The Atlanta tennis community is so fortunate to have tremendous volunteers who continue to share the great love of tennis throughout the region. One such volunteer extraordinaire is ALTA’s Candace Cole. Cole was honored recently as USTA Georgia’s 2019 USTA League Female Captain of the Year! “Passionate, inclusive, diplomatic and graceful are just some of the words used to describe Candace,” says Kimberly Letts with USTA Georgia.
The work by Cole as treasurer of both ALTA and the ALTA Foundation has provided a big boost for the entire ALTA organization. Now, Cole will be turning all of her attention to the foundation. She is excited about the opportunity to concentrate her efforts there this year as the ALTA Foundation Representative/Secretary.
Cole and her husband play on ALTA and USTA teams out of Legacy Park. She started the junior program at that neighborhood and helped the program grow to where it had at least one team at every age level for both boys and girls. That is just one of the countless volunteer efforts in which Cole has been involved.
Her volunteer experience would fill an entire book, but one of her most recent initiatives with the ALTA Foundation is the START program. “Candace is leading a Title 1 school initiative in Georgia, which brings the great game of tennis to areas that might struggle financially,” says Michaela Norman, who nominated Cole for this award and also is a high school tennis coach. “As a coach myself, I can’t put into words how her actions are setting the course for students to become more successful in struggling areas.”
Letts agrees that Cole is deserving of this year’s award. “We are delighted to have the annual opportunity to recognize and reward all of the amazing people across the state who continue to promote and grow tennis in Georgia,” she said. “Candace is an incredible example of a captain who makes a difference. We appreciate all that she does for her team and this sport that we love so much.”
“I am truly honored and humbled by this award,” says Cole. “It is a great honor to be able to give back to a sport that has given me so many opportunities.”
