Dear Southern California Tennis Community,

I am deeply honored to have been selected as the new President of the Southern California Tennis Association.  The sport of tennis has played an important role in my life, including influencing my formative years, instilling important values, and enabling me to have experiences and friends that would otherwise have been impossible.  I greatly appreciate the benefits that I have gained from tennis and hope to make those wonderful opportunities available to many others through my involvement with the SCTA.  The SCTA, which has always been the preeminent tennis organization in Southern California, is uniquely positioned to spread the benefits of our sport even more widely in our community and region.  I am excited to play a role in the achievement of that mission.    

All of us are fortunate to have benefitted from the excellent leadership of our immediate Past President, William “Bill” Kellogg.   His dedication and tireless efforts on behalf of all the members of our Section over the last two years have significantly contributed to our organization’s current momentum.  It has been a pleasure for me to work with Bill as an SCTA Board Member during his tenure.  I am happy to report that Bill has graciously offered to remain engaged with the SCTA as our Section’s delegate in 2017.  In that role, he will represent the SCTA at the national level with the United States Tennis Association.

Based on my own experience and that of many others whom I know well, I am confident that tennis is a unique sport that can teach “lifelong lessons”, build enriching relationships among participants, and help our juniors to develop the skills, competitive spirit, and confidence that will help them succeed throughout their lives. To help our current and future members to attain these wonderful benefits, I believe the SCTA needs to:

• Ensure that sportsmanship is the norm and not the exception. How one acts on the court is often a strong indicator of how one acts off the court. Over the past year, our Section has made great progress in promoting and recognizing exceptional sportsmanship while eliminating poor behavior. Yet, there is still room for improvement.
• Listen carefully to the needs and desires of our members (who are our customers) and provide innovative improvements to the membership experience. These approaches will include new tournament formats, more team-oriented events, and more digital engagement within our tennis community. These enhancements will hopefully bring the enjoyment of tennis to more adult and junior players and build new relationships among our members. 

In pursuing these initiatives, I look forward to working closely with the leadership of the SCTA and to meeting many of our tennis enthusiasts.   The SCTA’s Board of Directors and staff are 100% dedicated to our sport and are focused on offering the best tennis-related events possible.  And all of us on the SCTA team very much welcome your suggestions on how to continue improving our programs so please feel free to reach out to us at suggestions@scta.usta.com.   The efforts of the SCTA, together with your involvement, will make 2017 a great year for our Section.  I hope to see you on the courts soon!

Sincerely,
Christopher Lewis
President
Southern California Tennis Association