Noam Okun of Israel, 2004 winner during the finals

The tournament has already secured $45,000 in advertising to showcase next year’s event. The sponsorship packages have been streamlined and are pleasing to the eye. More importantly, they contain added value and exposure for sponsors. The YMCA will once again run its Saturday night charity event. The Discovery Center is coming aboard as an additional charity, and will run a dinner event on site, as well as maintain an on-site presence. A recent sponsorship appreciation/kickoff celebration was held at Zazou, where many of our corporate sponsors were treated to a great evening, which included a highlight video of the tournament. Many thanks to Jeff Hirst for his web/video/computer mastery in piecing together a telling and well done video. And special kudos to Mary Jane Nugent, for orchestrating and executing a wonderful and special tournament evening at Zazou. As you can see, we’ve already generated quite a buzz regarding our event.

Vico Certa of Italy enjoying a view from his box seat perch during the Ace with Pace competition

While the tournament is gaining momentum and energy as we enter our 12th year, obstacles lie ahead. We still do not have a title sponsor. While the USTA has approved Recreation Park as a site next year, the park’s courts and facility will have to be upgraded in order for us to remain there in future years. The tournament has been running at a deficit the past few years, and additional funds must be raised to keep it alive. Unlike the Ross Park Zoo, we do not have access to county funds or newspaper headlines to assist our efforts.

The USTA has given us a December 12 deadline by which to raise “committed” funds totaling $35,000. If we do not , we lose our event. While the fundraising committee has done a great job thus far, we are only half way to our goal. We are in need of new sponsors and individual committments.

BTC has placed sponsorhsip packets and VIP Patron ticket literature at our counter. We are now soliciting VIP or Patron ticket sales. If you purchase by Dec 12, you will receive a 5% discount off the package price of a VIP ticket or any sponsorship package. If you sign up for a sponsorship package or VIP ticket by filling out a committment form before Dec 12, you can still pay by the normal deadline (next June I think). Any funds we either collect or commit by Dec 12 will count toward our USTA mandate. As you can see, the Dec 12 deadline is an important one for us - very important.

I have always maintained that this tournament is vital to our tennis community. This tournament is part of our identity, part of our local tennis culture. Lose this tournament, and we lose a part of us. Pardon the old adage, but it is time to step up to the plate. If you do not want to lose this event and you have the means to help financially in any way, now is the time to do so. There are so many of you who have lived and breathed life into event. You, as well as every spectator who has ever attended, deserve to see this event grow and thrive. Many pieces are in place. If we can get past our looming deadline, I think our event will enter a new era. Here’s to hoping…and caring