Bill Ruffell has played and been involved in tennis all his life and epitomizes what a tennis volunteer is all about.
Long outstanding service is an understatement for the years of devotion and hard work he has given to both club and county.
From the mid 1990s Bill sat on the County Executive committee and was instrumental in the planning and administration of the new Durham & Cleveland County Centre at Sunderland. He was the County’s lead figure in Administration and Marketing and was the county’s link with Sunderland council in controlling court usage and income at the centre – not an easy task and caused Bill many a frustrating hour sorting things out.
When Bill stepped down from the County Executive, it was not to retire but to spend even more hours working as club committee member in the planning and development of Boldon Tennis Club. Over the years he has worked tirelessly with grant applications and has secured numerous funding opportunities resulting in successful club facility projects.
Bill is a ‘hands on’ volunteer and not just a planning manager. He thinks nothing of cleaning blocked drains, resurfacing courts, changing grass courts into hard courts, car park resurfacing, etc., the list is endless.
In addition Bill has encouraged his children and grandchildren to play tennis and be an integral part of club life and follow his work ethic of ‘If it needs doing get involved yourself’.
Despite all this voluntary work Bill still found time to play tennis resulting in the award of Durham & Cleveland Vets County Colours a few years back. Bill is also no mean Golfer and a true competitor.
In times where volunteers are extremely hard to find, the County Association and Boldon Tennis Club are indebted to Bill for his many years of dedicated service.
Bill was rewarded for all his years of service in December when he was invited to the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton to receive the LTA Meritorious Award from HRH Duchess of Gloucester at the LTA Annual General Meeting. Bill was also recognised at the Durham & Cleveland LTA Awards last September.