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ANNUAL MEETING CHANDA RUBIN WAS KEYNOTE SPEAKER
T
he Mississippi Tennis Association held its annual meeting at the Country Club of Jackson. Chanda Rubin was the guest speaker at the USTA Mississippi Pro’s workshop and the keynote speaker at the meeting. Rubin spoke to the pros and member organizations on “Great Sports Make a Sport Great.” Chanda played professional tennis on the WTA tour for 16 years, turning pro in 1991. She started the Chanda Rubin Foundation in 1998 to provide playing and educational opportunities for youth across the country. She retired from the tour in 2008 and is currently working as a TV commentator. She is a fourth-year degree candidate at Harvard Extension School. She is also serving her first term as a director at large on the USTA’s board of directors.
During the luncheon, Rubin had her picture made with each MTA award winner. In addition to Rubin, Peter Freeman and Doug Cash were on hand during the pros workshop, talking to the pros about “Growing the tennis industry through the eyes of a businessman.” Both Freeman and Cash have been in the tennis business for years and stressed the importance of social media in today’s marketing world and good programming and pricing for selling tennis today. Saturday evening, Susan Toler of Brandon and Bobby Brien of Clarksdale were inducted into the Tennis Foundation of Mississippi Hall of Fame. More than 150 friends and family joined Toler and Brien during the seated dinner. Sandra Rogers from Brandon was Susan’s presenter, and Mack Cameron and Tito Echiburu were Bobby’s presen-
by JENNY MARKOW
ters. Congratulations to both deserving inductees. USTA Junior Team Tennis (JTT) for the tri-county area must be on your “to do list” of things you want your child involved in. JTT offers children the opportunity to compete on teams that emphasize fun, fitness and friends. This program is designed for children ages five to 18 years old. Children under 10 playing tennis might sound awfully young to many of you, but truth be known, most children in this age group can go out and swing the racket, make contact with the ball and hit it over the net if the proper sized equipment is used. For those juniors who are 10 and under and have never played tennis before, the USTA is continuing the push for using smaller courts, smaller rackets and low compression balls by the pros in teaching this age group how to play tennis, along
Enjoying the evening are (from left) Mark Thompson, Tito Echiburu, Bobby Brien, Mack Cameron and Peter Koury
Mary Anne O’Brien, Lesley Mosby, Meme Wittmayer, Maxine Stegall and Ann Brady all are tennis players and supporters for the Tennis Foundation of Mississippi.
Hall of Fame members gather after dinner: Tito Echiburu, Cleon McKnight, Peter Koury, Mack Cameron, Bobby Brien, Ken Toler, Mark Thompson, Steve Pennington, Erinie Vetrano; (front) Sharon Gault, Jane Holland, Susan Toler, Elizabeth Lyle, Jan Johnson, Betty Byars, Sandra Rogers
2.5 Adult Team of the Year: Receiving the USTA League Adult Team of the Year was Jimmie Coins’ 2.5 ladies (from left) Timika Franklin, Deidra Dungee, Tracy Caradine, Stacy Chisolm, captain, Jimmie Coins, Chanda Rubin, Larissa Williams, Adrianne Swinney and awards committee member Olivia McCay
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northside sun