By A Beaumont City Council member is leading a charge to rename the Beaumont Municipal Tennis Center after his late wife.
Allison Nathan Getz died Oct. 10 following a nearly two-year battle with brain cancer. Hundreds of family, friends and community members paid their final respects to one of Southeast Texas’ most beloved public servants during a funeral service less than a week later.
Mike Getz, who represents Ward II, took to social media this weekend, musing on how to honor the legacy of his late wife, Allison Nathan Getz.
In that post, he detailed her lifetime playing tennis.
“From the time she was a small child, through her high school years where she earned her varsity letter playing on the girl’s team at Forest Park High School and into adulthood, Allison loved the sport of tennis,” Getz wrote.
RELATED: Remembering Allison
In 2007, she was selected to be on the board of the Southeast Texas Tennis Association, later becoming president of the Association.
During her tenure, she worked with the city of Beaumont to expand the Tennis Center to include the covered tennis courts and the new pro shop.
And in 2011, she took the training necessary to become a certified tennis tournament director to take over for the annual Beaumont Labor Day Tennis Tournament’s previous director, who needed to step aside for personal issues.
“…for a while it looked as if the longest running tennis tournament in the state of Texas might have to end for lack of someone being willing to step up and serve as tournament director,” Getz wrote.
She served as director again in 2012, and later that year was given a leadership award from the Association for her work.
She then went on to serve the on the United States Tennis Association – Texas Section’s Executive Committee from 2012 until 2019.
Her work in the tennis community is just one of the 16 other local organizations she served as president during her lifetime. She also was elected Jefferson County Tax Assessor-Collector in 2014, a position she served in until her death.
RELATED: Hundreds gather for Allison Nathan Getz funeral
“So, how do we honor her legacy? I have requested that the Beaumont City Council consider changing the name of the Beaumont Municipal Tennis Center to the Allison Getz Municipal Tennis Center, and I pray that favorable consideration be given to this request,” Getz wrote.
The proposal, listed as a “discussion item” for Tuesday’s Beaumont City Council meeting comes just under a month after the Beaumont City Council approved an official naming policy for city facilities.
Among other criteria, proposed names should recognize an “exceptional community member of leader” who made a lasting and significant contribution to the city, made a substantial contribution to the betterment of a specific city property, had a positive impact on the lives of the city’s residents and volunteered in the community for many years.
According to the city’s policy, which was passed Oct. 31, after the formal request is made, the council will determine if an ad hoc committee needs to be created to review it or if it falls under the purview of an existing city board, commission or committee.
City staff also is expected to evaluate how the proposal follows city policy, if there’s any impact on public safety and the financial impact on changing signs, plaques and markers.
Before the council takes a vote, it’s expected to hold a public hearing on the potential name change.
The meeting starts at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 801 Main St.
