Hall of Fame

History of the Hall of Fame

In 2002 the Southern Division Board thought it was time to start a hall of fame for the division.  Randy Stephens had been a member of the USTA, Southern Section Hall of Fame committee, so Randy was the perfect choice to head the USPTA, Southern Division hall of fame committee. They developed the criteria for induction into our hall of fame which is:

The purpose of the USPTA Southern Division Hall of Fame is to honor those individuals, who by excellence of their activities and accomplishments, have brought recognition and esteem to themselves  the division and to the USPTA organization. 

Candidates must have been members of the USPTA for a minimum of ten years and applications must be made in writing.(the committee gives much more credence to nominations that come from others, rather than the nominee.) 

Nominations to the Hall of Fame will be evaluated using the following criteria: involvement in their state chapter, division chapter, and national association; teaching/coaching accomplishments; playing/ranking accomplishments; publications/innovations; involvement in allied organizations; and other contributions to the teaching profession and the promotion of tennis. 

Our first inductee was Bill Tym in 2003. Randy Stephens chaired the committee from 2002 to 2005 at which time Jeff Grey, a sitting member of the committee took over as chair. Jeff chaired the committee until 2012, which led to Fred Burdick as committee chair since. The other members of the committee are selected by the committee and in 2021 are Reedy Toney and Tom Daglis. You must be a current member of the association to be on the committee but you do not have to be a current member to be selected for the Hall of Fame. 

Any certified member can nominate a Southern Division member or past member, provided they meet the requirements, to be considered for the hall of fame but the above criteria must apply.