Ray Tweedie and Jim Ronis Call it a Day
In the light of Saturday’s Annual General Meeting, long serving Football NSW members Ray Tweedie OAM JP and Jim Ronis have both retired from the board after the duo spent a number of influential years contributing to the round ball game in the NSW state.
Tweedie dedicated almost 55 years of his life to football and his passion for the game did not go unnoticed after he was awarded the 2007 George Churchward Medal for his outstanding contribution over and above what would normally be expected of him during the positions he has held and currently holds within the code.
Tweedie progressed from player to coach at various representative levels within the Shoalhaven Association and Southern Branch.
He later became involved in the administration side of things and filled positions at the above areas mentioned as the President at both places.
In recent years, Ray Tweedie had also organised tours for players, both male and female within Southern NSW in travelling to China where he had taken them on a cultural exchange program where players were taught the Chinese way of life and played against some pretty decent Chinese opposition in football.
Success has also been at the same level for Ronis, like Tweedie, where he spent much of his time promoting the game in the NSW state.Ronis began his involvement in football in the late 60’s with Canterbury Marrickville as secretary of the club for 15 years before becoming President on three occasions.
As a result of this involvement, Ronis was made a Life Member of Canterbury Marrickville Olympic Soccer Club in 1972.
Ronis was then appointed as one of the Directors of Football NSW since 16th December 1987 to present and was made a Life Member for Football NSW in 2002.
During his period with Football NSW, Ronis was Manager of the NSW State Team for various tours and tournaments having included travelling to Korea as a Team Manager of the NSW State Team.
Ronis was also instrumental in the sale of the lands around Valentine Sports Park which resulted in a $3.5 million windfall for the state body as well as the construction of the new administration complex.
Ronis was also behind pushing Futsal to its star status it’s seen as today and became chairman of the code in 2003.
Jim is also a successful businessman (Ronis Real Estate) and is also one of the Directors at the Bankstown Sports Club.
FNSW would like to thank and congratulate Ray Tweedie OAM JP and Jim Ronis for their outstanding contributions to the game including their tenures as Directors of FNSW.
