FORMER WA State women's team captain Penny TannerHoath is the latest high-profile recruit to join the Committee of the Football Hall of Fame WA.
Chairman Louis Prospero said that Penny's impressive contribution to the game of football in WA - both on the field and in her commitment to several administrative roles in the game - would be an important asset to the Committee.
"Penny is well known in WA football circles through a wonderful career as a player that saw her gain international as well as State honours - and she has already demonstrated that she is a very able leader while wearing various hats as an administrator with various clubs and associations," said Prospero.
"Her knowledge of the women's game in WA - and indeed of the game in general - will be invaluable. Penny hosts a weekend radio programme on football so, apart from being interested in the history of the game, she is well up to speed with what is happening in the sport from week to week."
She joins another recent well-respected addition to the Committee in Elizabeth Re, a City of Stirling Councillor whose father Julius Re was a founding member of the Football Hall of Fame WA organisation in 1996.
Penny said she was excited about being part of a not-for-profit volunteer group whose aim it is to preserve the history of the game in WA - and to also honour the many great players, coaches, referees and administrators through induction into the various sections of the Hall of Fame.
"I've admired the work of the Football Hall of Fame WA for a long time and to now be part of the Committee is an exciting step for me," said Penny. "It's so important to look after football's history and to reward those who made a huge contribution to it."
Penny was only 15 when she began playing at a high level in the women's game with Melville Alemannia and demonstrated her skills with various other WA clubs before moving to Europe in the mid-1990s and playing in Italy, Denmark, Belgium and England.
She was 18 when she received the call-up for the WA State team, playing in the national championships in Alice Springs in 1987.
In 1991 she captained the WA side that took part in the Australian championships in Canberra, and also led the State team in the same competition a year later in Brisbane.
In 1993 she was the only WA player to be included in the Australian team that took part in the World University Games in Canada. She remembers playing against US superstar Mia Hamm, who would go on to be World Player of the Year.
In 1995/96 she played lead-up games with the Matildas before a Newcastle United National Soccer League fixture, and another curtain-raiser with the Matildas before a Socceroos v Sweden fixture.
She has received many honours in the last 20-plus years for her contribution to the sport, including the Prime Ministerial Women's Sport Award for the promotion of women's sport from Federal Minister for Sport Ros Kelly in 1992.
Penny was presented with Life Membership of Football West in 2013 and she has worked closely with WA's ruling body in developing programmes for a girls soccer academy. She has also chaired Football West's Women's Standing Committee and is a member of Football West Coaches Standing Committee.
She was also Melville City FC Women's Vice President for four years, and has coached several women's and girls teams.
Pictured: Penny TannerHoath, Louis Prospero and Elizabeth Re.