Dick Stockton Interviewed on the Players Lounge
June 12, 2014
Podcast of Dick’s interview with Alex Ramirez the host of the Players Lounge.
Listen to interview here.
Author: dickstockton
Ft. Bragg, NC – June 7, 2014
Saturday, June 7, 2014 marked T3’s second visit to Ft. Bragg, NC. On July 2, 2013 Ft. Bragg was the site of our very first event What a difference in weather! Last year’s event was held at the Phipps Epps Fitness Center due to torrential rain and flash flood warnings, this year we were able to stay outdoors on a beautiful summer day.
About 160 participants signed up for a day of tennis and fun. The majority of the participants this year were kids. How cool was that?
Everyone got a T3 band, a T-shirt, a USO hat and a great day of instruction. The USO once again proved why they are invaluable partners by providing lunch for everyone. Thank you Ed Shock, Cristin Perry and the North Carolina USO personnel: Renee Lane, Director and Beverly Jackson, Assistant.
Once again, the amazing JoAnne Russell joined us along with Tim Wilkison, former top ranked US junior, 23 ranked player in the world and all around great guy. Many of you might remember him as “Dr. Dirt,” a nickname he earned by diving around the grass at Wimbledon. Thank you both for taking the time to thank our troops and their families for all their sacrifices.
‘It was a great experience participating in the Ft. Bragg event. The day was well-organized, all the coaches did a great job, there were a lot of volunteers, the players were enthusiastic and it wasn’t too hot!” -Tim
T3 was honored to have the following pros helping us as well: Lt. Col. Jay Ware, US Army and USPTA member (stationed at Ft. Bragg), Kevin Caccia, Director of Tennis at Highland Country Club, Fayetteville, NC and Francie Barrigan, former NC State star and currently the Head Women’s Coach at Methodist University, Fayetteville, NC.
The Second Annual T3/Ft. Bragg Event could not have happened without the invaluable help of Jackie Thomas and Kevin Wells. They once again were able to pull everything together, make it all seamless and successful. When Dick saw Kevin’s family at the event, he said, “It felt like returning and seeing family.” Jackie commented, “You guys are like my family!” That’s how we roll at T3. Our events are typically large
affairs, but they have the feel of a big family reunion. I think the reason for that feeling is due largely to the fact that military people and support personnel are extremely respectful, connect quickly, help others and are so willing to put themselves out there for anyone. We’ve never encountered anything like that in all the years we’ve been doing events. This gives us the drive to push for more events, more bases and more tennis. Thanks to everyone! A giant shout-out goes to the amazing volunteers: Gwendolyn Fleming, Indira Harris, Martha Ramirez, Julie Milani, Wanda Wozniak, Becky Shigekawa, Jessica Velasquez, Dr. Jillian Ballantyne and anyone else I’ve left off because I wasn’t able to get your names- you’re not forgotten! xoxo
Ellen Stone, a T3 founding partner made sure that the registration process went smoothly. We’d like to congratulate Ellen and her daughter Anna, who was recently accepted to the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Another shout-out goes to T3’s photographer Trevor Chan and his wife Joy on the birth of their baby girl, Skye Lin Chan on June 5, 2014. Skye Lin is a big, beautiful and healthy baby and we can’t wait to put a racquet in her hand!
As our program continues to grow, we are able to add new bases to our schedule, as well as return to others. This is truly a sign of the program’s success. Ft. Bragg marked a special moment in T3’s history, as it illustrates our successful “test” event, as well as a successful return engagement.
We are now taking the summer to book more events, raise money and plan on making T3 an even better product. Please take a moment to read the below sampling of testimonials taken at Ft. Bragg.
T3’s next event will be at Joint Base Andrews in Morningside, MD on September 27, 2014. Following JBA, we will be at McDill Air Force Base in Tampa, FL on November 15, 2014.
“Very positive experience for little kids and adults. Pros and volunteers showed great passion for tennis, teaching and troops. Thank you!”
“Everyone was so kind. The smile on the kids’ faces says it all… it was perfect! Thank you!”
“The event was well organized. The volunteers were very friendly and warm. The pros seemed to really enjoy what they are doing. Thank you for all of the effort to make this happen.”
“The clinic was run extremely well. My son had a blast. The coaches were great with the kids.”
And this one is my personal favorite: “My 7 year old said, ‘This was the best day ever.’ My 8 year old said, ‘Mom, I want to play tennis now.’ This opened up a whole new sport for them.”
Thank you Ft. Bragg!
Fort Bragg Press Center
Thanking Our Troops Through Tennis returns to Fort Bragg June 7
June 4, 2014
The Blue Sky Foundation will return the Thanking Our Troops Through Tennis program to Fort Bragg June 7 with clinics and lunch for participants provided by the USO of North Carolina – Fort Bragg.
Read full story here.
News Press.com
Former pros give back, bring tennis to military
June 2, 2014
“We put together tennis for the military and it’s really unbelievable,” former professional tennis player Dick Stockton said during a fundraiser at Bonita Bay Club three months ago. “We did two last year, just as a test. We wanted to see if it was really something people would respond to.”
See full story here.
