Meet Linda Anderson

Linda Anderson was awarded the Bruce Childs Award at the Welland Tennis Club’s AGM in
October 2024 for her dedication to building a vibrant and active tennis club and promoting tennis in our community.

Linda’s skill set in solving problems, taking initiative, addressing issues, completing tasks and
working closely with the Board and the Club Pro all contributed to the healthy success of our club. The Award was presented to Linda for her amazing contribution not only as a long time Board member but as a Club volunteer throughout the years.”

It’s difficult to capture in a few words the contributions of a volunteer who has an exceptional
impact over an extended period of time. Linda came to tennis in midlife, a situation familiar to
many women. She’s been at the Welland TC for about 25 years, and has served on the board for 19 of those years. “Every position except Treasurer”, she recalls.

There’s no shortage of work to do at the Welland Tennis Club. Clay courts require a lot of
attention. The aging clubhouse, including a licensed kitchen and bar, is maintained by volunteers. Social events and annual club tournaments are an every-week occurrence. Linda has done it all, including vast amounts of planning, carrying, organizing and cleaning up. In the pre-website days, publicity came by way of the local newspaper, for which Linda did a player-of-the-week column featuring photos and articles about local juniors.

Being president wasn’t on her radar until 2021, when there came to be disagreement on the board about the direction the club should be taking. It’s a debate arising in community clubs from time to time, and it became difficult to find common ground among varying points of view. Linda had the benefit of the long view, with an understanding of the values of inclusiveness that had been the backbone of the club for decades, and became a compromise candidate.

She stewarded the club through the hosting of the Canada Games in August 2022, and led the transition of the club to the digital age. “How soon we forget all the trips to the bank with cheques and cash when registration fees were collected by hand. Many aspects of club administration are more efficient and streamlined now.”

After three years at the helm, Linda is happy to support new club president, Chris Richard. She’s quick to point out that other dedicated volunteers have many years of service as well. Welland TC is definitely a team operation.

In her unofficial role as past president, Linda is looking forward to formalizing the club’s archives. There’s over a hundred years of history to be captured, and she’s consulting with the local museum to learn about up-to-date systems for doing so. Here’s to better-than-ever at the Welland Tennis Club for decades yet to come!