a sport for life
About Us
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Mission
To expand tennis opportunities for all in Anne Arundel County, and to promote the sport of tennis for health, wellness, and life.
The Tennis Alliance
Who We Are
- 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
- Accredited with Anne Arundel County Department of Recreation and Parks
- Certified vendor for the City of Annapolis Recreation and Parks
- Certified as a USTA Community Tennis Association (CTA)
- Certified as a USTA National Junior Tennis & Learning (NJTL) Chapter.
- Member Healthy Anne Arundel Coalition, Healthy Eating Active Living
committee (HEAL), and Diversity Inclusion Sub-Committee
What We Do
- Provide free tennis lessons and distribute free rackets to youth and parents in under-resourced communities. In 2023 over 350 youth and 90 adults participated in Tennis Alliance programs.
- Include an educational component that supports healthy eating and promotes
values learned through sport. - Offer 6-week programs, one-time introductions to tennis, and support
community events with interactive booths. - Use the sport of tennis to teach skills and promote values that enable youth to
embrace an active and diverse lifestyle throughout their lives. - The December Tennis Alliance Newsletter lists 2023 programs and partner organizations.
Board of Directors
Louise Gengler Thomas, President
Sharon Wood, Treasurer
Hillary Kuker, Secretary
Michele Archibald
Jeff DeCaro
Saverio Pellegrino
Ellen Humphries Ponder
Officers
PRESIDENT
Louise served as the Head Coach of Women’s Tennis at Princeton University for 25 years. She has served on several boards including the Princeton Tennis Program (PTP), one of the country’s most successful not-for-profit community-based tennis associations, and for 22 years she served on the Board of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).
Louise has received national recognition for her contributions to the community and to the growth of women’s collegiate tennis. She is a recipient of the Educational Merit Award presented by the International Tennis Hall of Fame and the ITA Meritorious Service Award. She was inducted into USTA Middle States Hall of Fame and the Mercer County Tennis Hall of Fame.
As a player Louise competed as a nationally ranked Junior, captained her college team, and with her sister Margie Gengler Smith, achieved a #7 national ranking in USTA Women’s Doubles.
Louise continued her coaching at College Park’s Junior Tennis Champions Center in 2011-2013. She served as the Assistant Tennis Coach at Annapolis High School from 2014 to 2016. BA Princeton University 1975.
Sharon Wood
TREASURER
Sharon Wood is retired and most recently served as the Vice President, Head of Investor Relations, for Independence Capital Partners (Lubert-Adler Management, Inc.)
She was responsible for Investor Relations and accurate information flow required by investors in five real estate funds and various funds including but not limited to biotech, mezzanine debt and distressed debt. Sharon set up processes to coordinate performance reporting between all funds and investors and served as Compliance officer.
Sharon is licensed as a Certified Public Accountant (1992) and a Maryland Real Estate Sales Associate (1981). She has an MBA and Master of Science from Johns Hopkins University and Bachelors of Science in both Finance and Accounting from the University of Baltimore.
Sharon has considerable nonprofit Board experience having served on the Boards of Central Maryland Lhasa Apso Fanciers, Olde Severna Park Improvement Association (Treasurer), and Career Real Estate Woman (CREW)- Public Affairs.
Hillary Kuker
Secretary
Hillary has worked as a sales representative for Culpeper Wood Preservers for over ten years. She has served on the Board of the Baltimore Museum of Art. Hillary earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland and has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Towson University.
Staff
Jennifer McGowan
Accounting director
Jennifer McGowan has been a volunteer with the Tennis Alliance of Anne Arundel County since 2014. In her role as Accounting Director, Jennifer is responsible for overseeing the general accounting and financial reporting functions and the financial services including accounts receivable and accounts payable.
Jennifer brings 30+ years of accounting and financial management experience in both for-profit and nonprofit arenas. She was a practicing CPA for 18 years with expertise in financial institutions and faith-based organizations. She was Director of Accounting and Finance at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, supervising a staff of 15 for 8 years. She currently provides full-range accounting and financial services from her home-based office. BBA, University of Texas at San Antonio, Accounting and Business Data Systems.
Newsletters
Annual Appeal – December 10, 2023
Fall Newsletter – November 8, 2023
Summer Newsletter – July 30, 2023
Spring Classes – June 1, 2023
Pop Up Tennis Festival – May 17, 2023
Annual Appeal – December 11, 2022
Outreach Programs reach 455 participants – November 6, 2022
Deadline to Comment on Budget – June 12, 2022
Pop Up Tennis Festival a Big Success – June 7, 2022
Tennis Site Given to Sports Fields – May 12, 2022
It’s Spring – Engage Now! – March 21, 2022
2022 Plan Eliminates Tennis Center Project. – The Tennis Community Must Speak Up – February 14, 2022
An Introduction to Tennis Alliance Outreach 2022 – January 16, 2022
Open letter to County Executive – Keep the Millersville Site for Tennis – December 30, 2021
FACILITY DEVELOPMENT FUND – NOTICE OF USE
This notice serves as a statement by the board of directors on the use of the Tennis Alliance Facility Development Fund, a restricted fund established by the board to support the Tennis Center at Millersville Park project, now abandoned by the County.
- Between 2014 and 2016 three 24 Hours of Tennis fundraisers were held at $100 per person. As the financials demonstrate, those proceeds went to the Facility Development Fund to pay for costs associated with the proposed tennis center.
- From 2017-2019, 24 Hours of Tennis event proceeds went into the General Fund to support the Tennis Alliance dual mission “to provide a year-round home for tennis in Anne Arundel County and to promote tennis for Life.” The proceeds were then split between the Facility Development Fund and the General Fund. The amount allocated between the two funds varied each year according to the nonprofit volunteer board voting procedure.
The Tennis Center at Millersville Park project was removed from the County Executive’s budget in 2021. The Tennis Alliance Board of Directors has voted to close out Facility Development Fund which was created for, and restricted to, the abandoned Millersville project.
The remaining $25,212 in the fund has been moved to the General Fund where it will support the Tennis Alliance ongoing mission as a USTA CTA (Community Tennis Association) and a USTA NJTL (National Junior Tennis and Learning) chapter to bring tennis opportunities to more youth and adults in Anne Arundel County. The 2024 Tennis Alliance mission is “to expand tennis opportunities for all in Anne Arundel County and to promote the sport of tennis for health, wellness, and life.”
The Tennis Alliance will continue to advocate for a year-round tennis center for Anne Arundel County. We are watching carefully as AACRP (Anne Arundel County Rec and Parks) planning for the tennis bubble at Lake Waterford Park in Pasadena moves forward.
Please reach out to board president, Louise Thomas, if you have any questions.