Arthur German at a charity bike ride in Shepparton in 2003.
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Arthur German, 84, has lived in Cobram for more than 50 years.
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During that time he has been involved in countless community clubs as both a member and in leadership roles.
Mr German was shocked when he found out he had been awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his service to the Cobram community.
“I feel humble,” he said.
Mr German has endured many hardships in his life; his wife, Elaine, died at age 50 and shortly after, his daughter Renn passed away.
Despite this, he has remained an active member of the community.
“It’s been a pretty tough time,” he said.
Mr and Mrs German were married for 28 years and had three children.
Mr German was born in Corryong and moved to Cobram in 1972 where he bought his first house.
Arthur German, 18, at the Shepparton show.
“I can still remember walking in the front door and thinking how proud I was that I had a home,” he said.
Mr German had secured a job at Murray Goulburn Co-operative, driving a milk tanker. At the time he was also running a small sign-writing business on the side.
In 1975, Mr German left the co-operative and began running his sign-writing business full-time.
He has been involved with countless community clubs in Cobram, including Meals on Wheels, Doug's Christmas Lunch Committee and the Lions Youth of the Year competitions.
Mr German has been a member of the Cobram Barooga Cycling Club for the past 27 years and has been the club treasurer since 2012.
During this time he has been involved in many charity bike rides.
He is a life member of the Cobram Lawn Tennis Club and the Murray Lawn Tennis Association, having joined both clubs in the 1950s.
He was president of the Murray Lawn Tennis Association for five years and a tournament referee for 16 years.
Mr German was also the treasurer of the Cobram Lawn Tennis Club for three years. During that time he built the new tennis clubhouse.
“That was hard work,” he said.
“I think I worked there for six months after work and weekends building this new clubhouse.”
Mr German was a volunteer at the Cobram Barooga Swimming Club, where he took on many roles.
“I organised my own trivia nights; one night we made $1200, we had 120 people there,” he said.
Alongside these commitments, he volunteered with Tocumwal Search and Rescue for 15 years.
“I donated all their signage, the honour boards, cars, signs on the buildings,” he said.
Mr German said he did what he did simply because he loved it.
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