ITA Meeting Minutes for Oct. 23, 2011 The Iowa Tennis Association meeting was called to order by President Mark Jackson on Sunday, October 23, 2011, at 9:05 am in the Hickory Park Hall in Ames, Iowa. Mark Blume, ITA Executive Secretary, took roll call with 16 members present. Ryan Roeth Mark Blume Austin Harris Amanda Arogon Mark Fiala Scott Hanover Stuart Dusenberry Cindy Rasche Kelly Drake Bob Ryan Mary Buschmann Jan Koder Dave Soucek Sue Nelson Tylor Schlander Ann Carder Ames Racquet & Fitness Center North Dodge Athletic (ITA Executive secretary) ISU Tennis Club (MV Collegiate Chair) Drake Women's Tennis (ITA Collegiate Chair) Cedar Rapids Tennis Association USTA Missouri Valley Section President Atlantic Tennis Assoc. (ITA Personnel/Nomination Committee Chair) Clinton Recreation Dept. (ITA Grievance chair) ITA Treasurer North Dodge umpire USTA Missouri Valley Secretary Executive Director ITA Adult League Coordinator Okoboji CTA Special Olympics/Populations/Wheelchair 7 Flags Fitness & Racquet Club Red Oak Tennis Association (ITA secretary Pro Tem) The minutes of the last meeting were posted to the ITA website and were approved. President Jackson explained the resignation of Betsy Lehnen as she had moved to Liousville, KY and thanked her for the excellent job that she did. Ann Carder will be serving as secretary pro tem until the next term of executive officers are elected in fall of 2012. Kelly Drake presented the treasurer's report. Due to the large increase in the USTA Allotment and Tennis Link fees as well as reductions in expenditures, ITA had a positive net income statement for the first time in over three years. Actual 2011 revenues were $81,122.73 and expenses totaled $70,314.09. The proposed budget was accepted by a motion from Jan Koder and seconded by Ann Carder. Scott Hanover, Section President of USTA Missouri Valley was one of our special guests. He thanked Mark Jackson, Ryan Roeth, John Terpkosh, and welcomed Mark Blume. National committee members from Iowa include Barbara Fackel, Kevin Nebergall, Stu Dusenberry, and Shelley George. Section committee chairs from Iowa include Jan Koder and Austin Harris. Thanks to all! Mary Buschmann, Executive Director of USTA Missouri Valley was also a special guest. She wanted to thank us for all our volunteer time and effort. Ten and Under Tennis is the place to be. Annual meeting is the first weekend in December (Dec. 2-4, 2011). TDM is going to be an on-line program, no longer a program stored on your computer.
The main workshop will be on 10 and Under Tennis, how to run tournaments, programs, etc. Staff update: Dan, the TSR for Nebraska has left that position and Kara Hime is the new TSR. The Missouri Valley will be offering a new position: Youth Pathway Manager. More will be announced at Annual Meeting. There will be a breakout session for District Presidents with Bob Harris about ideas to work with volunteers and dealing with the "business side". A mini-breakout for CTAs with Mr. Harris will also be held on Saturday. The National CTA meeting is in New Olreans in January 2012. President Jackson issued a reminder that anyone who attends the MV Section Annual meeting and travels over 175 miles from home, the hotel and mileage at $0.25 per miles will be reimbursed by ITA. John Terpkosh, Tennis Service Representative for Iowa was present and reported that we have a quantity of free 10 and Under Tennis - A Parents' Guide available. The MV Section has a more complete guide that is also available and includes a page to encourage organizations to register. He also showed the NJTL program in Africa fundraiser t-shirt and writing tablet for $20.00 donation, Art for Conservation. Committee Reports: Adult Competition by Mark Blume. The ITA Super 6 did not take place due to lack of marketing and a specific date. He wants an active standings list for adults. There is interest and will be new for 2012. He proposed changing the adult rankings to be similar to the juniors. This would allow for auto-seeding for tournaments. Mark Blume moved and Ryan Roeth seconded that we make the changes in the rankings so Iowa will be doing what the other districts are doing. Mark will research the process and send the changes required to the ITA Executive Board for approval prior to 1-1-12. It should make it easier and encourage more play. Participation for adults was up for 2011. The cost of the Net News ad would be covered by fees collected in 2012. Jan Koder reported on Adult Leagues. As of Sept. 1, 2011, Iowa USTA League participation numbers were up 8% over 2010. The 2.5 Ladies team won the National Championship for 2011. 2012 Budget proposes $27,050 revenue and league expenses of $26,950. There are new age brackets for leagues in 2012. The sectionals will still happen on the posted weekends, but they may need to split the sites due to the number of courts required. Collegiate Committee report was presented by Austin Harris for Amanda Aragon, a new chair. There is a New Logo for Tennis on Campus. 2011 Iowa Invite is Nov. 6, 2011 in Des Moines. The 2012 USTA Campus Championships - Missouri Valley Secion will be in Overland Park, KS March 10-12, 2012. Barb Fackel's Community Development report was presented by John Terpkosh. A total of 12 grants with a total of $9.050 were distributed in 2011. Grant recipients included: Iowa City s Mayor s Youth Empowerment Program; Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids School District; Des Moines Drake Tennis Club, Art of conservation, Inc. NJTL,
