At the Cheshire LTA awards evening held at the park Royal Hotel Warrington  Ron Smith President of Nantwich tennis club was awarded with the ‘Unsung Hero Award.’ Representatives from clubs all over Cheshire attended the evening when awards in various categories such as  Club of the year, Team of the Year, and Coach of the Year were made. There were 6 other nominations for Unsung Hero from other clubs in Cheshire all the nominations were announced and reasons why the names had been put forward were read out to the audience. Ron’s nomination had been put forward by Nantwich members in recognition of his 20 years of being president during which he has worked tirelessly for the development  and improvement of the club. He can be seen to be doing allsorts from the painting, weeding and diy jobs to spending hours of his time applying and negotiating with various bodies for loans and assistance to the club. During his time as president the club playing facilities have increased from just 4 courts to 6, a full coaching programme has been developed with the appointment of coaches and he was the key figure in getting a brick built clubhouse with social area and changing facilities to replace a wooden hut which had sufficed as the clubhouse for 20 years. He is also seen as the voice of reason and common sense when problems arise.

Out of all the other worthy nominations Ron was announced as the winner by Barbara Bloor President of the LTA when she opened the envelope.The award was presented by Roger Draper the Chief Executive of the LTA who attended the evening and addressed the audience.

Other members of Nantwich were recognised in a Salute to the Champions these were Alma A’Court. Ann Bate, Val Hutton and Sue Winters who had all won county titles during 2010.