GCTA Board Minutes

1/13/00

In Attendance:

Doug Snapp, Bud Petersen, Gary Alexander, Andy Alexander,  Les Varnado, Gwen Dulin, Connie Everhart,  Marni Nordstrom, Jake Will, Jr., Deb Long, Carol Alexander, Kim Forman, Chuck Merzbacher, Larry Hunter, Jean Shaw, Deb Thallman

1. Call to order

President, Carol Alexander, called the meeting to order and thanked Doug Snapp for all his work on the web site.

2. Approval of minutes

Carol asked for approval of the September minutes as sent.  Gary Alexander moved, Andy Alexander 2nd. Carol approved the minutes with no corrections.

3. Treasurer's report

Jake Will, Jr. gave the treasure's report. He reported that the GCTA had $76,955 total assets as of December 31, 1999: Star checking--$798, BancOne--$62, MM-Flex Fund Jr. Development--$4,700, MM-Flex Fund--$44,319, Investments--$26,031, Mansfield Fund MM--$1,045, Accounts receivable--$0.00. He also gave us a balance sheet. He explained the assets and liabilities. He continued with an explanation about the revenues being slightly down. He felt this was somewhat due to slightly  fewer members and outlays with regard to junior tournaments and the adult USTA teams. All in all, he said that we basically broke even. Marni Nordstrom asked about cost of court rentals and fewer participants in the Qualifier. Carol said that Ohio State had given us a good deal on the courts but the courts had still cost the organization a considerable amount. Deb Thallman asked if we also had to pay for Red Coats in the building. There appeared to be no extra charge for this. Carol shared that the players really like playing at the OSU facility. This year, it was a bit of a problem because there was another activity going on. Jake thought that court costs would be less next year with other courts coming available at Hilliard and Upper Arlington. Carol asked for approval of the treasurer's report. Bud Petersen moved and Les Varnado 2nd; the motion passed.

4. Junior Wightman Cup & Junior Davis Cup

Marni  Nordstrom feels that it would be a good idea to start a little earlier in selecting the team. We tend to lose some of the players to other tournaments if we wait till after the Qualifier. With the pool of talent, there is no reason that we should not win. Carol said that Mike Uretsky, who has done the Junior Davis Cup for several years, has been contacted but she has not received a reply. She is hopeful that he will take the team again this year; he has done a very good job.
 

5. Women's Leagues

Callie Ryan contacted Doug and Carol  and explained she would not be present because of the flu. Callie left word that things are moving along for the women. They will have an organizational meeting on January 24th and their Winter Kickoff Parties are scheduled for February 11th and 26th. Both dates are at the Racquet Club. Postcards will be sent to their members and there is information on the web site. Callie likes the information on the site and hopes that scores can be put on it for the summer leagues. Doug said that it would be very easy to do this. Each score keeper would only need to keep him informed as to the weekly scores. Carol thought that update cards were sent to each captain and it would be easy just to send Doug an update card too. Doug said that he planned on attending the Kickoff Parties to take some pictures for the web site.

6. Men's Leagues

Jeff Johnston was not present. No report at this time.

7. OVTA

Gary Alexander reported that many USTA grants are still available. The end of January is the deadline for most of them. Sunday, February 20th, is the next OVTA meeting. It will be at the Marriott at Tuttle Crossing. Les reported that tennis scholarships are also available. Academic achievement and tennis ability are considered. The amounts are $2,500 for a male and a female. February  1st  is the deadline. Information on the scholarships can be found on the Midwest web site (www.usta.com/midwest/index2.html). Les said that you can use the scholarships to go to any school. Winners will be announced in Indianapolis in the spring. Chuck Merzbacher pointed out that sometimes players have to turn the money back because it counts against the scholarships that a school may already have. If it were not based on playing ability, just on academic ability or need, it would be less of a problem for the schools. Chuck shared that the Ohio High School Tennis Coaches Association meeting is an excellent place to get and share information. This is one of the biggest coaches meetings in the entire United States. It will be held at the Marriott on February 27th and 28th.

8. Umpires

Kim Forman said there is a training session coming up. The site for this training session has not been set as of yet. However, it will be here in Columbus. The dates will most likely be March 11th and 12th. She expects a good turnout. Doug asked to be kept informed so that information could be put on the web site. Kim did an umpire training session in Charleston, West Virginia. It was well attended. Locally, the umpires have been doing both the men and the women OSU tennis matches. Kim said she would also be available to do training and information sessions locally at the clubs.

9. Parks and Recreation

Connie Everhart said that the CRPD had turned in over 300 yellow cards in the USTA program. She was eager to see what they would get from this. The CRPD will be looking for staff for summer programs. She said the kids especially enjoy working with the young college players. She asked if this information could be put on the web site. Doug said he would post it. CRPD pays part of the salary for these staffers, the GCTA pays the rest. She said they are always looking for good players to run their programs. "Life Through Sport" is a CRPD program in coordination with Ohio State. There are a number of sports represented in this program and they hope to schedule women's tennis as part of this program. This program could be used as a kickoff for the summer season. Kids really like seeing OSU players. Connie and Chuck said they will try to set something up before Memorial Day. Connie thinks that some of the recreation staff would be interested in working with Kim and the umpires. This would be an excellent way for them to better understand the game of tennis. Connie said that the CRPD might be hosting a tennis camp, maybe by the middle of March.

