Press release annoucing 2017-18 USTA Southern Board of Directors nominations
To be voted on Jan. 20, 2017, in Atlanta, Ga.
Derek White, President & CEO, Savannah, Ga.
Derek White, of Savannah, Ga., has been nominated to the post of President & CEO of USTA Southern. If elected, he would be the first African-American in the top leadership position at USTA Southern. His first year on USTA Southern Board of Directors was in 2007 when he served as Secretary. In 2009, he began three two-year terms as Vice President. In 2015 he was elected Executive Vice President. A graduate of Mercer University and Georgia Southern University, White has also served as a member of the USTA Georgia Grievance Committee and the Executive Director Search Committee. He has held numerous positions at the national level. He has served on the USTA Constitution and Rules Committee, Tennis and Rules Committee and the Chair of the Grievance Committee for the 2015-16 term.
Bonnie Vandegrift, Executive Vice President, Asheville, N.C.
Bonnie Vandegrift has been nominated to the post of Executive Vice President of USTA Southern. In 2015 she was elected to her second two-year term as Vice President. She is the board liaison to the Adult League Committee. She previously served one term as Director at Large. Prior to becoming a Vice President, Vandegrift served 12 years on the USTA Southern League Committee, four years as Chairman and four years as Vice Chair. She is currently completing her second two-year term as Chairman of the USTA League Committee and has been a member of the national committee for 10 years. She also is a past President of USTA North Carolina and the North Carolina Tennis Foundation.
Randy Jackson, Vice President, Fort Smith, Ark.
Randy Jackson, of Ft. Smith, Ark., has been nominated to the post of Vice President for what would be his third, consecutive two-year term. Previously he held the post of Director at Large. Currently he is serving on the Board of the Arkansas Patrons Foundation and as USTA Southern Volunteer Recruitment and Development Task Force Chair. Additionally, he served as Chairman of the USTA Southern Governance Ad Hoc Committee and Chair of the USTA Southern Junior Safety Ad Hoc Committee. Jackson was inducted into the Arkansas Tennis Hall of Fame and served as USTA Arkansas President in 2005-2006. From 2006-2010 he served as chairman of the USTA Southern Jr. Team Tennis Committee and has served on the USTA National Jr. Team Tennis Committee since 2008, currently serving as vice chair.
Drew Meyers, Vice President, Lafayette, La.
Drew Meyers, of Lafayette, La., has been nominated to the post of USTA Southern Vice President. He is currently serving a two-year term as Secretary. He was elected to a three-year term as USTA Louisiana President from 2011-2014. Over the years, Meyers has held various positions with USTA Louisiana including Executive Vice President, Secretary, and Chair of the Junior Tennis Council. He has also been a member of USTA Southern Adult and Junior Competition committees and Senior Cup Subcommittee Chair. In addition to being a member of the USTA Adult Competition Committee (and served as Chair of the Senior Cup Subcommittee), he currently serves on the USTA Senior Team Selection Group which selects teams representing the United States in international cup competitions. Meyers has been captain of the Louisiana’s Men’s Senior Cup team since 2003 and, in 2014, he took over as captain of Team Southern for the Keith Donoff Challenge Cup, a men’s intersectional competition.
Ted Reese, Vice President, Holly Springs, N.C.
Ted Reese, of Holly Springs, N.C., has been nominated to the post of Vice President. He is currently serving as Vice President for the 2015-2016 term and previously served as Director at Large for the 2013-2014 term. A former USTA North Carolina President and Chairman of the USTA Southern Presidents Committee, Reese has also served as chair of the North Carolina Nominating Committee and President & Vice President of the North Carolina Tennis Foundation. He has served nationally for six years with the Local Play & 10U committees. At the Southern level, Reese has served as chairman & member of several committees and task forces as well as on the Southern Tennis Patrons Foundation. He is the General Manager and Director of Tennis at Sunset Ridge Racquet & Swim Club in his hometown, in addition to being President of Triangle Tennis Services, Inc. He has held the posts of coach of the Junior Davis Cup, Junior Federation Cup, USTA Zonal Team and numerous nationally-ranked, collegiate and professional players. He also currently serves as founder & co-tournament director of a USTA Pro Circuit Challenger event in Cary, N.C.
