Board Meeting — 7/8/24

Call to Order / Welcome

President Mike Null called the Board Meeting to order at 5:35 PM and thanked the group for attending. He welcomed all members, including ex-officio member, Dolly Robinson. Members in attendance included the following: President M. Null, Laura Null, Joe Hinkle, Debbi Carter, Tara Bell, Eshu Xi Amaru, and Linda Williams.

Guests

No guests were present. President M. Null said George English of USTA FL was unable to attend. However, Mr. English and the new USTA FL Adult Tennis Coordinator may be able to attend the next LCCCTA meeting.

Approval of Minutes

Laura Null made a motion to approve the Minutes of the May 13th Board Meeting; seconded by J. Hinkle, and the motion carried unanimously. Correspondence via email between Board members (in lieu of the tentative June 10th meeting) provided written voter approval for purchasing necessary tennis equipment.

President M. Null explained a LCCCTA By-Law which allows the appointment of a Board Member during an interim period. New Board Members are voted upon in February of each year. President M. Null described an active participant who is both a tennis player and volunteer and is available to assist LCCCTA in any way.

Mr. Eshu Xi Amaru recently moved to the area and has been engaged with youth tennis camps, USTA training, and SAFEPLAY certification. President Null made a nomination that Eshu Xi Amaru be accepted to the LCCCTA Board effective immediately, seconded by Debbi Carter, and the motion carried unanimously.

President M. Null provided a copy of the letter he composed (attached to the agenda) expressing gratitude to the Columbia County Board of County Commissioners for the center bleacher shade, costing just under $19,000. In addition to paying for the shade, Columbia County provided crew oversight to install the GameTime shade structure. A large Columbia County banner was provided by LCCCTA to recognize the County’s generous contribution.

President M. Null added that Tony Britt of the Lake City Reporter was present and published a very nice article with photos of the Dedication Ceremony held following the Summer Tennis Camp on July 20th. Both City and County representatives were present for the special event.

President M. Null announced the tennis backboard on Court 4 has been relocated from Madison Street to DeSoto Street and an extra panel has been added. Rudy Howell purchased materials and completed the project. In lieu of pay for his time and labor, Mr. Howell told Dolly Robinson he would like to make a $250 contribution to LCCCTA to sponsor Court 4.

President M. Null entertained a motion to ratify the “Rudy & Faye Howell” sponsorship. Tara Bell made a motion, seconded by Joe Hinkle, and the motion carried unanimously. President Null reminded the Board that all named sponsorships are entirely for fundraising purposes only; they are not permanent, as LCCCTA only manages the tennis courts and does not have a contractual agreement with the City of Lake City.

VP/Secretary L. Williams provided a summary of LCCCTA’s 8th Annual Montgomery Summer Youth Tennis Camp and expressed appreciation to all the coaches. The three-week youth tennis camp had 25 participants between the ages of 6-17 years old. Since there were 6 volunteer coaches, one paid camp director, and two paid coaches, players had opportunities to play more frequently, and therefore, improved very quickly. The camp photographer was Laura Hunter-Null who did a fantastic job capturing all the tennis activity via photos and videos.

LCCCTA offered limited scholarships to two players for the summer camp by providing an online LCCCTA link available for parents to submit their applications to be considered for their child’s registration fees to be waived. Funding and support for the camp was provided by Youth Tennis Foundation (YTF) of FL and tennis equipment was provided by USTA FL. Each of the participants received YTF/LCCCTA t-shirts.

On the final day, refreshments and raffles were enjoyed by all participants, with the Dedication Ceremony for the shade structure immediately following the camp. L. Williams reported that she sent emails to LCCCTA Tennis Partners and Adult Tennis Social players so they would have an opportunity to support LCCCTA through donations.

Banner sponsor renewals were due by June 30th and all have renewed their banners through June 30, 2025. Dolly Robinson suggested that the webmaster not pay a banner renewal fee based upon the many in-kind services she donates.

Debbi Carter made a motion to exempt/waive renewal banner fees for both the on-site tennis professional, Mark Mansbach, as well as for Wyfenbok, the business providing various in-kind marketing services for LCCCTA, was seconded by Eshu Xi Amaru, and the motion carried unanimously.

D. Robinson recommended that LCCCTA volunteers/coaches use the same form that was created for LCCCTA in the past to document in-kind volunteer services—donated time/resources for the association. The rate equivalency per volunteer hour is $28.54. D. Carter suggested that Coach Mark Mansbach also keep his donated time documented.

L. Willliams will send the ‘in-kind’ form to all members and volunteers via email, as well as bring hard copies to the next meeting.

L. Williams reported three local private elementary schools are very interested in having tennis taught to their students through USTA FL’s Net Generation Program. They are considering afterschool programs and/or SHAPE lesson plans provided by USTA FL at no cost to their schools.

L. Williams said George English will contact the schools this month.

D. Robinson suggested contacting the middle schools to gain student interest via Net Generation. This program will give an advantage to those students planning to play tennis in high school.

President M. Null said he plans to contact the PE chairman for the Columbia County public schools.

Treasurer J. Hinkle provided a current financial report showing a bank balance of $3,436.55 with a check for $120 not clearing as of July 8, 2024. The general account has a balance of $2,955.50, the YTF account contains $193.82, and the Adult League account has a $167.23 balance.

New Business

L. Williams mentioned signs provided by the City of Lake City are currently posted on the fences at the tennis courts displaying two-hour time blocks for court use. Dolly Robinson recommended the signs be changed to 1.5 hour time slots, so players don’t have to wait as long for courts when they are at full capacity. She suggested using a white board to sign up for time slots.

President Null said at this time the courts will be first come, first serve. The tennis courts have only been reserved for youth camps and adult social events—which are posted on the gates ahead of time.

President M. Null asked Board members, D. Carter and E. Amaru to watch tennis court traffic and report any issues to him so conflicts can be avoided or resolved.

L. Hunter-Null let the Board know that she spoke with the parents of our summer camp participants. They are interested in learning to play tennis with their children and would like to know more about USTA’s Learn to Love/Learn to Play Program. A tennis professional instructs participants during the first 3 weeks of ‘Learn to Love’, and the following 3 weeks of ‘Learn to Play’, adult beginners play against each other and also tennis volunteers.

Tara Bell said that she participated in this same program when LCCCTA conducted it several years ago; that is how she learned to play tennis.

D. Carter offered to contact the USTA FL adult tennis coordinator for our area to obtain more information.

President M. Null thanked LCCCTA’s Adult Coordinator, Debbi Carter, for continuing to promote adult tennis and for always obtaining input from players to set up the best times for groups. The time slots of 5:30 PM and 7:00 PM on Tuesdays seem to be working well, and the leadership is very much appreciated!

President M. Null thanked everyone for their time and support and adjourned the meeting at 7:00 PM.

Next tentative meeting set for Monday, August 12, 2024 at 5:30 PM.