Last night's defeat to Charlton Athletic saw Simon Lawrence's tenure as Chairman of Hendon Football Club come to an end.

A boyhood Hendon supporter, Simon was one of the founding members of the Supporters Trust with Phil Rogers and Mike Harte, before being elected the Trust's first Chairman, effectively leading the club during the period between the Trust's formation and the transfer of ownership to the Supporters Trust in 2010.

Upon becoming fully supporters owned in the summer of 2010, Simon assumed the mantle of Hendon FC Chairman, since when he has led the club through several years of a nomadic existence to play the leading role in the club still being at Step 3 today.

During Simon's tenure as Chairman, he oversaw two runs to the FA Cup 1st round proper, going out at the hands of Chelmsford City and Aldershot Town, two magnificent league campaigns that culminated in narrow play-off final defeats, one Isthmian League Cup triumph, a Middlesex Senior Cup win, and three London Senior Cup successes, with three further final appearances.

Everyone connected with Hendon Football Club owes Simon a debt of gratitude, not only for preserving our Step 3 status, but for keeping the club alive and leaving it in a much more positive state off the field than it was when he became Chairman.

On behalf of everyone at Hendon Football Club, we'd like to thank Simon for his years of unstinting dedication and service, and hope he enjoys watching us from the terraces without the additional stress of working to keep the club alive.