ANNUAL 2021 Annual Meeting MEETING BY EMMY POWELL, NET NEWS EDITOR
Top: ALTA President Debbie Gaster receives her President’s Award, while ALTA Chairman of the Board Joyce Vance is honored with her Chairman’s Award. Center: Melvina Jefferson is honored as a 25-year Hall of Fame member. Bottom: Diane O’Brien receives special recognition and is presented with a 50th anniversary honorary plate upon her retirement after serving as the office manager for 16 years. Right: The 2021 Coordinators of the Year are (pictured from L-R): Jane Jones, Barbara Ingram, Kirsten Sykes, Kevin Houston, Cindy Saunders, and Karen Carroll. 36
NETNEWS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022
out their assigned duties, but also staying abreast of all the inner workings of ALTA League play. She went on to thank O’Brien, Renee Bowen, Joan Appelbaum, Emmy Powell, and Leslie Gersack for their dedication to keeping the organization moving forward during months of COVID restrictions. Since 2017, the ALTA Board of Directors has prioritized boosting membership and improving members’ experiences. ALTA has succeeded with this on many levels. One of the goals has been to determine how best to market and brand the organization. “I am pleased to share that we have experienced success in those areas by increasing our marketing efforts through social media,” Vance said. “Those efforts include improving the functionality of our website, utilizing the Net News magazine, and improving community outreach with our local tennis professionals and various facilities.” She added, ALTA has five facilities that have 100 or more teams playing on a year-round basis, and we have about 25 clubs/facilities with more than 50 teams playing out of their centers. ALTA’s member numbers are up in double-digit percentages in all leagues, but one since 2017. Most of our adult leagues are close to our 2017 numbers and most have surpassed 2019 numbers. One of
Photos by Laura Barnard
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ach year, ALTA’s top brass comes together to recognize the organization’s volunteers and to elect new officers. This past November, ALTA’s Board Chairman, Joyce Vance, kicked off the event and was thankful that the meeting was once again back to normal at a nice venue, instead of the virtual meeting which was necessary in 2020 because of COVID-19. “When my chairperson duties began, I prayed for a speedy term, and I got it,” said Vance. She added that while time really passed quickly, that is no reflection of the Board’s diligence to work on behalf of ALTA’s members. In the early months of 2021, the ALTA office was still operating in a COVID-19 mode, meaning they were all working from home. In July, the office re-opened, and the full staff returned, with a flexible work schedule. ALTA has had many changes with the office staff. One major change was the retirement of ALTA Office Manager, Diane O’Brien, who retired after 16 years in that role and a total of 24 years of service to ALTA. “While we could never fill her shoes, 2021 ALTA President, Debbie Gaster, and her committee worked very hard to hire new staff members, Jena Pace and Michelle Camay, to keep the office running efficiently,” said Vance. “I like to commend the new hires for not only carrying
