President's Letter 2008

The 2008-2009 season will be my final one as President of the APTA. When John Horine asked me to succeed him in 2002 I had very little idea of what I was getting into. I knew that I wanted to give back to this wonderful sport that had brought me so much fun and more importantly so many new friends, but I really didn’t know what would be involved. John had done a terrific job as President bringing the APTA into the 21st century. Among his many notable accomplishments were Platform Tennis Magazine, term limits to the Board and a website.

The term limits mandated that no Board member could serve for more than six years without a two year hiatus. On a Board with members that had been serving for almost 20 years this was a significant change. The downside to term limits was the elimination of some wonderful people that had contributed greatly to the sport, but the net result was a positive one. It opened the Board up to some very talented people with their own thoughts and ideas.

When the website was launched (with critical assistance from David Kjeldsen) some of the then current Board members didn’t see its relevancy. Today, of course, no organization of any size can function without a web site. As with other such organizations, our site has had some changes in direction over the years. In the past there were times when the site lacked definition, but all that has changed with the arrival of a new Board member. Paul Wiggin has brought a vision and a technical understanding to the Board that we lacked in the past. Under Paul’s guidance our site has clear direction. Relevant information, on-line news letters as well as humorous articles are all available on the site. I encourage everyone to take a look and see for themselves what the new APTA site has to offer.

I can only hope that as I complete my tenure as President of the APTA I have advanced the ball that John Horine started moving forward. I have enjoyed my time immensely. The relationships I have formed will last long after my playing days have ended.