A Letter From Our President

This is the last letter from me as President of USTA Oklahoma. I am very, very, excited that in the next issue you will be hearing from Mary Jo Tasker. 

Mary Jo is going to be an amazing leader for USTA Oklahoma. She has a rich background in USTA programming from being an official to having sons that were high performance juniors and played college tennis, a captain of more teams than I can count for adult league tennis and married to a 5.0 player. Wow. Serious tennis family. You simply will not find anyone that will work harder and spend more time on improving our game and the experience for all of our tennis family. Best of luck to you Mary Jo and I trust each and every one of you will give her your best wishes and support! 

I do want to thank the hundreds of volunteers and our great staff for making the last three years serving as President a joyous and wonderful experience for my family and me. It starts with my wife, Alicia. She has supported me 100% of the time – never complaining about the late night phone calls, traveling to meetings and talking tennis over dinner. 

While there is no way to point out everyone there are some I would like to especially thank: 

Our Volunteer Leadership – Mary Jo has worked tirelessly leading our adult comp. team (leagues/tournaments) and interacting with our Adult League Coordinators. Our adult league numbers continue to amaze folks from all over the United States. 

Dwayne Campbell – there is a reason he received the President’s Award at our 2019 banquet. Never seeking the spotlight but ever diligent to ensure we stay between the rails fiscally; Dwayne’s role is stabilizing and growing USTA Oklahoma financially over the last 8 years has been truly remarkable. 

Steve Henry – our Past President and hard working volunteer for recruiting me into volunteer service 10 years ago. 

Our staff – Casey, Dean, Wink, Marc, Becky, Laura and Michelle: great stuff guys. What can I say. We have the best staff in the business. Thank you. 

David Minihan – Thank you for enabling me to be the volunteer leader of USTA Oklahoma. As our Executive Director you have been a true partner always asking where I stood, valuing my feedback and working to create a true culture of mutual, sincere respect for one another that extends across our entire organization. 

If you are reading this letter and happen to run across any of our volunteers or our staff please consider taking a moment, stopping them and offering your thanks. Tennis enjoys a culture where the volunteer voice matters. In closing and as Mary Jo steps in let me be the first to stop and offer my most sincere thanks to each and every one of you that are involved in our game. 

Cordially, Bill Towler, USTA Oklahoma President