By Debbie Gaster, 2024 ALTA Board Chair
It is an honor and a privilege to be the Chair of ALTA’s Board of Directors for 2024. I began volunteering with ALTA in 2001 in the Junior Leagues. Since then, I have served as a coordinator in the Juniors, Sunday Women, Thursday Women and Mixed Doubles Leagues; as an overall coordinator in the Juniors and Thursday Leagues; I also served as Junior Leagues Vice President, Thursday League Vice President, and became ALTA President in 2021. Additionally, I held several volunteer positions on the ALTA Board of Directors. All these opportunities have been incredibly rewarding, and I have particularly enjoyed working alongside so many dedicated volunteers and office staff.
The Board of Directors oversee the business side of ALTA. They are responsible for ALTA’s policies and procedures, IT improvements, contracts, nomination of officers, finances, asset management, and more. The board is comprised of the chairperson (the 2021 ALTA president), two past presidents (2022 and 2023), the current president (2024), the first vice president, the ALTA treasurer, the ALTA Foundation president, and two elected members. The Board of Directors also has oversight of the ALTA Foundation. Under the leadership of Cameron Turner, the foundation supports programs that provide access to the sport of tennis to those who are physically or mentally challenged, as well as provide new opportunities for under-served youth. Last year, the foundation awarded grants and scholarships totaling $115,000.
Most of our members are familiar with the operations associated with running the various ALTA leagues, which are handled by the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee is comprised of all the league and program vice presidents, the ALTA secretary and treasurer, and a few other elected positions. The vice presidents oversee league play with help from nearly 200 volunteers, in addition to the office staff. Most of the rules that govern league play are approved and implemented by the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee is led by 2024 ALTA President, Chequetta Allen, and it’s committed to moving our leagues and organization forward.
As many of you are aware, due to the popularity of pickleball, we introduced an ALTA Pickleball League last summer. We have close to 5,000 pickleball members and have added additional league play that took place during January, February, and March of this year.
We are in the second year of a pilot program to expand our boundaries to include some of the fastest growing counties in our area. The boundaries of this program include facilities in all of Cherokee and Forsyth Counties, as well as portions of Hall, Barrow, and Jackson Counties. It is our hope that the additional concentration of teams in these areas will help with travel as well as give more teams the opportunity to participate in our leagues.
All the ALTA Board and Executive Committee’s initiatives are focused on meeting the needs of our members and our organization as we grow, while also honoring the history and traditions of ALTA.
