Deniliquin Lawn Tennis Club recently honoured one of its club stalwarts.
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Long-time committee member Lourene Liebenberg (pictured) was a worthy recipient of Life Membership to the Deniliquin Lawn Tennis Club, presented in recognition of her many years service.
Liebenberg has been a member of the club for 20 years, first joining after moving to Deniliquin in 2001.
Since that day she has never looked back.
Liebenberg said she was quite honoured by the presentation.
‘‘It’s lovely to be acknowledged, particularly by a club that I have a huge emotional attachment to,’’ she said.
‘‘In accepting this I also have a great awareness that there are many other people who have helped significantly over a long period of time who have not been acknowledged like this, so hopefully they will be honoured as well.
‘‘The tennis club is one of the first community groups I got involved in after arriving in Deniliquin.
‘‘Initially I just played tennis, but I was made to feel so welcome.
‘‘The club has been such a big part of my life, where I have formed strong connections and friendships over the years.
‘‘It has become part of my family, particularly with my kids (René and Martin) and I spending a lot of time at the club as they grew up.’’
Liebenberg has been an active member of the club’s committee for the past 16 years, filling various roles throughout her time.
One of her many highlights was her time as junior tennis president, where she was a main instigator in setting up the junior coaching program.
The program has since evolved to the Tennis NSW HotShots program, something Liebenberg has been thrilled to see grow.
‘‘At the time when I helped start that, it wasn’t a formal HotShots program,’’ she said.
‘‘We had six members coached up to become Level One coaches and they began delivering that group format program.
‘‘A lot of work has been done by people who have followed on from where we started and it’s amazing to see so many kids involved.’’
Liebenberg has also spent many years as part of the grading committee, before finishing up in the role two years ago.
She also served as president from 2013 to 2015.
During her tenure she organised one of the club’s most memorable events, with the Nostalgia On The Lawn gala ball to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the club in 2015.
‘‘That night was so well supported,’’ she said.
‘‘It gave us the opportunity to work closely with Maureen Fitzmaurice, who gathered most of the information on the club’s history for us.
‘‘We had all of the club’s history put up on the walls and welcomed new life members on that night. It is certainly one night I will never forget.’’
Another contribution to the club that Liebenberg has had her hand in is the two major fundraisers.
She has been heavily involved in both the Easter Tennis Tournament and the souvlaki stand at the Deni Ute Muster each year.
‘‘I continue to enjoy my involvement in both the Easter Tournament and Ute Muster fundraising,’’ she said.
‘‘I know everyone really missed both of these events last year but thankfully we have the tournament being played this year.
‘‘We have had about 220 entries, which is just incredible.’’
Former club president John Henderson, who presented Liebenberg with her life membership, said there was never a question of if this would happen, but when.
‘‘Lourene has been a key driver in our fundraising, particularly with the souvlaki stand,’’ he said.
‘‘A lot of work that often goes unnoticed goes in to being able to run that stall, and Lourene has happily taken it on board.‘‘I would say her crowning achievement was definitely her efforts in putting together the gala ball.‘‘It wasn’t just putting up a tent and celebrating, she went out and gathered information on the club’s history and really put her all into it.‘‘I remember fondly the efforts in the presentation with the entry way arbor being made from tennis rackets, then you walked in and the history of the club was all around us.‘‘No stone was left unturned and I think that speaks volumes of how much passion Lourene has shown for the club over her many years of involvement.’’