In Attendance:
Carol Alexander, Doug Snapp, Jake Will, Jr., Deb Thallman, Gary Alexander,
Andy Alexander, Mary Sims, Bud Petersen, Harvey Beahm, Bill McCabe, Fran
McCabe, Jake Will, Sr., Marni Nordstrom, Jean Shaw, Gwen Dulin, Teresa
Fournier, Connie Everhart
1. Call to order
President, Carol Alexander, called the meeting to order and reminded
members of the next scheduled meetings. The dates are April 15th, July
15th, and September 16th. All meetings are at the Swim and Racquet Club
on Kenny Road. All begin at 7:30 p.m.
2. Approval of minutes
Carol asked for corrections or changes in the minutes for the September
meeting. There was one change under the OVTA section: the word “alternatives”
was changed to “alternates.” Carol asked for a motion to approve the minutes
as changed. Bud Petersen moved, Fran McCabe seconded the motion, and the
motion was approved.
3. Treasurer’s report
Jake Will, Jr. reported that the GCTA has $82,108 total assets as of
December 31, 1998: Star checking—$784, BancOne—$284, MM-Flex Fund Jr. Development—$4,498,
MM-Flex Fund—$50,518, Investments—$25,000, Mansfield Fund MM—$1,024, Accounts
receivable—$0.00 There are slight changes in income and outlays at this
point compared to other years mainly because of not having the Big Bear
Tournament and because of slight differences in the amount of money from
various other areas: Men’s, Women’s, OVTA, etc.. Jake reported that
he has invested $25,000. There was a question by Fran McCabe as to why
this money had been invested. Jake responded that he thought that it was
part of his responsibility as treasurer and took it on himself to do this
investing to get a better rate of interest. Carol asked for a motion to
approve the treasurer’s report. Jean Shaw moved, Marni Nordstrom seconded,
and the motion was approved.
4. Junior Wightman Cup & Junior Davis Cup
Marni reported that she would continue to work with the Junior Wightman
Cup team and probably pick players as she has done in the past; most likely
she will use Jr. Qualifiers for players.
Carol reported that she has talked to Mike Uretsky, and he would be
honored to do the Junior Davis cup again this year. Carol expressed satisfaction
with the job that Mike has done during the previous years.
5. Women’s Leagues
Mary Sims reported that the women are already preparing for the summer
season. They will have their board meeting shortly. They are also ready
for their winter parties. The first will be on February 5th, the second
will be February 20th.
6. Men’s Leagues
Jeff Johnston talked to Carol. He is willing to do the men’s leagues
in part but he would like to train someone for the future. Carol asked
those present to volunteer to help with the men’s league. They would, for
example, help Jeff setting up the league schedule and perhaps they would
be score keepers. No one present responded. Carol asked that we spread
the word of Jeff’s request; and, if there are interested parties, they
should contact Jeff or Carol.
7. Mixed Leagues
No report at this time.
8. OVTA
The OVTA had its annual meeting in the fall. They have a new slate
of officers. Gary Alexander reported that Phil Landauer and Neil Newman
received an award from the OVTA to be shared jointly as “Outstanding Player
of the Year.” He also reported that there was discussion of a new
rule change that could effect matches. The rule has to do with alternative
scoring. It came about mainly from requests from the far northern states
to have a shorter way of completing matches. Under this rule the tie break
procedure could be used for matches instead of a 3rd set. If players split
sets, they would then play the 12 point tie break to determine the outcome
of the match. Gary said that many OVTA members were torn on this issue.
At this point, such scoring will not be used in matches where national
rankings are on the line. The next OVTA meeting will be here in Columbus
on March 14th at the Truman Club. This is a must meeting for local tournament
directors.
9. Umpires
Bud Petersen reported that there will be an umpire training session
on March 20th. Trained umpires are needed. The session will be here in
Columbus. There will also be a training session in Indianapolis two weeks
before the one in Columbus. Kim Forman will continue to be in charge of
the umpires. There are many opportunities in the central Ohio area to work
as an umpire.
10. Parks and Recreation
Connie Everhart reported that the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department
is presently developing summer programs. February 12th is the deadline
for printing the brochure that will outline these programs. Connie is looking
into the idea of CRPD running several week-long tennis camps in addition
to their regular programs during the summer. She feels it may be possible
to incorporated these one-week camps as a stepping stone to the regular
tennis programs. With GCTA supported NJTL programs being offered for kids
up to 12 years of age at about 28 sites, Gary Alexander asked why there
was such a drop off to 5 sites for the GCTA supported Junior Team program.
Connie pointed out that to this point Junior Team participants have
been recruited primarily through the local schools and their coaches. Maybe
this has lead to a drop off as this makes for a limited base. Gary
would like for the CRPD to get more involvement at the junior team level
(13 through 18 year old players). Connie also pointed out that the NJTL
programs are run by staff at the recreation sites whereas the Junior Team
has been run by people from outside the parks department. She suggested
that maybe we could incorporate the Junior Team into the recreation sites
rather than have pros come from the outside. She further indicated that
the Junior Team does require the GCTA membership fee. NJTL programs have
no fee. Even though participation in the Junior Team has been limited,
it was part of the USTA Junior Team Tennis program this past summer. The
recreation and parks group was one of three groups—two groups were through
the local clubs—that were in the city-wide program. Connie said she would
continue to think of ways to make the Junior Team program grow.
