Charles Gates Jr. , Class of 2008

A graduate of Stanford University in 1943, Charlie became President and CEO in the family business, Gates Rubber Company, a world leader in the manufacturing of automotive and industrial hoses and belts.

Charlie was a passionate advocate of community progress and was involved in directing money to charitable organizations through his leadership of the Gates Family Foundation (GFF). In 1975, the GFF gifted the Gates Tennis Center to the citizens of Denver. Wanting to ensure its long-term sustainability, the GFF entrusted the facility to The Park People, a non-profit organization committed to preserving and enhancing Denver’s parks.

For the next 20 years, the GFF spent $1.5 million on improvement projects at the Center. Beginning in 2004, plans were developed to update the Center to serve the next generation of tennis players. At his last board meeting prior to his death, Charlie expressed his wishes to invest the dollars necessary to make the project a reality.

In his honor, the newly constructed West Center Court bears his name. Charlie’s Court is a fitting homage to the man whose leadership helped transform the one-time trash dump at Pulaski Park into one of America’s premier public tennis complexes.