Most of you will be aware that Keith passed away last week. On behalf of PCTBC I offer our most sincere condolences to Sylvia, Chris, David and Viv and all their families.
Keith (pictured above on the right) was a quite remarkable and meticulous worker for our club, his work being a major part of our growth into a successful community sports club which adheres to the massive administrative and regulatory demands of the modern era. I know he was so proud of his administration of CLUBMARK and Charter Standard and the fact we were at one time the only Club in the UK with awards for all our sporting disciplines.
His personally chosen job title was Clubmark Standards Manager but that really does no justice to his overall work for the Club. When members, myself included, sit back and laud themselves about what we have achieved we should never forget a man whose contribution was always professional in both presentation and detail and in my opinion the most determining factor in the Club gaining any accreditations. Without these accreditations we could never have hoped to get over £400k in grants.
To cover all Keith did for the club would be impossible but I want to highlight certain operational areas including the management of Energy, Licences, Waste, Tennis Car Park Upgrade where he has saved the Club many thousands of pounds. A simple example being his negotiations with United Utilities where they erroneously removed over £6k from our bank for what they believed were outstanding bills based on what Keith identified as unsubstantiated records. The discussions went on for over 6 months with regular calls at 1100am every Friday. The result was never in doubt but the sponsorship from UU was a welcome surprise. What can you say? I also want to highlight his tireless work for the successful development of youth Tennis.
On a personal basis, whilst I have been Chairman at PCTBC I have enjoyed the support of many members including the late Arthur Hibbert who was a real mentor to me. When Arthur died I needed somebody else to fill that role and Keith slipped into the role without any thought of what he was letting himself for. At times it was weekly even daily contact supplemented by coffee and eventually, after some persuasion, chocolate biscuits provided by Sylvia. He helped me through some very difficult issues and because he had a similar abrasive and impatient style as myself we simply moulded together into a working unit.
He did the real work. I listened and did what I was told! I will always remember the Silver Fox’s help and support.
God Bless Keith.
Brian Lorenzini
• Keith’s funeral is on Friday 22nd July, 11am at East Lancashire Crematorium in Radcliffe followed by the wake back at the club.