11. Area and District Qualifier
Carol had calls from Billie Meadors and Rita Johansen. The Area Qualifier
will run from May 6th through June 8th. Rita and Billie will be looking
for tournament sites. Players will play one match on school days and two
matches on Saturdays. Carol expressed how grateful she is to these two
ladies for doing this tough job. If there are people who would be willing
to help them, let Carol know and she will pass the information along to
Billie and Rita.
Carol mentioned that she has obtained the Stickney Tennis Center at
OSU for the District Qualifier and is hopeful for further use of the OSU
courts. Umpires are needed for the District Qualifier tournament. It is
a volunteer tournament for the umpires, but there is a T-shirt that they
would receive.
12. USTA Junior Team Tennis
No report at this time.
13. Champion of Champions
No report at this time.
14. Southeast Open Tournament
No report at this time.
15. Awards Ceremony
Les Varnado has resigned as the chairperson of the Awards Ceremony.
Carol commented that Les’ efforts with regard to this event have been greatly
appreciated. Janet Craycraft will chair this event for next year. The details
are not set, but Janet has indicated that the location and the approximate
date will probably be the same.
16. Wheelchair Tennis
Teresa Fournier reported that an application for a wheelchair tennis
tournament has been filed for August 27th, 28th, and 29th. The location
would be the Stickney Tennis Center at OSU. This winter there will be wheelchair
practice with John Daly indoors at the tennis facility on Kenny Road. Teresa
is hoping for better weather for access and warmth in the building.
17. Old Business
No old business at this time.
18. New Business
Vice President, Marni Nordstrom, will take on the duty as Newsletter
Coordinator. She would like to have a newsletter out by the middle of February.
In it, she would like to stress the volunteer nature of this organization.
The newsletter would highlight ways that the GCTA promotes tennis. The
whole idea is that we exist to grow tennis. Marni would like to have short
reports from each of the key areas of our organization. Others, including
Teresa Fournier, have indicated that they would be willing to assist Marni.
Andy Alexander reported that a grant request had been filed with the
USTA and the Tennis Industry with regard to the USTA 1, 2, 3 Tennis Program.
He was very pleased to further announce that because of this grant request,
the Columbus area has received grants of $5,000 from the USTA and $10,000
from the Tennis Industry. The USTA 1, 2, 3 Tennis Program will be run through
the local clubs. It is hoped that all clubs will be involved. Andy has
also contacted several parks and recreation departments. At this point,
the only places that will probably not be involved are the outdoor clubs
that are basically closed for the winter. Andy reported that he has 17
sites that are presently interested. The majority of the grant money will
be used to advertise the program. The Tennis Industry looks at the response
to the program to decide whether to continue involvement. The program is
called 1, 2, 3 because there are 3 steps to the program. The first step
is a free lesson. This lesson would be at the clubs. Both adults and youngsters
can be involved. The pros and clubs would receive money from the USTA and
Tennis Industry. The second step is to involve participants in clinics
at the clubs. The third step is to get the participants into team play
or league play. This could be accomplished through USTA leagues, GCTA summer
leagues, and/or parks and recreation leagues. Andy has called a “town meeting”
where USTA representatives and club representatives will be present. The
USTA representatives will explain the details to the the club representatives
at that time. The USTA would like for the initial part of the program to
be completed within a three-week window of time. Andy would like for the
GCTA to support this program as it is a “grow” tennis program, and the
growth of tennis is truly a primary objective of this organization. He
would like for the GCTA to add $5,000 to the project. He also feels that
we should provide people to support the program. He thinks that we would
need about 12 members to be involved. Mary Sims asked Andy how the GCTA’s
$5,000 would be spent. Andy explained that it would be put in as part of
the money for the promotion of the program. He further feels that it may
be possible to obtain additional support through corporate sponsorship.
That would be something that the 12 or so people involved in this project
would be looking into. Gary Alexander felt that there are definitely many
ways to get promotion. The committee would decide how to best use
the money. The program does pay to have a coordinator; but as a service
organization, Andy believes we should not take this coordinator fee. Andy
would like to see the GCTA as the coordinator and a partial sponsor of
the program. Connie Everhart said she could get some promotion through
Columbus’ Recreation and Parks 28 centers. Teresa Fournier felt she could
get interested participants from OSU. She would like to see something like
this promoted so that the OSU students could get involved in some type
of team or league play. Jake Will, Sr. moved that the GCTA appropriate
$5,000 for the program. Fran McCabe seconded the motion, and the motion
passed.
Carol made the group aware of a meeting of the new officers that took
place on January 7th at her house. She noted that one of the topics of
discussion was the degree of involvement by our members. She sees the same
people at the meetings and would like to get other members involved. She
is not displeased with those who continue to show support. She would just
like to get more people and new people involved. Carol commented, “Each
of us needs to bring one or two new people to our next meeting.”
Carol asked that whenever something regarding any of our projects is
put into newspapers, publications, or other news media that it is
made clear that the particular project is sponsored by the GCTA. She has
seen information on a number of projects that are directly sponsored by
the GCTA, but there is no mention of such sponsorship. Our organization
deserves to be recognized for its involvement in the support of tennis.
Our members also deserve this recognition. Jean Shaw volunteered to help
with publicity of projects and with keeping the organization’s name involved
with such projects.
A question was asked as to whether there would be a Nuveen Tournament
(Big Bear) this year. It appears from information from various people that
there will be no tournament in 1999.
Carol distributed a list with Board member names and phone numbers.
Please check the information so that we can update our records.
19. Adjournment
Jake Will, Sr. moved for adjournment. Bud Petersen seconded. The motion
passed.
Respectfully submitted,
Doug Snapp
Corresponding Secretary