Pictured above at the 12th Annual Tennis Ball held last weekend at the Milwaukee County Zoo are (l to r): Barry Ford, USTA, Jay Massart, Milwaukee Tennis & Education Foundation, Trevor D’Souza, MTEF president, Charleton Goodman, 1st Place $5,000.00 winner, China Kirk, USTA, Vanessa Goodman, Rhamses Lo, 3rd Place Boys Middle School $1,000.00 USTA-NJTL and Cha Lo. (Photo by Robert A. Bell)
12th Annual Tennis Ball and Award Ceremony for youth
Milwaukee Tennis & Education Foundation returned to the Peck Pavilion at Milwaukee County Zoo as the 12th Annual Tennis Ball held on Sept. 24, 2010. Guests were able to view and bid in the silent auction from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m.
This summer, MTEF staff delivered 1,225 hours of free tennis programming to more than 1,365 children at four locations within Milwaukee. MTEF continues to be a leader among NJTL (National Junior Tennis & Learning) chapters, earning a #2 rating by the USTA and being one of only four organizations to earn the USTA’s four star status – the highest rating a chapter can earn).
“This year’s 12th Annual Tennis Ball is primarily a fundraiser,” says MTEF executive director, Jay Massart. “It is critical that we are able to continue to provide access to the life skills, tennis lessons and tutoring at no cost to our participants; but we are also gathering to honor and acknowledge the many successes that we’ve had as an organization. We’re proud to have been picked by CBS Sports to be the only NJTL chapter featured during the national broadcast of Arthur Ashe Kids Day.”
Two MTEF students finished in the top three of their division in the NJTL National Student Athlete Competition (NSAC), with Charlee Goodman coming in first place in the girls middle school division. The NSAC measures school grades, life skills development, Jr. Team Tennis participation and tennis tournament results by assigning pointvalues to each category. Charlee beat out 250 student athletes for this honor by earning straight A’s (16), playing in 22 JTT matches and 11 tournaments during the twelve month competition. Her yearend point total was 6,730.
MTEF had three Arthur Ashe Essay Contest winners – Deshawn Prodgeon (girls 10’s), Billy Her (boys 10’s) and Rhamses Lo (boy’s 12’s). This is the second consecutive sectional award for Rhamses. He won last year for his essay in the boys 10 & under division. Rhamses was the only other First Serve student to get straight A’s besides Charlee Goodman. Coincidentally, Rhames also earned 6,730 points in the ‘09-10 year.
As one of the founders of National Junior Tennis League (now National Junior Tennis & Learning), Arthur Ashe demonstrated that tennis can be a powerful and cost-effective tool to change the lives of central-city children. MTEF is proud to gain national recognition for the work done here in Milwaukee. Massart says, “we have been fortunate to gather a staff of very talented and dedicated people, committed to serving our diverse population; but our most important responsibility is the continuation of the work and legacy of Arthur Ashe right here in Milwaukee.”
For sponsorship and additional event information, please contact Diana Miramontes at 414-442-8195 or dmiramontes@mtef.com.
Additional information about Milwaukee Tennis & Education Foundation is available at www.mtef.com.