The recent passing of Serena Pavlidis has brought into focus the sizeable contributions to Carlton that both her and her late husband Greg made to the club they truly loved.
Their connections to the club can be sourced to the early 1970s, through Greg’s involvement with the Carltonians.
His name appears amongst the list of coterie members in the 1971 annual report – the first of an 11-year involvement in that capacity.
Greg, who died in 2012, was also an active member of the Carlton Football Club’s Social Committee through those halcyon years, as the four-time Carlton Premiership player David McKay remembered.
McKay described Greg as “a really good fellow” and his wife as an equally delightful person – and he cited a ripping story involving Greg’s involvement with the club through the Social Committee.
The tale relates to the Carlton players’ post-1972 Grand Final world tour of London, Paris, Greece and Singapore, which also involved members of the All-Stars – the likes of Malcolm Blight, Glynn Hewitt, Barry Robran and Mal Brown – whom they met in a three-Test series.
“Greg Pavlidis literally got Mal Brown out of jail on the island of Hydra,” McKay explained.
“Mal had decided to strip off and skinny dip in the island’s harbor. He was subsequently detained by the local police, and it was Greg who got Mal out because he could speak Greek.
“The other thing with Greg was that he ran a furniture and white goods store in High Street Preston, and at one stage employed John Nicholls there.”
Serena, meanwhile, served on the front line at the old Carlton ground as a receptionist in the social club, then headquartered in the since-demolished George H. Harris Stand.
A close friend and former neighbour of the Pavlidis’ in Parkville, Rick Hayter, said Serena was just as committed to Carlton as her husband.
“Theirs was a lifetime association,” Hayter said. “Greg was a generous donor to the football club, and on auction nights there was always a donation from his furniture store,” Hayter said.
“Greg was an Honorary Member of the club’s past players association, he rarely missed a Carlton game, and Serena was every bit as passionate.”
Hayter, who has fond memories of joining his wife Chris in Carltonians matchday functions as guests of Greg and Serena, revealed that Serena had left a financial amount to Chris in her will.
“But Chris didn’t want to accept the money, as she felt happier the money would go to Carlton where they would be recognised as generous people,” Hayter said. “It was my wife’s decision to make that donation to the club.”
Accordingly, the Pavlidis’ bequest will help fund the Carlton Football Club Academy.
