Neil Lamond on Honours List

GEELONG East Uniting Church Tennis Club now has its most lauded member, Neil Lamond (pictured), as a recipient of an Order of Australia in the recent Australia Day honours list, in recognition of his extraordinary services to the game of tennis and a whole lot more.

For well over half a century, Neil has been involved in the game as player, mentor and committee-person, starting out with Fenwick Memorial Baptist Tennis Club, then onto St.

George’s Tennis Club, in 1950, where he formed his most enduring doubles partnership, meeting wife Elaine (dec.), who at that time, played for the opposition!

Neil later spent time at St. Andrew’s Uniting, before “reviving” Geelong East Uniting Church Tennis Club in 1977, after that club’s nearly two decades in recess. The clubrooms, formerly in Denman Street, East Geelong, was re-named in his honour – and for his 80th birthday – in 2010, as The Neil Lamond Pavilion.

A major crisis hit the club in 2013, as the Uniting Church governing body reclaimed the property when a financial crisis hit the church with the land/clubrooms put up for sale.

Things looked grim for ’East’s very existence, but Neil showed that special grit and deeply held faith for which he is renowned and, with the help of a number of dedicated people, found a new home for the club in Breakwater Reserve, moving there in 2014, with a grand opening function held there in 2016. Triumph over adversity!

As well as his exceptional service to ’East, Neil has been one of the movers and shakers at Geelong and District Church Tennis Association and in more recent times, Tennis Geelong, where he wrote the very first computer program for that association, spending thousands of hours and many years perfecting the system!

This small tribute touches on a few details of his contribution to the game, but can’t really tell of all of the many achievements and long-standing friendships he has made via the game of tennis. Suffice to say, Neil’s life has been dedicated to his wife, family and friends, his faith – and to tennis. Enough said!

Now, on Australia Day 2019, it’s Neil Lamond, OA. True recognition for one of our game’s most beloved and enduring figures.