News

The United States Professional Tennis Association installed its new national board of directors that will serve the association until September 2011. Officers include a new president, vice presidents and secretary-treasurer. The new board took office during the USPTA World Conference on Tennis, Sept. 21-26, at the Marco Island Marriott Resort, Golf Club and Spa on Marco Island, Fla.

The new USPTA board of directors includes:

The USPTA board manages the association’s affairs between meetings of the larger USPTA Executive Committee, which includes the board, three past national presidents, and elected leaders from each of the USPTA’s 17 domestic divisions. Board members are nominated by a committee composed of Executive Committee members.

The chief executive officer of the USPTA since 1982 is Tim Heckler. The USPTA World Headquarters is in Houston.

Founded in 1927, USPTA strives to raise the standards of the tennis profession while promoting greater awareness of the sport. USPTA offers more than 65 professional benefits to its more than 15,000 members worldwide, including certification and professional development. With more than 300 days of educational opportunities throughout the year, USPTA offers the most comprehensive continuing education program in the tennis industry. For more information, call 800-877-8248 or visit uspta.com.

USPTA board member biographies

President Tom Daglis

Tom Daglis is the director of tennis and fitness operations at the Lakewood Country Club in Rockville, Md. He has served as past president for the USPTA Southern Division in 1995 and 1996 and as the First Vice President of the USPTA National Board of Directors. The USPTA has honored Daglis with distinctions such as 2003 George Bacso Tester of the Year, 1992 Southern Professional of the Year, two-time Georgia Professional of the Year, three-time USPTA Southern Tester of the Year and twice with the prestigious Southern Pride of the South award. In 2006, he was awarded the USPTA’s most prestigious award, as the Alex Gordon Professional of the Year. For over nine years, Tom has acted as business consultant for the Southern Tennis Academy and as president/founder of Peachtree Tennis Promotions, Inc., he has successfully directed large tennis events and coach’s workshops on a national scale. His active involvement in the tennis industry has resulted in being previously selected as a USTA Zonal Coach and USTA Area Training Center Coach and Administrator. Daglis has often been a featured speaker at the USPTA World Conference and USPTA division conventions across the country.

First Vice President Randy Mattingley

Randy Mattingley, who has been a USPTA Professional 1 member since 1980, is the director of tennis at The Clubs of Kingwood in Kingwood, Texas. The club has 34 tennis courts, 6 1/2 golf courses, and a 46,000-square-foot clubhouse. He is also past president of the USPTA Texas Division and served on the Management Committee of the USTA Texas Section. He was chairman of the USPTA Division Leaders Training Workshop and chairman of USPTA’s national Nominating Committee. He is a former Texas Division Professional of the Year and Special Service Award winner. Mattingley has hosted professional exhibitions that featured tennis greats such as Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Mary Joe Fernandez, Zina Garrison, Bill Scanlon, Vitas Gerilitas, and Ken Rosewall. He has held numerous No. 1 rankings in Texas, as well as national rankings. He is a past recipient of the Player of the Year and Professional of the Year awards in the Texas Division.

Vice President Jack Groppel, Ph.D.

Jack Groppel, Ph.D., of Algonquin, Ill., is a pioneer in the science of human performance, and an expert in fitness and nutrition. This USPTA Master Professional is the vice chairman and co-founder of the Human Performance Institute in Orlando, Fla. In 1992, he joined with Jim Loehr to form what was then called LGE Performance Systems Inc. Groppel developed the Corporate Athlete® concept for his training program while serving as an associate professor of kinesiology and bioengineering at the University of Illinois. He currently is an adjunct professor of management at the J.L. Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Chicago. A fellow in the American College of Sports Medicine, he is a board-certified nutritionist in the American College of Nutrition and a former research associate with the U.S. Olympic Training Center. He served for 16 years as chairman of the National Sport Science Committee of the USTA and he is a recipient of the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s Educational Merit Award.

