Eglin Air Force Base – April 25, 2014
Boots on the Court rolled into 2014 with its first event yesterday at Eglin Air Force Base. Last fall, Eglin contacted Boots on the Court and asked if we would help with the inauguration of their eight new tennis courts. With no time to spare, we immediately picked a date and started planning.
Dick was joined by the tennis legend, public servant, philanthropist and humanitarian Andrea Jaegar. If you’re not familiar with Andrea’s career, it’s certainly worth your time to Google her. Andrea is a former World #2 professional tennis player. In 1983 Andrea reached the finals of Wimbledon, and the French Open in 1982. Also in 1982, she reached the semis of the Australian and the U.S. Open. In 1980, she became the youngest player ever to be seeded at Wimbledon.
During her short, yet amazing career, Andrea visited many hospitals, and it was during those visits that the idea came to her to create the Silver Lining Foundation located in Aspen, Colorado. Silver Lining transports groups of young cancer patients to the ranch for a week where they can participate in many outdoor activities. Silver Lining helps provide college scholarships, money for family reunions, medical internships and other programs for those in need. We are honored and humbled to have someone such as Andrea helping us bring tennis to the troops.
Andrea was just one of the many pros in attendance. She was joined by the tireless Tommy Wade, one of the USPTA testers and Master Pro and the Contardis: Steve, Debbie, Mario, otherwise known as the First Family of Tennis. What other family do you know of that would load up their van and drive to the various bases around the country? Of course, no event would be complete without the great JoAnne Russell! She always finds a way to attend and her court is always the loudest and most fun. Some of the local pros in attendance were: Joe D’Aleo, Sam Vickroy, Jr., (NOTE: Sam Vickroy Sr. is not only a USPTA pro in Alabama, but he was also awarded the Purple Heart from his time spent in Vietnam), Chuck Straley, Kevin Dunworth, Mario Alvarez, Adriana Solarova, Glen Howe (USPTA Master Pro), Brett Beattie (Coach of the Niceville High School Girls Tennis Team, State Camps 2014) and Greg Bennett.
An estimated 100 participants showed up to play tennis at the beautiful new tennis complex. This particular event was defined by the many kids who played. Some little ones signed up for the early sessions and were still there by the time the last group took to the courts.
Any event is only as successful as the volunteers who work it. Boots on the Court is so grateful to those who donate their time and money to help us bring tennis to the troops and their support groups. We have never had to beg anyone to help. We have been so lucky to have an over-abundance of volunteers!
It doesn’t seem that long ago that we were putting on our first event at Ft. Bragg last July. We were both elated and a little nervous….we thought that no other base could ever be as successful as the Ft. Bragg event. The volunteers set the bar extremely high for others, that we collectively held our breaths as we planned Joint Base Andrews and Eglin Air Force Base. While we discovered that no two bases are alike, and each place has a different “flavor,” we have been elated to learn that every base is blessed with INCREDIBLE volunteers. Thank you!
As Boots on the Court grows, the importance of raising funds becomes even more apparent. In order to do so, we have begun the process of recording our events, putting together media guides and diving into social media. We have been so fortunate to have the talents of the best event photographer, Trevor Chan. Trevor was a participant at Joint Base Andrews. We noticed him immediately because not only was he a really good tennis player, but he is also an awesome photographer. When he wasn’t smacking forehands, he was snapping photos. Trevor is the official photographer for Boots on the Court. He generously donates his time and talents and we are so thankful for our great fortune in finding him. Please check out all his pictures from both Eglin and JBA.
The event at Eglin began with a “Serving Ceremony” instead of a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony. Colonel Cannon not only managed to hit a great serve, but he got it into the box on the first try!
Special thanks to the USTA for promising to follow up at Eglin by ensuring that tennis continues at the base.
A special shout-out goes to Jennifer Deutsche and the Doner company for creating the Boots on the Court promotional brochure. Please ask to see it if you think you know of anyone who might be interested in becoming a corporate sponsor.
In an interesting blend of community, military and civilian life, the Lewis Middle School Girls and Boys Tennis Teams led by Coach Scholl, proudly practice and play their matches at Eglin. Every afternoon, the kids leave the middle school, and make the 5 minute walk to the gate. Thank you Eglin!
Please be on the look-out for information on our next event on May 17, 2014 at Ft. Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina.
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