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Greetings!
Whew!!! HJTEP started off this year with a bang, celebrating 40 years of hard-work and dedication to the youth of Harlem & beyond!!! It was a great celebration and reunion of new/old friends, collegues, patrons and supporters. Alongside our blow-out gala, we've had great success with the program and development of our future all-stars!!!
Grab a snack, sit back and catch up with HJTEP :) |
HJTEP Celebrates 40 years 
HJTEP has been in existence since 1972. To kick off the celebration on May 7, 2012 at The USTA Billie Jean National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, an abundance of retired Pros and celebrities came out to support our great cause. Those in attendance were Lori McNeil, Chanda Rubin, Jack Waite, MaliVai Washington, Phil Williamson, Patrick McEnroe, Gigi Fernandez, Mary Joe Fernandez, Zina Garrison, Marcus Samuelsson and more; we had a colorful cast of celebrities to play against our Amateurs in a Round Robin. The finals were played on The Legendary Arthur Ashe Stadium. Following the finals everyone freshened up and re-grouped for the Cocktail hour in the Presidential Suite, as laughter and conversation flowed, so did the hor'douvers and spirits. Retired NBA Pro Allan Houston & HJTEP Spokesmen James & Thomas Blake came to show some love.
The Dinner Reception followed with a Live & Silent Auction. The auction items included: 2012 Wimbledon Finals Weekend Package, '12 International Tennis Hall of Fame Weekend, '12 US Open President's Suite Tickets, Elbow Beach Bermuda, Saddle Brook Resort etc. We also, had silent auction items like: Memphis Broadway tickets, A Street Car Named Desire tickets, Russian Tea Room dinner, Spa packages and many more.... With our Mistress of Ceremonies Mary Carillo, she charmed the audience with humor and grace. As everyone ate, they enjoyed a documentary style video of the History of HJTEP, including commentary by Alumni, Staff, and Supporters as far back to the creation of the program. We had our two Seniors Brad Gaffin & Vashni Balleste speak about what HJTEP means to them and their journey to college. The crowd was wowed and moved by the poised and eloquent delivery of the soon to be Alum. We presented awards to our 2012 Philanthropist of the Year Leon Wagner & Leesa Willett, Shining Star Award to Honorable David N. Dinkins, Harlem Hero Award to Geoffrey Canada and last but not least The Inaugural Robert Holland Jr. Award was presented to (drum roll please) Robert "Bob" Holland Jr. He was very surprised and elated to be the 1st recipient of an award named after his legacy. Bob has been an influential part of HJTEP for over 25 years and sits on our Board of Directors as the Vice Chairman.
The night ended with joy, memories, and a greater awareness of HJTEP. We had a very successful event raising over $300K, thanks to YOU!!!! We would like to thank HJTEP Fundraising Committee Chairperson Michelle Blake Wilson and the entire Committee for their diligence and support!!!! |
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Special Thanks to...
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-AAA Worldwide Transportaion | | | | | -American Express | | | | | | -Craig Reynolds (In Your Head Media) | | | | | | -Creative Team | | | | | | -Digital Klose Communications | | | | | -Dunlop Sports | | | | | | -Elbow Beach Resort, Bermuda | | | | | -Emergen-C | | | | | | -Harlem Children's Zone | | | | | -Harlem Junior Tennis & Education Program | | | -Heineken USA | | | | | | -Honorable Mayor Michael Bloomberg- City of New York | | -Hugh Hildesley (Sotherby's) | | | | | -International Tennis Hall of Fame | | | | -Katrina Parris Flowers | | | | | -Kovar Events (Caterer) | | | | |
-La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club | | | | | -Maurice Adams | | | | | | -Michelle Blake Wilson | | | | | -Moet | | | | | | | -NJTL | | | | | | | -Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, LLC | | | | -PepsiCo | | | | | | |
-Pirate Booty | | | | | | -PopChips | | | | | | -Saddle Brook Resort | | | | | | -Sara Fornaciari & Sports + Plus | | | | |
-Shubert Organization, Inc
-Stoney Duckett | | | | |
-Tina Taps
-Tony Fox Photography | | | | | | -USTA | | | | | | | -USTA Bille Jean King Tennis Center | | | | -USTA Eastern | | | | | | -USTA Serves | | | | | |
-Whitney Kraft | | | | | |
-Wicked Audio
All Patrons, Supporters, New and Old freinds!!!
