International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum Elects Nine New Members to Board of Directors
Rod Laver Named Life Trustee
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kat Anderson
194 Bellevue Ave.
Newport,
401-849-3990
kat@tennisfame.com
09/25/08 - Newport, RI--The International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum has announced the election of nine new members to the Board of Directors. Douglas Fonte of New Hope, PA, Lucy Garvin of Greer, SC, Elizabeth Jeffett of Memphis, TN, Ted Leonsis of McLean, VA, Andrew McElwee, Jr. of Mendham, NJ, David Westin of Bronxville, NY and Allen Brill, David Tyree and Nancy von Auersperg, all of New York, NY, were elected at the Hall of Fame’s Annual Meeting on September 5 in New York City.
“We are very pleased to welcome these new members to our Board,” said Christopher E. Clouser, Chairman of the Hall of Fame Board of Directors. “We have many new initiatives and strategic plans, and I know that each of these individuals will add to, and build upon, the vast efforts of our current Board members. We are very fortunate to have such talented and successful business people and community leaders working with us to achieve our goals.”
Returning to the Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors to start new three-year terms are Robert Downey, Steve Lessing, and Sue Ann Weinberg. Also, Hall of Fame Board Members Ron Burns, Douglas Conant, Jim Courier, Dick Phelps and Bruce Schilling have all been appointed to the Hall of Fame’s Executive Committee. Barbara A. Georgescu has been named Executive Committee Vice Chairman alongside current Vice Chairman Donald Dell, while Peggy H. Woolard has been named Secretary.
In addition, the Hall of Fame extended honors to two-time Grand Slam Champion and 1981 Hall of Famer Rod Laver, who was elected a Life Trustee of the International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum.
New Hall of Fame Board members’ biographies in brief:
Allen Brill is the President and CEO of Rolex Watch U.S.A. Brill joined the Rolex Watch Company as an Area Sales Manager with responsibility for the Southeast territory and was appointed National Sales Manager in 1993. He has held Vice President and Executive Vice President positions, and in 2004 he was appointed President and CEO. Brill is a board member of the Jewelers Vigilance Committee, Jewelers Security Alliance, the American Watch Association and the American Swiss Foundation. Under Brill’s guidance, Rolex also supports many valuable organizations including the Fisher House -- Helping Military Families, the USO, the American Red Cross, the Helen Keller National Center and other worthwhile causes.
Douglas Fonte, now retired, is the former President of Prince Sports, Inc., one of the most widely recognized leaders in the manufacturing of performance racquet sports products. Prior to joining Prince, Fonte was a partner in Business Visions LLC, a consulting firm for global business enterprises on strategic planning, profit improvement and organizational excellence. He also spent eight years as President of Penn Athletic Products (under the business umbrella of GenCorp, and prior to the development of Head-Penn). Fonte is the former Chairman of the USTA Tennis Industry Council and a former Board Member and Executive Committee member of the Tennis Industry Association.
Lucy Garvin is currently the First Vice President of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) and has been a member of the USTA Board of Directors for the past eight years. The USTA Nominating Committee has announced the nomination of Garvin as USTA Chairman of the Board and President to serve a two-year term beginning January 1, 2009. Garvin, who will become the third female Chairman of the Board and President in USTA history, has dedicated more than 30 years to growing the sport of tennis at every level around the country. A former president of the USTA Southern Section, Garvin has served as the Board liaison to the USTA Sections, the Tennis in the Parks Task Force and to the Administration Division. Additionally, she has been a member of the board’s Strategic Planning and Compensation Committee, the Budget Committee and Diversity Guide Team. Garvin, who now resides in South Carolina, is a former native of Rhode Island.
Elizabeth Jeffett is Director and Vice President of the Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation based in Dallas, Texas. The Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation, named after the late tennis champion Maureen Connolly (Hall of Famer, 1968) benefits boys and girls throughout the world. The foundation has had a major impact on junior tennis development with its diverse programs and activities. Jeffett has chaired/hosted/directed the Maureen Connolly Challenge Trophy -- a premier junior girls team tennis challenge contested between the USA and Great Britain. Jeffett also serves as the Director for the Center of Urban Ministry at Wake Forest University, a non-profit organization that serves the National Urban Ecumenical Ministry needs through training and education of leaders working in urban communities.
Ted Leonsis played a key role at AOL for 15 years and is now Vice Chairman Emeritus. He is Chairman of Clearspring Technology, the leading provider of cross-platform widget services, as well as Revolutionary Money, an innovative new Web 2.0 payment platform and credit card service. He is the founder, chairman and majority owner of Lincoln Holdings, LLC a sports and entertainment company that holds the ownership rights to the NHL’s Washington Capitals and the WNBA’s Washington Mystics. Lincoln Holdings LLC also owns 44% of Washington Sports and Entertainment Limited Partnership, which owns the NBA’s Washington Wizards, DC’s Verizon Center and the Baltimore-Washington Ticketmaster franchise.
Andrew McElwee, Jr. is Executive Vice President, Chubb & Son and Chief Operating Officer of Chubb Personal Insurance. He assumed his current responsibilities as chief operating officer of Chubb Personal Insurance in June 2002. He is responsible for the profitability and growth of Chubb’s personal insurance strategic business unit in the U.S. and worldwide. McElwee joined Chubb in 1997 as senior vice president, mergers and acquisitions. He served as the company’s international field operations manager from 2000-2002. McElwee was previously an executive vice president with Bellemead Development Corporation and prior to that he was employed by Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated and Dewey Ballantine LLP. He graduated from Davidson College in 1977 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He has a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. He has served on the Board of Trustees of Davidson College and is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of the American Folk Art Museum.
David Tyree is the Director of North American commercial operations for New Energy Finance (NEF), a United Kingdom based “start-up” information, research and consultancy firm. The firm specializes in renewable energy and low carbon technology, and serves venture capitalists, private equity providers, asset managers, investment banks, and project developers. Prior to joining NEF, Tyree spent nine years with Bloomberg L.P. as their Global Manager of Energy - Product Strategy and was the U.S. Sales Team Leader for Energy. Tyree has been actively involved with the Hall of Fame’s FRIENDS group for five years, serving as president.
Nancy von Auersperg of New York, NY and Newport, RI, was educated at Sweet Briar College. She held senior positions at EF Hutton & Company, Shearson Lehman, and Wertheim Schroder & Company in New York, before retiring to have her daughter Anna. Von Auersperg is a Board Member of the Newport Music Festival and is married to Alexander von Auersperg.
David Westin has served as President of ABC News since 1997, and is responsible for all editorial and business aspects of the news division, which encompasses all news programming on ABC Television Network, ABC News Radio, ABCNews.com and ABC News Now. During Westin’s tenure, ABC News has aired over 40 documentaries on a wide range of subjects, including religion, race, North Korea, poverty, AIDS, veterans’ hospitals, foster care and prostitution. In addition, ABC News has produced special broadcasts and interviews with varying high-profile individuals, including U.S. Presidents and foreign world leaders.
