NEWS RELEASE
ORILLIA TENNIS CLUB
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Tennis is not all fun and games, you know.
Migrating a tennis club from the Brewery Bay tennis and converting it to a public and community club takes time and dedication — two qualities past Orillia Tennis Club president Larry Fitzhenry possesses in spades. One of his innovations (one he says he claimed from another club) was the Popsicle stick tennis. It was a great way to have different levels of tennis players meet and play. It was a great way to put the community into a community-based tennis club.
Larry returned to the Orillia Tennis Club during our reintroduction of his Popsicle stick tennis. It was there that past president Vera Mader presented Larry with the Ontario Tennis Association’s Bruce Childs Award. The award recognizes an executive member or dedicated club volunteer who has made an outstanding contribution to his/her community tennis club for an extended period of time. Your Orillia Tennis Club was thrilled to honour and recognize Larry on the courts for his years of service to the club and this community.
Larry was thrilled to see members of the club come out to a reinvigorated Popsicle stick event, which saw well over 30 participants enjoying tennis and meeting new members. Every 40 minutes, Sue Stacey, club treasurer, handed out the sticks, so the participants, the courts and the matches were randomized and a new round of players took to the courts once again.
Based on the success of the first Popsicle stick tennis, your Orillia Tennis Club is bringing it back once again this Sunday, July 23, from 9 a.m. until noon. Come for the tennis; stay for the social time and connecting with members of the club. Arrive when you can and stay as long as you wish.
Thank you, Larry Fitzhenry, for your dedication over the many years to the Orillia Tennis Club. We are a thriving and growing club reaching back to our roots to build for the future. Pioneers like Larry and others helped provide the foundation for what is now a vibrant and active club.
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