Special Thanks to all the volunteers and parents who helped make this possible. | | | | |
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Summer Time Tennis & Fun
 Summer is in full "swing" and HJTEP has two camps in motion. Our beginners camp (7-16 years) is located at The Howard Bennett Tennis Courts (135th) & the Advanced camp is on Fordham University Rose Hill Tennis courts. In addition to the basic and advance tournament training, we have a fitness trainer on site to get our advanced players physically ready for competing. We also, teach the A.C.E. Curriculum (Academic, Creative, Engagement) to our beginners, incorporating continuous learning throughout the summer. The beginner campers get to enjoy activities like swimming, arts & crafts and trips to: The New York Aquarium, The Fire Museum, The Studio Museum of Harlem and more. To end the summer, our youth will all go to The US Open "Arthur Ashe Kid's Day" event.
*Please note: Our Summer Registration has ended, our Indoor Fall session application will be available on August 20th on our website. |
NJTL National Student Athlete Competition Award Recipients
The NJTL National Student Athlete Competition is a year long National competition within the NJTL network. The youth gain points from School Report Cards, Arthur Ashe Essay & Art Contest entries, Tennis tournaments, and Jr. Team tournaments. Every chapter is awarded a $1,000.00 grant scholarship to award youth met there criteria.
This year two of our Seniors Vashni Balleste & Brad Gaffin are the winners of the "Scholar Award" (Balleste) and the "Ashe Gibson Sportsmanship Award" (Gaffin). This Fall, Vashni is attending Xavier University in New Orleans, and Brad is going to Colby College in Maine. They have both been students of the program and have shown great sportsmanship, educational excellence, community service and mentorship. We wish them the best of luck with the next 4 years and beyond.
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HJTEP Health Fair
HJTEP's Health Fair was on April 21st at The Harlem Armory. This is an Annual event, where Harlem Hospital administers Diabetes, Blood Pressure and Cholesterol screening for anyone in the program. This year a parent of the program Dr. Syed Hosain, administered Body Mass Index (BMI) of all the youth in the program and we greatly appreciated the expertise. Obesity is plaguing our communities. Through awareness & recreational sports we help create prevention!!! |
Thank you for reading another Edition of "Tennis Times", please stay in touch by visiting our website at www.hjtep.org.
P.S. Stay tuned for The Harlem Week Tri-State Tennis Classic August 16-19th. Also, the continuation of our 40th Anniversary celebration with more events to come throughout the year :)
Sincerely,
Katrina Adams
Execuative Director
Dante Brown
Program Director
Mikella Matthias
Executive Assistant |
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Quick Highlights | |
- On March 27th Avery Johnson came to speak to HJTEP youngsters about being "special"!!!
- HJTEP youth were featured on "The Anderson Cooper Show" with Serena Williams for a tennis clinic, which aired May 15th on CW Channel 11.
-We have three High School grads this year attending Geneseo University, Xavier University and Colby College.
-HJTEP Parent Raffle Fundraiser was successful raising $6,500.00 for the program. The prizes were Yankee tickets, Digital camera, and A Kindle Fire.
-HJTEP participated in a Public Service Announcement (PSA) with the NJTL &
DDA geared specific
lly toward tennis and other recreational sports as a pathway to college. Our very own Jayceen "Courtney" Murphy casted as the lead of the shoot.
- Adidas has donated over 100 pairs of sneakers to HJTEP because they "heard' we are doing great things in Harlem.
-HarlemWeek & Les Halles Cup Tri-State Tennis Classic will be August 16-19. (please visit our website for more information www.hjtep.org) or click for Harlem Week flyer
- The Thomas R. Blake Tournament at Fordham University's Rose Hill was on June 21st it was a great success.
-The Jack participants continue to progress, playing in tournaments both local and Nationally. Most recent is the American Tennis Association (ATA) Tournament in Florida the week of July 30th.
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