From left, Rod Wannebo, Dick Swanson, Rashon Rajkumar, Charley Darley and Bob Gordon at the CCTA’s annual meeting on Sept. 11, 2019.
The Cook County Tennis Association (CCTA) held its annual meeting/ dinner at the Poplar Haus Restaurant, located 30 miles up the Gunflint Trail, on September 11, 2019. Thirty-five of its 120 members attended the annual meeting/dinner, enjoying the food, fellowship and program.
The evening began with some social time where members had an opportunity to mingle and visit with one another and our guest speaker, Roshan Rajkumar. Conversations and fellowship continued as the attendees enjoyed a delicious meal provided by the Poplar Haus. You need to check this restaurant out if you haven’t already! Beautiful setting and delicious food!
Cook County Tennis Association President Dick Swanson began the annual meeting portion of the evening by welcoming everyone and listing nominees for open CCTA board member positions. Six members of the board whose terms expired were re-elected for two more years. The 2019-20 CCTA board of directors includes: Dick Swanson – president, Bob Gordon – vice president, Administration and Marketing, Gene Glader – secretary, Jennifer Plahuta – treasurer and membership chairperson, Mike Carlson – facilities chairperson, Claron Krogness – adult programs, Kyle Oberg – youth programs, Bob Pranis – pickleball programs, Butch Piepho – open house event, Marie Reed – grant writing, Rod Wannebo – facilities. Charley Darley is the CCTA’s director of tennis. Some of the present responsibilities for these board members may or may not change during the coming year(s).
Gene Glader received the 2019 CCTA Member of the Year Award for all he does for the organization.
Thanks of gratitude go out to many other CCTA and community members who have helped with various CCTA programs, events and facility maintenance. A special thanks also goes out to significant event sponsors, Java Moose, Dockside Fish Market, Voyageur Brewing Company, Lake Superior Trading Post and Jesse Darley, as well as, other local business and individual donors and supporters of tennis and other racket sports in our county. We couldn’t have the pro- grams, events and facilities we have without your support!
Gene Glader received the 2019 CCTA “Member of the Year” award for all he has done and continues to do for the Cook County Tennis Association and growing the game of tennis and Pop Tennis.
Each attendee at the CCTA annual meeting / dinner received a program which listed among other things, a membership report (120 members), brief financial report, facility report, youth and adult instructional programs report, pickleball report, a list of CCTA accomplishments and challenges for this year and the future, and a diagram of the Cook County Tennis Association’s Mission, Vision, Values, and Strategies. If anyone is interested in this information, you can contact Dick Swanson (rwswanson@boreal.org), Rod Wannebo (rwannebo@boreal.org), Gene Glader (geneglader@gmail.com) or Bob Gordon (bullmoose@me.com).
Dick Swanson introduced our guest speaker, Roshan Rajkumar, who gave a dynamic talk on the topic of “Change.”
Rod Wannebo got to know Roshan about 10 years ago when they both were on the USTA Northern Section Board of Directors. Roshan has quite a resume. He is co-managing partner of Bowman and Brooke, LLP, graduate of U. of Minn. Law School, past president of USTA/Northern Section, and currently is chair of the USTA National Rule Leadership Counsel.
Roshan talked about how we need to be open to change and be willing to see things from other perspectives. Technology is changing a lot these days and we need to be aware of how this can affect people’s lives, for better or worse. We need to be willing to adapt to change, if necessary, to get more people involved.
Rashon also mentioned organizations need to be more inclusive, and try to get people different from ourselves involved. He said the CCTA is probably ahead of other organizations because of the fact that it is trying to include and work with other racket sports, such as pickleball and Pop Tennis. The Cook County Tennis Association is also trying to provide tennis programs in Grand Portage, again, as it has in the past. The CCTA would welcome a Grand Portage representative on its board of directors.
The CCTA would like to see more young(er) adults become involved in its organization in order to keep it going strong into the future. Tennis, Pop Tennis and pickleball are lifetime sports, which can be enjoyed by everyone, so let’s continue to support and provide these programs for both present and future generations!
Leave a Reply