John Drake was, for approximately 25 years the most prominent and active member of the Association. He held the position of Treasurer for all the period and served prominently on all Committees. He was elected a Life Member in 1973. John managed all the Young Liberals (later Liberals) teams, the name which is the only one to have competed in the A.Y.C competition for every year since its conception. Whenever anyone wanted a game John could always accommodate them in one of his teams. His interest in the Association was remarkable; often he would turn up at matches during the week, contributing for many years to “The Mercury” highlighting individual performance in matches. When John retired from playing he gave his racquet to a needy competitor and was known on many occasions to assist players experiencing personal difficulties. Sadly, John passed away in December 1984, this trophy has been presented annually since then to the person seen to be fulfilling John’s ideals.
These teams were organised specifically to compete in this Association and went into recess for the off-season. John had suffered from diabetes from childhood, and night tennis was an activity that best suited this condition, unfortunately failing health later forced him to retire from competition but his enthusiasm for management and involvement remained.
The John Drake Memorial Award has been awarded to the following for service to the Association:
84/85 Alan Morris – Elmsleigh
85/86 Ben Buissink- Glenorchy
86/87 Wayne Thomas – Sorell
87/88 Bernice Archer – Nth Suburbs
88/89 Nees Petersen – Elmsleigh
89/90 Norma Hallam – Glenorchy
90/91 Martin Van Tienan
91/92 Gwen Reynold – Sorell
92/93 Gwen Meredith – St Therese’s
93/94 John Green – Glenorchy
94/95 Geoff Clow – Sorell
95/96 Shirley Parkinson – Sorell
96/97 Anne Westell – Glenorchy
97/98 Ros Williams – St Therese’s
98/99 Roger Gillow – Lindisfarne
99/00 Campbell Palfrey – Geilston Bay
00/01 not awarded
01/02 not awarded
02/03 not awarded
03/04 Mike Hodge – Geilston Bay
04/05 Peter Rodgers – Sunshine
05/06 Sue McKenzie – Geilston Bay
06/07 Alan Walker – Glenorchy
07/08 Not awarded
08/09 Sue Davie – St Therese’s
09/10 Campbell Palfrey – Geilston Bay
10/11 Trevor Small – Rosny
11/12 Paul Kitchener – St. Therese’s
12/13 Ken Smith – Kingston
13/14 Geoffrey Dunlop – St. Therese’s
14/15 Julie Fletcher – Glenorchy