Vice President Mark Fairchilds

Mark Fairchilds has been the director of tennis at Modesto Fitness and Racket Club in Modesto, Calif., since 1991. He became a member of USPTA in 1987 and began serving on the Northern California Division Board of Directors in 1992, becoming president in 1998. Fairchilds is the 1992 USPTA Men’s Open Singles champion and 1993 USPTA national Open Player of the Year. He served as chairman of the USPTA Nominating Committee in 1999. He was also honored as USPTA Northern California Pro of the Year in 2003 and Inside Tennis Northern California Men’s Open Player of the Past 25 Years in 2006.

Vice President Jim Loehr, Ed.D.

Jim Loehr, Ed.D., is the chairman, CEO and co-founder of the Human Performance Institute in Orlando, Fla. He is a world-renowned performance psychologist and author of 15 books including his most recent, The Power of Story. He also co-authored the national bestseller The Power of Full Engagement. Dr. Loehr has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show where an entire program was devoted to his ground-breaking, energy management training system and concepts. He has also appeared on NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Nightline with Ted Koppel, The CBS Evening News with Dan Rather and CBS Morning News. Dr. Loehr’s work has been chronicled in leading national publications including the Harvard Business Review, Fortune, Newsweek, Time, US News and World Report, Success, Fast Company and Omni. Loehr has worked with hundreds of world-class performers from the arenas of sport, business, medicine and law enforcement including Fortune 100 executives, FBI Hostage Rescue Teams, and military Special Forces. His elite clients from the world of sport include: golfers Mark O’Meara and Justin Rose; tennis players Jim Courier, Monica Seles, and Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario; boxer Ray Mancini; hockey players Eric Lindros and Mike Richter; and Olympic gold medal speed skater Dan Jansen.

Vice President Bunny Bruning

Bunny Bruning is the tennis director of Wakonda Club in Des Moines, Iowa and teaching professional at 7 Flags Fitness & Racquet Club in Clive, Iowa. She has served as president of the USPTA Missouri Valley and has also been a tester for the division. She holds a specialist degree in Competitive Player Development, was the first woman to be inducted into the Missouri Valley Hall of Fame in 2001 and is a four-time division pro of the year award recipient. As a player, she played on the WTA pro tour from 1974 to 1983 and was ranked as high as No. 41 in the world in singles and No. 18 in the world in doubles.

Secretary-treasurer Chuck Gill

Chuck Gill has served as director of tennis at Ibis Golf and Country Club in West Palm Beach, Fla., since 1995. He also has been active in the USPTA, serving on the Florida Division’s board of directors since 1995. He served as president of the division in 2002-03. Gill was named the USPTA Florida Division Professional of the Year in 2002, Northern New England Pro of the Year in 1986 and Florida Division’s Tester of the Year in 2005. He is a member of the USTA and serves on the professional advisory staffs of HEAD Penn Racquet Sports and Nike. He also is on the board of directors for the Tim and Tom Gullikson Foundation and has been involved with many “Lessons for Life” charity events. As a player, Gill’s past USPTA rankings include No. 9 in men’s 35 singles (1993), No. 3 in men’s 40s singles (1998), No. 5 in men’s 40 doubles, No. 9 in men’s 45 singles (2003) and No. 3 in men’s 45 doubles (2005).

Immediate Past President Harry Gilbert

Harry Gilbert is director of tennis at Ginn Hammock Beach Resort in Palm Coast, Fla. He has been a USPTA member since 1981. Gilbert served on USPTA’s Florida Division Board of Directors for eight years, including a three-year term as president. He was named Florida Division Professional of the Year in 1992 and 1994. Gilbert’s success on the court earned him recognition by Tennis magazine as “One of America’s Top Teachers” in 1993. As a player, Gilbert has held sectional and national USTA rankings, as well as divisional and national USPTA rankings. He also has been a USTA clinician and Area Training Center coach. He is a regular seminar speaker at divisional and international USPTA conventions. Gilbert is a member of the teaching professional staffs for HEAD Penn Racquet Sports and Reebok.