& LifeLine Youth Foundation; Marion s Indian Creek Elementary; Solon s SportAbility of Iowa; Cedar Falls UNI Tennis Club; Audubon s Audubon Tennis Association; Glenwood s Glenwood High School; and Davenport s QCA Adaptive Sports Association. New grants for 2012 for a total of $9,000 will be offered and applications are available. Bonnie Beechum's Diversity committee report was presented by John Terpkosh. Children s Village Early Learning Centers in Davenport provided an introduction to tennis and tennis play for kids 4 and under on June 16,17, & 20. This age group presents a big challenge. One Tennis Block Party was held in Davenport and seven Diverse Tennis Programs were offered around the district. Cindy Rasche reported for grievances. Thanks to Auto-Seed, no grievances received. Hall of Fame nomination and voting was handled by John Terplosh on behalf of Kevin Nebergall. The nomination was for Randy Krejci. Mr. Krejci was voted in at this meeting and the award will be presented at the next ITA meeting. The High Performance CTC did not happen in 2011 as the program is being phased out by National. President Jackson referred questions to Michelle Conlin. There are now 19 regional National Training Centers and the USTA is focusing on these. The CTC is a district sized academy, one day a week for two months. Shelley George is in charge and hired Michele to run it. Balls and t-shirt for 2012 are being shipped now by National. The Valley Rally is gone. There were exchanges with Omaha, NE and Rodchester, MN in the past. If there is an interest, ITA would help to support it. It was suggested to refer the matter to the ITA Junior Competition. The High Performance committee would go away (and update the By-laws) and a District CTC would have to be created. Colorado has a good program like this, according to Amanda Aragon. Multiple sites might be a possibility. President Jackson will speak to Shelley George before proceeding. The Junior Competiton Committee chair Phil Williams was not present nor did he offer a report. (Phil has a wedding coming up 11-11-11 and also a new job.) The Endorsement Tournaments will be offered for 2012, per committee member Ryan Roeth. No travel for the 10's. Mark Blume added that the standings list being used currently is the MV; a combined ranking could be used. The Iowa tournaments are all equal at the MV level, with the exception of the Endorsement tournaments. The Natiional tournament ranking points table is changing in 2012; if you win a national tournament, it is worth 1,200 points (verses 600 points now), per Mary Buschmann. It was also suggested that the 10 and under tournaments need to be on a seperate website page and/or in the Net News. An e-mail blast and poster listing for tennis clubs could also help promote 10 and under tennis. Personnel/Nomination Committee report was presented by Stu Dusenberry. After Laurie Deninger resigned, Cathy Linn was hired in July to work with Jan Koder on League Coordination. Ryan Roeth resigned as ITA Executive Secretary and Mark
Blume was hired as of September. Nominations for the 2012 ITA Executive Board will be accepted through Dec. 31, 2011. Resumes need to be e-mailed to Stu Dusenberry at sddins62@yahoo.com The 2012 Slate will be developed in January. The Slate of officers will be presented for approvel at the Spring ITA meeting February 12, 2012. The Recreation Committee is an open chair and the report was presented by John Terpkosh. Carole Hoffman is the sub-chair of Junior Recreation. There is JTT/QST District Incentive Grants of $2,000 budget, with none distributed to date; there is about $800 that would be requested. Teams registered through Tennislink, player count is 200. Recommendation for 2012, end the grant program for District Incentive Program. Junior Team Tennis District JTT Playoffs were held in Des Moines on July 14th. STARS - Des Moines was first place and Ames was second place. STRIPES - Des Moines was first place and Audubon was second place. School Tennis Workshop in Davenport will be October 31st with 19 elementary and 11 intermediate PE teachers to be trained. Kim Bradfield, Sub-Chair for Adult Recreation reported two summer ISP clinics were held in Ft. Madison. Parks & Recreation sub chair Jack Wardell submitted the 86th annual Public Parks Tennis Championships will be in Denver, CO in July 2012. The Umpires Committee report was submitted by Donna Farley. Five umpire schools (2 sectional, 2 collegiate, and 1 provisional) were held in Iowa