Author: Social Coordinator

Amit Raval

I would like to express my interest in becoming a Board Member with Tennis4all for the year 2019-20. I would love this chance to give back to the LGBTQ/T tennis loving individuals and for the game of tennis which I follow so much.

I am a Solutions Engineer by profession and work with clients directly. It involves bringing the new clients up by integrating our software to their network and maintaining the relationship post sales on all technical matters. I’ve started this new position just recently which involves traveling to the client sites and building strong business relationships.

I want to expand this learning experience onto my personal front by actively engaging in LGBTQ/T community. Tennis is the sport I care so much and would love to use this as a platform to participate.

Barbara Ullman

I hope you will consider me as a candidate for the board of Tennis4All. I feel as a woman who has been playing this beautiful game for over 55 years now, (yes since I was 9 years old!) I have a vast knowledge of what it takes to be an active board member. My hope and goals for Tennis4All is to actively recruit more female members to Tennis4All. I wish to create exciting unique tennis socials for the women to attend and have mixed ones as well. I embrace the challenge and hope to work with the current board members to real this goal. Thank you for your consideration as a board member.

Brian Bartoloni

Hi Tennis4All members! My name is Brian Bartoloni and I’m currently the director of membership and I’m hoping to be re-elected. I’ve been a member with Tennis4All for 20 years! Yes, I’m old AF. I literally joined in 1999! This league has not only allowed me to play my favorite sport but also given me the opportunity to create friendships that will last a lifetime. For that I am very grateful.

I hope you will vote for me to continue to be on the board of this group that I love…and love to represent. Thank you!!!!

Cliff Gibbons

Why do I want to be on the Tennis4All board? Hmm…because of the pay?? Umm no. Because of all the free time I have?  Nope. Because I enjoy attending board meetings…um noooo.  I guess it’s because T4A is one of my favorite groups and I want to support its success however I can. I love tennis and the people I have met through T4A. There are many opportunities to continue what we do well and to expand and change with the times. I’m excited that we have been making lots of improvements to our leagues and the experience of our members. In previous years I’ve helped run the Boston Tennis Classic, the summer doubles league, monthly socials— wherever is needed. I’ve done this for no other reason than because I love hanging with friends and meeting new ones, while also providing the opportunity for others to come together and play some tennis.

Gino Galutera

Hey kweens: I’m Gino Raoul Zalamea Galutera, and I am Miss Philippines….jk lol. I’m new to Boston by way of Charleston, SC, and I’ve found so much enjoyment from tennis and the T4A group. I’m currently on the board as the resident millennial, so I created our Instagram page, which integrates with our Facebook. Most of the social media content you see is from me, so I hope you’re enjoying it! I love all things tennis: from the matches (poor Roger this year), the drama (Serena vs. Maria, anyone?), the fashions (aubergine is in, y’all), and getting to combine them all together and show them on social media platforms. Ever since I’ve started our social media accounts, I’ve gotten online engagements from real-life tennis kweens, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, and Yanina Wickmayer. Also, I love highlighting you guys – our members! I love getting to highlight T4A members and their achievements, from posting trophy-winning pictures to posting trophy-husband birthdays. I also have ideas on how to increase new membership engagement/retention by starting mentor/mentee programs, as well as starting in-house round robin membership tournaments. Happy hitting!

James Conforti

I’m just a fat old guy… So what do I know? What I do know is that when I first joined the league years ago it was one of the best decisions I made, to this day some of my best friends are the friends I met all those years ago through tennis4all. Back during my wonder years (the years when I had more hair on my head than my back), the League was a blast. The socials were full with all levels of play, mixing it up and then ending the night with a beer. Then things changed, I felt the focus of the organization became geared towards the higher-level players at the expense of the lower level players, member activity slowed way down, court times were slashed because of lack of participation.

Over the past year this board has made huge steps forward, focusing on what’s best for the membership as a whole. I would like to continue improving tennis4all not just focusing on the top-level tennis players, but focusing the organization on inclusion and acceptance of all in our community, creating a positive social atmosphere. We should expand our outreach through active membership drives, Skill clinics for members looking to improve their games and non-tennis socials.

Kyle Poyar

Tennis4All is an amazing organization and it has reignited my passion for tennis. But it took some trial and error for me to feel that way (I first joined in 2014 and Mr. Enos has the selfie to prove it!). I’m running for the Board to help improve the new member experience so that we can attract more folks and enliven the organization. A quick bio: outside of tennis I’m a VP at a software-focused venture firm where I help startups scale faster (aka I’m passionate about using data and technology to build high functioning organizations).

