As a proud Wellington resident and a tennis player, I believe we are missing an opportunity to enhance our community and to enrich the lives of tennis players and non-tennis players. In addition, we may be losing a chance to pay for a service at a fair price that will save taxpayers considerable money.
We have in our Wellington Tennis Center outstanding facilities that are being underutilized and that are costing us much more than they should. This first-class center should be used by more residents than at present. One way to attract more tennis players is to have a more aggressive and accommodating program to reach out to more members of the community by clinics, tournaments and promotions. To give credibility to this approach, it would be good to have some “name” players to demonstrate the benefits of playing and to interact with those who enjoy watching the pros, who get great delight from interacting with youngsters and with senior players.
I have become acquainted with some of the principals at A1A Tennis (I have no financial interest in the company), and I believe they can provide the maintenance service the tennis courts need and deserve and also, through their professional tennis-playing friends and associates, provide a program to enlist more players in the sport.
We have a wonderful tennis center, and I think it should be used more fully. The current contractor, Tommy Cheatham Inc., has been providing services since 1999. Despite the enormous growth in Wellington’s population since that time, the tennis center, one of the centerpieces of the community center, is not being used as fully as it should. A1A, with its track record at several local communities and its connections in the tennis world, would provide more enjoyment for a greater number of people. In addition, A1A has offered to do the maintenance at a lower fee than Cheatham and to return additional money to the Wellington community, thus providing some budget relief.
It is time to move forward with our great tennis center, and I believe A1A should be given that opportunity.
Corey Goldstein, Wellington
