Bunag, True Hall of Fame Honorees

Susan True

Susan True is a legend in her own right and one of the champions of women’s sports in America. Her resume is stacked, even if you don’t take tennis into account.

True became an advocate of passing Title IX legislation. She took a position at Washburn University as the school’s gymnastics coach. Along the way, she worked as a high school P.E. teacher, served with the National Federation of State High School Associations and held a position on the board of directors for USA Volleyball, Gymnastics and Field Hockey.

Even still, True maintains a strong voice for women in sport. She recognizes that things have come a long way, but that there is still work to be done.

“We will always battle for women’s fair share, especially at the collegiate level,” she said. “I hope that the young women now understand what people like Billie Jean King and a lot of other people did to make that possible.”

True became involved with tennis and the USTA later in her life, beginning as an officer for USTA Missouri Valley. 

“Even though I worked at the sectional level, I was still a USTA Heart of America person,” True said.

With her previous experience as a proponent for women’s sports and a former board member of multiple national governing bodies, True felt like her niche was in the nitty-gritty of it all: bylaws.

“It seemed like every board I served on was bylaws, and it was because I was one of the pioneer women with Title IX,” True said. “One of the first things I was asked to do was make sure that the USTA Heart of America bylaws were consistent with the USTA Missouri Valley.”

True also served as the Volunteer Coordinator for the Heart of America, a role which she felt unprepared for when she took the title. Over time, it came to be one of her favorite experiences with the USTA.

“It concerned me at first, because I didn’t know how many people I knew,” she said. “But that’s probably the best thing I’ve ever been asked to do. When you’re recruiting volunteers and you work together, you really get to know each other.”

She recalls a time when USTA Heart of America hosted two large Pro Circuit events with fondness.

“I was so pleased, because the people who volunteered enjoyed it so much that they brought a whole new crew of people in to help,” True said. 

True also played a vital role in helping expand tennis’s role in Kansas City. She worked with Fred Johnson to provide two years of clinics for inner-city youth.

“To see their faces, most of them had never even watched tennis, let alone held a racket,” she said. “Those are the things I’ll always remember.”

In her time with USTA Missouri Valley, she served as the Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. She was a Chair of the Awards committee for the Missouri Valley and the Heart of America and has maintained an active status as a volunteer around the area. For her work both within the tennis world and outside of it, True has appropriately assumed her position in the USTA Heart of America Hall of Fame.

“It was a very wonderful honor,” she said. “I wasn’t a tennis player, I just got involved through volunteering. But tennis people are terrific, and to think that they would honor me by inducting me into the Hall of Fame was an incredible honor.”

For more of True’s story, you can read the article from her Gold Star Award in October.