This upcoming season represents our 40th Anniversary year! I can’t help but think of the pride that the GOBs Founder, Alex Reddin, would have over this milestone. He had a compelling vision and, most importantly, had the persistence to make it happen! Two traits of a true leader. We all owe Alex and the original 39 members a debt of gratitude for launching the GOBs. As such, we aim to celebrate this anniversary year and Alex’s legacy in a number of special ways that will both memorialize the past and accentuate the current membersip’s commitment to positioning the group for a strong and vibrant futurel
I refer to a few teasers in this communication about our anniversary plans but its primary focus is on getting us mobilized for Opening Day Here we go:
Opening Day: We will kick-off our season on Monday, April 24 at Bailiwick (9-12AM), followed by Belle Haven, Woodway, and New Canaan Field Club on April 26, 27, and 28, respectively. Start your training regimen!
2023 Season Schedule: The Schedule is available on our website in the Members Only section in the Operating Tools tab..
Play Date Sign-up: We will continue to use the electronic play date registration tool to sign-up for specific play dates. This tool is on our website in the Members Only section which is also contained in the Operating Tools tab. This tool provides the Host Captain with insightful information regarding expected skill level mix and member headcount, which are useful in orchestrating and managing a pleasant play date for all attendees. We request that all members sign-up by NOON the day before a play date. If plans change, please cancel your registration using the tool.
GOBs Tourney: This season we will host the third year of our GOBs Tourney. The Tourney has quickly become a staple of our GOBs offering. Approximately 30 members participated in the Tourney last year. We will continue to have both a Singles and Doubles Division with separate A and B Flights. Matches will continue to be scheduled at mutually convenient times to accommodate participants. Due to the growing interest in the Tourney across our membership, the Executive Committee is discussing adding a Member-Guest Tourney, which could serve as a recruiting vehicle for us. Will keep you posted.
Membership Drive: We are presently inviting targeted individuals to join the GOBs who possess competitive tennis skills and personality traits that fit our desired profile. We aim to replenish our group with the requisite individuals to strenghten and ensure our sustainability well into the future..
Anniversary Events: We have a few events/activities planned throughout the season to commemorate our 40th Anniversary:
—Member Memento: A handsome towel embroidered with the GOBs logo along with ’40th Anniversary’ will be provided to each dues paying member. The distribution of the towels will be managed by Jim Kelly. The expectation is that the towels will be distributed at play dates.There will be no charge for the towel.
—GM and Club Pro Recognition Presentations–We plan to present elegant Certificates of Appreciation to each GM and smart-looking plaques to each Head Tennis Pro as a ‘thank you’ for their support and dedication to the GOBs.over our 40 year history. These presentations will be coordinated with and will include each Captain along with an Executive Committee representative during the month of May.
–Publicity: Moffly Publications (the publisher of the various hometown magazine like Greenwich Magazine) will include an article on the GOBs in their July issue. We are coordinating with additional media sources as well for placement to publicize our 40th Anniversary.
—Arthur J. Goldblatt Memorial Tennis Tournament--We will be partnering with Norwalk & Stamford Grassroots Tennis and Education (hereinafter referred to as Grassroots) to host a tennis tournament at Tokeneke Club on August 17th. Grassroots was founded by Art Goldblatt who was a member of the GOBs from Shore & Country Club. The organization is dedicted to providing underprivileged youth an opportunity to learn and play the game of tennis. These youth will team-up with a number of GOBs members for this doubles tournament. We expect to host this tournament each year as our group’s commitment to giving back to the community. We thank Roy Anderson (Tokeneke) who is Chair of the Advisory Committee at Grassroots for assisting in making this tournament become a reality. More details to follow.