Brett Schwartz, Secretary, Mandeville, La.,
Brett Schwartz, of Mandeville, La., has been nominated to the post of USTA Southern Secretary. He is serving as USTA Southern Director at Large in the 2015-2016 term. He serves on the USTA Louisiana Board of Directors as a Past-President. At the sectional level he served as a member of the Player Development Committee (2005-2011) and was Vice-Chair of the Professional Relations Committee (2005-2007). He served as a member of the USTA Southern Junior Competition Committee (2011-present) and is Chair of the Collegiate Opportunity Subcommittee. He serves as a member of the USTA Collegiate Varsity Committee. Additionally, after Hurricane Katrina, Brett served on the Hurricane Katrina Grant Committee, which obtained and oversaw a $500,000 grant from the USTA to rebuild the public and private facilities in New Orleans. He is currently the Director of Tennis at the New Orleans Lawn Tennis Club, the oldest tennis club in America.
Dennis Miller, Treasurer, Madison, Miss.
Dennis Miller of Madison, Miss., has been nominated for a third consecutive term as USTA Southern Treasurer. He serves as Chairman of the USTA Southern Finance & Budget Review and Audit committees, and is also a member of the Human Resources Committee. Miller volunteers on the USTA Awards Committee, as a member and past president of the Board of Directors of the Tri-County Community Association and chairman of the Country Club of Jackson (Miss.) Tennis Committee. He previously served on the USTA Advocacy and Public Affairs Committee, as USTA Mississippi Treasurer, President of its Board of Directors and President of the Tennis Foundation of Mississippi.
John Cox, Director at Large, Cleveland, Miss.
John Cox, of Cleveland, Miss., has been nominated to the post of USTA Southern Director at Large. He has been serving in that post during the 2015-2016 term. He also served President of USTA Mississippi. He also previously served as the Chairman of the USTA Southern State President's Group and is the Board Liaison to the Constitution and Rules Committee and the Information Technology Committee. He is President of the Tennis Foundation of Mississippi, and has previously been a member of the Mississippi Southern Senior Cup team. At the national level, he is currently serving as a member of the USTA Membership Services Committee, and was one of eight volunteers selected nationwide to be in the inaugural class of the USTA Leadership Cohort. He is a practicing attorney in his hometown.
John Herring, Director at Large, Lexington, Ky.
John Herring, of Lexington, Ky., has been nominated to the post of USTA Southern Director at Large, his first nomination to the USTA Southern Board of Directors. He served as President of USTA Kentucky from 2012-2013 and was inducted into the Kentucky Tennis Hall of Fame in 2012. He has been a member of various USTA Southern committees, and has served as Vice Chair of the Finance Committee and as Chair of the Senior Cup Subcommittee. Herring serves as a member of the USTA School/After-School Committee, starting in 2013. John is a practicing CPA, accredited in business valuation and certified in financial forensics. He also serves as a board member of the Bluegrass Tennis Association.
Marcy Hirshberg, Director at Large, Johns Creek, Ga.
Marcy Hirshberg, of Johns Creek, Ga., has been nominated to the post of USTA Southern Director at Large. She previously served on the USTA Southern Board of Directors. She will also be serving as Vice President of USTA Georgia. She previously served on the USTA Adaptive Tennis and Adult Competition committees. She has been a Trustee for the Southern Patrons Foundation, and a Director at Large. Additionally she previously served as USTA Southern Marketing Committee Chairman. Hirshberg’s USTA Georgia experience also includes serving as the Adult Competition Committee Chair and as a member of the Nominating Committee. She is the past President of the Johns Creek High School Tennis Boosters Club and currently serves as a coaching volunteer for Special Pops Tennis.
Paula Hale, USTA Delegate, Raleigh, N.C.
Paula Hale, of Raleigh, N.C., has been nominated to the post of USTA Delegate. She is currently serving as President and CEO of USTA Southern as part of the 2015-2016 term. She had previously served as Executive Vice President, Vice President, Director at Large and as a board member of the Southern Tennis Patrons Foundation and Chairman of the BB&T Atlanta Open Steering Committee. Nationally she has served on several committees, chairing the USTA Community Tennis Association Committee and the Delivery System and Education Council. She is a former President of USTA North Carolina and the North Carolina Tennis Foundation, where over $1.7 million was raised for the foundation during her term. She has received the USTA Southern Jacobs Bowl, the USTA North Carolina President’s Award and the USTA North Carolina Adult Senior Competition Award.