Ft. Jackson, SC – May 17, 2014
T3’s Ft. Jackson event was our fourth one in under a year. After each of the first three events, Staff sat down and did a “post-event wrap-up.” We asked the usual questions: how can we make the next one better, what worked, what didn’t work, what should we add, what should we change….? But the one question that always comes up is: “Can we possibly match the success of the last event?” I’m happy to answer that question with a resounding, “YES!”
Before you start to think that I’m arrogant and being boastful, let me just say this: although we at Blue Sky/T3 would love to take credit for the successes of these events, it has very little to do with what we bring to the table. The last four T3 events were big hits because of the military personnel behind them.
When Dickie and I pulled onto base late Friday afternoon, we made the scenic drive to the four courts tucked into the pine trees. What we saw blew us away. MWR (Moral, Welfare and Recreation) had cleaned the courts and the surrounding area and put up patriot bunting all over the fencing. What an amazing difference that made! We didn’t ask them to do that, they just did.
We arrived as the courts the next morning at 8:00: MWR was already there, completely set up…all we had to do was unload the truck.
Every time one of us turned around, someone was there asking, “Can we do anything to help, Sir?” Military families are notoriously helpful. After the event was over, Tricia Sheffield grabbed a ladder and clippers and single-handedly took down all the banners from the fencing. She then folded them up, put them away and turned her attention to packing up the T-shirts. Big deal, you might say…well, this is after she won the morning triathlon and participated in the adult clinics. It was a wonder that she was still standing! Thanks, Tricia!
Amy Beiger, Col. Mark Beiger’s wife, spent the day shuttling people around and later participated in the adult clinics. She and her beautiful yellow lab, Bella, were awesome.
One of the special touches at Ft. Jackson was the excitement of the local kids. Two little boys were riding by on their bikes and stopped to see what the activity was all about. They decided to stay and participate, later becoming ball boys for the pro-am. They took a 15 minute break to ride through their neighborhoods to collect more friends. Before we knew it, there were packs of kids on bikes signing up to hit with Coach Ira and Coach JoAnne. Sometimes, your participants sell the event for you!
Participant Joe Roche met Col. Jaime Houston at a tennis tournament earlier in the year. Joe was watching the Colonel and his son play doubles. Tennis makes the world a smaller place, and Col. Houston invited Joe to the Ft. Jackson T3 event. Joe did in fact participate in the event, and told us that he knew JoAnne Russell’s brother through the restaurant business. After the event, we all went to Joe’s restaurant, Villa Trunco and enjoyed some of the best fried calamari, crab cakes and
Italian food (south of New York, of course…..). We were treated to a great evening in one of the few buildings that General Sherman didn’t burn down to the ground during the Civil War. The restaurant survived the great fire, with smoke scars on the bricks to bear witness. At some point, the building then became a fire house. Walking through the funny little rooms to the back, we could still see the stables and stalls,the fire house logos and the loft above us where hay was stored. How cool!!
We are so grateful to Col. Houston for everything that he did to make this event possible. Not only is he a great athlete, tennis player, a phenomenal solider and all around great guy, he is a very good dentist. I’m so sorry that he caught me opening a bottle of water with my teeth, but I did promise to rinse with Listerine on a regular basis. I promise not to tell anyone that Col. Houston did give me an entire canister of red licorice for the ride home. It didn’t make it past Georgia….
Big shout-outs go to Coaches Ira Peskowitz, JoAnne Russell, Chuck Kriese, Bill Simpson, Mark Hancock, Kevin Epley and Ryan Young.
Thank you to everyone who helped that I failed to mention. You are so appreciated and we are honored to work with you.
Please look for social media on the next T3 Event at Ft. Bragg, the first base to be revisited by the T3 program!
Thank a soldier. Hug a Vet.
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USTA Florida Blog
T-3 Thanking Our Troops Through Tennis
May 2014
On Friday April 25th from 1:00 to 5:30PM at Eglin Air Force Base in conjunction with the opening of the base’s 8 new hard courts, 16 tennis professionals donated their time to the Dick Stockton Blue Sky Foundation tennis section known as “T-3, Thanking our Troops through Tennis.”
Read full store here.
Eglin Dispatch
Tennis players thank Eglin with free clinics
May 2, 2014 by Kevin Gaddie
Among the first people to celebrate the grand opening of Eglin’s eight new tennis courts April 25 were players who wanted to thank Eglin’s military community for their service.
Read full story on page five here.
Team Eglin Public Affairs
Tennis players thank Eglin with free clinics
May 1, 2014 by Kevin Gaddie
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. — Among the first people to celebrate the grand opening of Eglin’s eight new tennis courts April 25 were players who wanted to thank Eglin’s military community for their service.
Read full story here.
USTA Florida
Tennis Legends, Local Pros Hold Court at Eglin Air Force Base
May 1, 2014 by USTA Florida
Kids and adults at Eglin Air Force Base on the Florida Panhandle received top tennis treatment when former Top 10-ranked Dick Stockton, former world No. 2 Andrea Jaeger, and former Wimbledon doubles champion JoAnne Russell participated in the “T-3 — Thanking Our Troops Through Tennis” event on April 25, 2014 on the base.
Read full story here.