10. Area and District Qualifier

Carol will again do the District Qualifier. It will run from June 10th through June 14th. She is again hoping to hold it at the OSU courts. OSU has been contacted. Billie Meadors, Janet Craycraft, and Rita Johansen will do the Area Qualifier. Carol said that the Area Qualifier is a big, big job. There is a large number of players who participate. The time constraints lead to problems. The fact that the boys' high school season is still going on causes further problems. Carol stressed what a good job these people have done in the past. She continued by saying that  we have been very lucky to have the parent volunteers that we have had. The Area Qualifier will start on about the 6th of May. Chuck affirmed the fact that he would like to see the OSU courts being used. He was very positive about having these two tournaments take place there at OSU.

11. USTA Junior Team Tennis

No report at this time

12. Champion of Champions

No report at this time

13. Southeast Open Tournament

Carol raised the question as to whether we as an organization want to continue this tournament. Les gave detailed background information on how the event has been run. He explained how it had become a sanctioned event and how the number of events grew. He explained that he had run it for 12 years. Reynoldsburg High School was very good to him during this time.  Les said that the format  and/or the location could be changed. He suggested several formats including the possibility of having a prize money tournament. This would draw players from outside the central Ohio area. He is not sure some one is available to step forward and do the tournament. There is an obvious time commitment and there is a degree of organization required. He suggested that the executive committee should discuss whether we should continue to have this tournament and get back to the Board. The biggest problem would be coming up with a person who would want to take on this tournament. The profits from this tournament have always gone to the GCTA.

14. Awards Ceremony

Carol summarized how the ceremony was run this year and what award categories were used. Doug said that we should watch for newspaper articles so that we can recommend a press person for an award. Carol said that we would hear more from Janet at a later meeting.

15. Wheelchair Tennis

Deb Long shared that they are having Saturday night wheelchair tennis at the Continental Athletic Club. Scheduling has been a problem so far at OSU this year. They have not been able to get a time that is fitting or  compatible. Chuck offered some discussion as to use of courts and when they would be available. Deb said they plan to have a tournament  at OSU this summer from July 28th through the 30th. She plans to precede this tournament with a Junior Camp. Margaret Farris will be involved with this camp. Deb said that they have applied to the USTA to see which level of tournament the July tournament will be. Deb asked for clarification as to how to get budgeted moneys. Carol and Doug said that  in the past Theresa and Kim had indicated the need and turned bills over to the GCTA treasurer. Doug indicated that both he and Carol had helped out in the past with the wheelchair camp and tournament. Deb said that it is likely that they will again need people to help as instructors, umpires, ball people, etc.

16. Old Business

Carol asked Doug to talk about the web site. He said that the site has been up since the mid part of November. To this point about 500 visits have been recorded to the site. Doug explained that the site is sort of like a magazine. The specific areas have a page or pages that relate to their activities. He said that we need to put updated information of the pages as soon as new information comes available. The site needs to change and grow. It was suggested that we put draw and times for the Qualifiers on the web site. Doug said that he and Janet have already talked about doing something like that and that they are looking into the easiest way to do this. Doug said that it might be possible to put a form on the site so that participants could sign up for the Qualifier on the GCTA web site. Doug said that he felt the use of the web will continue to grow and that it is good that we are involved, but that we need to continue to contact our members with newsletters. Not all members obviously have access to the web.

Carol said she wanted to briefly see people who are involved in revising the constitution. Les talked at some length about some of the problems involved in revising a constitution. He suggested that we go slow and make revisions carefully. Any voting should be done at the September membership meeting. He said that we should be willing to entertain suggestions from the general membership as to what needs to be revised.

17. New Business

Gwen said that she needs information as to our ad in the Ohio Valley Yearbook as soon as possible. All who spoke affirmed that such an ad was needed and that the web site address should be listed in the ad. The prices of the different sized ads were given. Gary drew the ad last year and he said that he would add the web site address to the ad. A motion was made by Connie to have a quarter page ad as in the past. Jake 2nd and the motion passed.

Andy got the grant and organize the USTA Tennis 1, 2, 3 Program last summer. He has applied for and gotten another grant for this year. The amount  of the grant is the same except in the area advertisement. That amount has been reduced from $10,000 to $5,000. He feels that the drop in newspaper advertisement can be taken care of by  personalizing advertisements at the clubs: posters, information boards, etc. There were a total of 27 sites last year. About 15 of those sites were really  good sites. He praised Doug Ewart, Bob Hilborn, Guy Parks, and Jim Criswell for the job that they had done. Andy said that he will concentrate on the strong sites but will still involve the other sites. Andy gave a step by step explanation of the Tennis 1, 2, 3 Program. Andy made a motion to have the USTA Tennis 1, 2, 3 Program granted a total of $2,000 from the GCTA. He would only use the money if needed. Bud 2nd the motion and it passed.

Deb asked Connie if there is anything that is is being done to increase physical fitness in light of the recent newspaper articles about unfit cities: Columbus was listed. Deb commented on the value of tennis as it is a life-long sport. Connie said that tennis is not that strong in the eyes of the people in charge. She also said that the CRPD could be facing cuts. She is looking for support where ever she can find it.

18. Adjournment

Carol asked for a motion for adjournment. Andy moved, Connie 2nd, the motion passed.

Respectfully submitted,
Doug Snapp
Corresponding Secretary

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