Mark Weber

I have been a member of Tennis4All since the early 2000’s and in the past year have served on the board. Recent retirement allows me more free time to participate in a variety of new activities. Serving on the Tennis4All board with the group of very dedicated and talented individuals has been an honor. We have a critical group of board members who bring their varied strengths to the table. Some of my favorite memories of Tennis4All are of participating in leagues, socials, community service opportunities, tournaments and tennis weekend at The Bridges. Over the years, I have constantly sought to find new members by talking positively about Tennis4All to all who have an interest in tennis. I hope to continue to serve this organization in an even greater capacity going forward in my reserved way, contributing my ideas for increasing the appeal of our organization. Tennis4All is positioned to evolve with the changing times and continue to be relevant to the Boston tennis community and beyond.

Lisa Quackenbush

I am interested in joining the board of Tennis4All because the group’s mission resonates so strongly with me. As a straight woman and fierce ally, I can bring a new dimension of diversity to Tennis4All, which has opened up more new friendships than I can count. I think standing together is vitally important, given that we’re backsliding on some very important progressive issues. What else? I love communication and connection, tennis, and a nice cosmopolitan. #NotTracyFlick #Election

Mike Dineen

Hi! I’m Mike Dineen, and I’ve been on the Board for one year.  I’ve primarily been responsible for organizing and running the singles and doubles leagues, particularly running registration, creating the divisions and draws, and running the league on a weekly basis. I really like my role on the Board and would love to continue with my role to help run another year of successful tennis leagues. My favorite part of Tennis4All isthe opportunity to play my favorite sport with like-minded people in a safe and supportive environment, and I would really appreciate your support to help me continue serving the organization I love so much. Thank you

Scott Paveletz

For the past six years, I have been a member of Tennis4All and served on the board for two years. I have held the roles of membership director and vice-chair, gaining firsthand knowledge about the specific issues that affect our league and how we can best serve our members. I have helped support initiatives like Atlantic Cup, socials/league play, and conducted group clinics. I believe I have the ideas and abilities to continue to improve and grow our organization. Now that I got that part out of the way, let me tell you more about myself and why I am so passionate about tennis. Well, for starters, I met my husband and a lot of my life-long friends through playing tennis. What I hope to do is help continue building membership and support other tennis players who are looking for a LGBQ/T-identifying tennis league. People looking for some tennis. People looking for some friends. People looking for so much more. My passion for tennis goes beyond the sport itself. It’s about bringing people together. As a board member, I hope to bring these types of opportunities to anyone looking for what tennis has given to me.

Steve Backhaus

I serve as Treasurer of Tennis4All and would like to return as Treasurer. I joined the board for a second time in 2018, got Tennis4All set up on Quicken software for improved reporting, and put all financial documents on Google Drive for greater transparency and convenience. It’s important to me as Treasurer to respond quickly and reimburse people quickly to make it easy for Tennis4All volunteers and partners. In my next term, I’d like to expand digital payment options and push the board to invest our cash surplus for the good of Tennis4All, including even more Web site enhancements and expanded outreach to new members. I also set up our first Volunteer Night at Community Servings and plan to set up more. Finally, because it’s a lot of work to transition Treasurer duties, I kindly ask the members of Tennis4All to extend my time as Treasurer for continuity.

Steve Menichetti

My name is Steve Menichetti and I humbly ask for your support to be nominated to the Tennis4all board of directors for another year. This past year I served as President of Tennis4all.

Some of my accomplishments from last year include:

• recruiting 7 new board members, increasing our board from 5-12 members
• marching in the Boston gay pride parade under the Tennis4all banner, something that the League hasn’t done in years.  We used this as a great marketing opportunity for our organization, handing out over 300 Tennis4all business cards and giving us great exposure to potential new members
• co-directing the summer Doubles League
• Running a summer social at Sportsman’s Tennis Club in Dorchester in an effort to bring Tennis4all activities into the City of Boston
• Organizing a 3 hour tennis clinic with Mike Mercier at Harvard University.

It is been my pleasure to serve as your President this past year. I feel like Tennis4all is in a strong position and I’d like to help ensure that for years to come.

Steve Santoro

My name is Steve “Fabrice” Santoro and I am currently the secretary for Tenni4sAll (i.e. I take copious notes) and am hoping to be re-elected this year. I’m a huge tennis fanatic and love me some quirky tennis players (Hsieh, Niculescu, Vinci to name a few).  Over the years, I’ve been lucky to meet so many of my friends through Tennis4All. My #1 goal on the board is to assist in improving all aspects of the league so that more people can have a similar experience to mine – one where friendship, competition, fun, and inclusion all come together. Thank you for your vote!