City and Des Moines. The Chair Academy took place in Iowa City on May 14th with 12 umpires and Tony Nimmons from the National Staff was the instructor. Two grants were distributed in 2011. The Awards committee report was presented by Carol Ward. 2011 awards include: Community Service Excelence: Carole Hoffman, Audubon, IA Distinguished Service - Ryan Roeth, Ames, IA Tennis Family of the Year - The Dileo Family, Iowa City, IA Jr. Female Player of the Year - Katie Hammond, Cedar Rapids, IA Jr. Male Player of the Year - John Ellis, Boone, IA Adult Player of the Year Kristine Diehl, Coralville, IA Recreational Adult Player of the Year Sean Milzo, Orin, IL Recreational Jr. Player of the Year McKenzie Krauel, Audubon, IA Outstanding Contributor to Youth Programs Penny Bennett, Mason City, IA Outstanding Contributor to Adult Leagues Kathy Anderl, Cedar Rapids, IA Donna Farley Outstanding Official Noah Young, North Liberty, IA Outstanding High School Coach Joe Benedict, Cedar Rapids, IA Facility of the Year Graham Park Tennis Courts, Carroll, IA Member Organization North Dodge Athletic Club, Iowa City, IA Outstanding Junior Tournament Baird Iowa Open, Cedar Rapids, IA Outstanding Adult Tournament Michelob Light Adult Open, Clive, IA Outstanding community Tennis Association SportAbility of Iowa, Solon, IA Event of the Year Adaptive Sports Iowa Summit, Ames, IA
President s Award John De Lorbe, Waterloo, IA The Marketing Committee chair Kathy Anderl could not be with us due to the tragic loss of her husband. The report submitted by John Terpkosh. Scott Drake is the web manager for the Iowa District website. Please send stories and pictures to him for posting at scottdrake.ita@gmail.com In addition, Mark Blume has created a Facebook page for the Iowa District. The e-mail Blasts will be taken over by Mark Blume. Committee chairs and tournament directors need to send things they want posted to be to Mark by the first of the month and will be sent out by the 15th of the month. Membership committee report by Ann Carder. USTA memberships will be going up in 2012 (last increase was 3 years ago) so renew for extended years before the end of the year. Encourage junior members to renew for five years so they can save $39 at the junior membership rate over the adult rate ($76 verses $115 through 12-31-11). The Free First Year Junior Membership program will be extended through 2012. USTA Missouri Valley Membership Grants for up to $500 are still available. Iowa has a total of 3,373 individual/family members and 82 organizational members. Special Populations/Wheelchair committee report was given by chair Sue Nelson. Katie Lammers is her sub-chair for special populations. On Oct. 22nd, ITA/Speical Olympics held an Iowa Tennis Clinic in Bettendorf. Mike Cranford conducted the training. They are working on a play day for the Iowa and Nebraska special Olympians in June 2012. Wheelchair conducted a tennis wheelchair training in Cedar Rapids on June 17th. On June 18th the first Volley Clinic/UNI Adapted Sport Camp. Jan Koder moved and Stu Dusenberry seconded that all the action taken at this meeting, new chairs, new secretary pro tem be approved. Motion carried. Tylor Schlader wants to run an 8 & under tournament and a 10 & under one day tournaments on June 16 and July 14, 2012. They will be using 5 stand alone 60' courts (and 36' courts) at Byrdland in Des Moines. Request approved by motion by Mark Blume and Stu Dusenberry seconded. Bunny would like to add a 12 and under to her clay court tournament (now a 14 and under) in Des Moines the 3rd week of April. She can as no approval necessary. Ryan Roeth would like to sanction a tournament in Ankeny on June 11 & 12, 2012 on their new courts (a tournament at Drake was on these dates and is no longer being offered). Ankeny would become a new organizational member. Also, September 21-23, 2012, Ryan would like to have a tournament in Ankeny as well. Also, QuickStart tournaments, orange ball 60' court & 14 (green ball), 2012, and same format for March 23 &24 and April 13 & 14, 2012 in Ames. Motion by Jan Koder and seconded by Mark Blume. Motion carried. Dec. 7-9, 2011 at Hawkeye QuickStart 10 and under as well as limited draws up to 18's. It was originally a tournament time by Bettendorf that is no longer taking place. Moved by Ryan Roeth and seconded by Cindy Rasche. Motion carried.
Jan Koder moved and seconded by Stu Dusenberry to approve the 2012 budget with the addition of $200 for membership committee. Motion carried. Next meeting is in Iowa City at the Clarion Inn (old Highlander) at 10:00 am on February 12, 2012. The tournament directors will need to meet after lunch to see the new version of TDM and review the 10 & under tournament rules. A staff member from the Missouri Valley will be there to help with the 10 & under workshop. There are new senior programs being offered on the 60' courts. Meeting adjourned at 12:05 PM. Awards luncheon followed at 12:30 PM. Respectfully submitted, Ann Carder Secretary Pro Tem