott Harris, did an outstanding job of keeping our association alive in an incredibly challenging time, and Trav’s role was to get us off life-support and back on our feet. Without a doubt, he achieved this, and more. The CBA now has a proud reputation in the WA basketball community, and is a leader in so many areas, which Trav has been a key contributor to. When people on the outside start to throw stones, you know you’re normally doing something right.
Tyrone reflects on his time working with Travis, “Trav, we’ve ridden some heavy bumps the past seven years, but both the board and I are so proud of how we’ve handled ourselves as a club under your guidance, and in my eyes (and I am sure many others) go down as one of the club’s most impactful Presidents in our history. This honour is well deserved, and as humble as you are, please never shy away from the impact you’ve had on this place. We are better because of you, and that’s something I know your family love about you, and we do too.”
Congratulations Trav on an honour that is incredibly well deserved!
