Tom Emeleus: The epitome of the selfless volunteer

Tom Emeleus is the epitome of the selfless volunteer, and the Gladesville Hornsby Football Association is exceptionally lucky to have a man of his calibre provide his time week in and week out.

Tom is in his 25th year of refereeing for the Gladesville Hornsby Referee’s Association (GHFRA) and there is not much that he has not seen during this time on or off the field. 
Tom is not only a senior referee (and Senior Vice President of GHFRA), he has been playing for Beecroft for many years, assisting West Ryde Rovers FC with dressing fields on a cold Saturday morning, helping to Grade the junior grades at WRRFC, coach one (or more) of his son’s football teams, and volunteer in the “Shitbox Rally” to raise funds for the Cancer Council.

Peter Nimmo, Club Convenor for Beecroft FC, offered this in relation to Tom.

“Tom Emeleus is a friendly, approachable, helpful and knowledgeable referee, player and person. To google Tom is to an enlightening trip through football and life, and reveals many things most of us didn’t know.

“He’s dependable both on the field and as a friend. Whether he’s being closed down by three defenders while playing, or abused by a surly coach as a referee, Tom displays an implacable demeanour, when many of us would be wilting.”

Just when you thought one person could do no more, it should be noted that Tom serves as needed on the GHFA General Purpose Tribunal (GPT) and has also been an instrumental member of the Committee set up to implement, and drive the GHFA RESPECT program.

Lindsay Donald, Club Secretary of WRRFC, stated.

“There are so few people that are as giving as Tom is with his time, his dedication, and commitment to Football in our region is beyond question. I strongly believe that not only are Beecroft and Rovers very lucky to have him associated with our Clubs, but all the members of the GHFA and GHFRA owe Tom a huge thank you for his extraordinary and genuine love in all that he gives to Football.

“Tom is definitely a huge asset to the local football community, and I on behalf of Rovers, would like to thank him for all he has, and obviously will continue to do for us.”
In his time as a referee for the GHFRA, Tom has become a highly respected Premier League referee, and is a Life Member with his 25 years of loyal service as a referee.

Tom, unbeknownst to many, designed and developed the software which GHFRA uses to appoint members to fixtures.

Tom selflessly provided this software to many other referee’s associations to assist them in their appointment duties also, wanting no kudos or thanks.

His contribution has always been entirely selfless – it comes without strings attached and with no agenda beyond the good of the game.

He has been an integral member of the Appointments Committee for 20 years, and Chairman of the Appointments Committee for 8 years. Add to this Senior Vice President for 3 years, and GHFRA delegate to the GHFA General Purpose Tribunal (GPT) for 3 years.

GHFA have it on good authority that has only received one yellow card in all the years he has played and that was because Alan Anderson (life member of WRRFC and former Chairman of the GHFRA Appointments Committee) was on the line and instructed the referee to give it to him. i.e. it was a ‘gee up’.

Tom Emeleus is a man with a seemingly endless supply of generosity of spirit. He has been everybody’s "go to" man in GHFRA for as long as members of the GHFRA can remember and one of the very few people one meets in life where one can honestly say you will not find anybody with a bad word to say about him.

As a player, Tom is famous (or maybe infamous depending on your perspective) for the power and quality of his left foot. It’s a standing joke between some referees ‘in the know’ and his BEE team mates, that when Tom shoots with his left foot, everyone on the field is in danger. No one can guess in what direction the ball will travel or at what speed.

In a time where volunteers are hard to find at the best of time, it could be argued that there aren’t many more deserving of praise and thanks than Tom Emeleus.

*Article courtesy of the GHFA