nOMINATE FOR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

In loving memory of John Liles. 

John’s impact on our tennis community was great. John didn’t begin tennis until the age of thirty-five. He entered the league as a 3.5 and was bumped to 4.0 for a short time. He always said with a laugh, “didn’t stay there long.” John captained 3.5 Men’s teams for over eight years. One of his most memorable captaining times was during a State Regional Championship in Slidell. Three of his players took a “wrong turn” and ended up in New Orleans. This created a silent and very anxious time for the next day, the 8am match. They did show up at 7:30, maybe a little intoxicated, but nonetheless John put them in the line-up, and they won! 

John’s team won State in 1990. They went on to win Sectionals in Chattanooga and placed 3rd at Nationals in Tucson. Over the years John and his teams played in several state championships, but not in any other Sectional or National tournaments.

In 1986 John was one of the founding members of the Northwest Louisiana Community Tennis Association and served as its Treasurer. He served on countless and various local committees and always assisted as needed with any programs. The NWLACTA has been recognized many times as CTA of the Year by the LTA and there is no doubt the NWLACTA would not have had such success if it was not for the hard work and leadership of John.

In 1993, John was asked if Shreveport would be interested in taking over a national tournament that needed a new home. This proved to be a great decision and implementation. The National 16’s Intersectional Championships began in Shreveport during July 1994. The tournament was held for 26 years until covid affected the funding and it had to be discontinued. 

John was a certified tennis official for over twenty years. He officiated for juniors, USTA League, and college matches over his career. He volunteered his referee services for many junior matches. 

John’s involvement in the local tennis community continued and he was elected to serve on the USTA Louisiana Board of Directors as the NW Regional Representative in 1995. He also served as Vice President and Executive Vice President. In 2002-2003, he served as President of USTA Louisiana and began volunteering at the USTA Southern Section.

He chaired, co-chaired and has been a member of the following committees: 

Southern and National USTA – Awards Committee for eight years

Southern USTA - Financial & Budget, Investment, Community Development, Adaptive Tennis, Awards, CGPG, CTA, Human Resources, Marketing, and Public Relations Committees

Southern USTA Board of Directors Treasurer for six years

Local CTA - League Coordinator, Treasurer, where he led and served on various committees, trained coordinators and was always an invaluable resource to the local tennis community

In 1997 John received the LTA’s prestigious Charles Turner Volunteer Service Award, The President’s Award in 2006, the Charlie B. Morris Jr. Service Award in recognition of his service at the local, state, section and national levels of the USTA in 2015, and in 2019, John was inducted into the Louisiana Tennis Hall of Fame.

John was a no nonsense straight up individual. He spoke his mind and even those who may disagree with him on a topic would all agree he always demonstrated the highest level of character. This was evident in his on-court sportsmanship as well as in his off-court leadership and participation at all levels of USTA activity. John was a wealth of knowledge and information and an invaluable resource to our tennis community. Although health issues slowed him down in recent years, John continued to support tennis at the local and state level. John Liles was a vital and important part of the NWLA CTA, LTA, Southern USTA, and USTA. We will all cherish our memories with John. His impact on our tennis community will always be present and we are forever grateful.

Please keep John’s wife Nancy and his extended family in your prayers.