USTA Missouri Valley Hall of Fame Inductees; Award Winners Honored

More than 200 people attended the USTA Missouri Valley Annual Conference December 1-2 at the Sheraton Hotel in Overland Park, Kan. The conference’s theme, “Join the Future of Tennis” set the tone for the weekend as speakers and workshops focused on the USTA’s new Net Generation, and how the brand will unite around a source for local community members to find programs, certified coaches and facilities.

The opening session featured a video of Craig Morris, General Manager of Community Tennis and Youth Tennis for USTA National. Morris spoke about how providers can get involved in Net Generation.

To view a photo gallery from the event, click here.

Following Morris’ presentation, USTA Missouri Valley hosted a panel titled “Net Generation in Your Community, and featured Matt Wiemers, high school coach and elementary school teacher in McCook, Nebraska; Emmy Tigert, an NJTL executive director in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Larry Newton, tournament director and community based pilot program volunteer in Omaha, Nebraska; Max Shapiro, Junior Team Tennis coach in St. Louis, and Dee Wharton, Junior Team Tennis coordinator in St. Louis.

The USTA Missouri Valley honored its 2017 USTA Hall of Fame Class during a luncheon on Saturday. Inducted this year were Buff Farrow, (Wichita, Kansas), Francis P. Lemery, (Overland Park, Kansas), and Richard M. Perry (Enid, Oklahoma). The three new members of the USTA Missouri Valley Hall of Fame bring the new total number of members to 126. Also honored Saturday were more than 20 USTA Missouri Valley award winners and 10 junior sportsmanship winners.

The conference also included Adult League Coordinator Training, Junior Team Tennis Coordinator Training, and an on-court Net Generation Coaches Workshop.