Volunteer Experience:

I began volunteering with youth tennis while representing The Charleston Westside Tennis Club in the late 1990s. One of the club’s objectives is to promote tennis within disadvantaged communities. Since the club’s home court is The Jack Adams Tennis Center, which is centrally located within the Westside community of Charleston, lots of adolescents and teens would frequent the courts hoping to get help learning tennis. Additionally, I began coaching tennis as a volunteer while working as a teacher at Wilmot J. Fraser elementary School in 2007. Coincidentally, that was the first year of the Middle and Elementary School League sponsored by the City of Charleston.  Due to my efforts and dedication, I was honored at the Family Circle Cup as a “Game Changer.” I was humbled and motivated to continue working to promote tennis at every opportunity.

After my tenure at Wilmot J. Fraser, I began coaching at Angel Oak Elementary School and developed their tennis team from the ground up. I continue to coach at Angel Oak and each year we have a team that participates in the Middle and Elementary School League. The most gratifying part of this nearly 16-year experience has been working with such a diverse group of children to whom I have the pleasure of introducing to the best sport in the world.

Lastly, I coached Burke High School’s Girls’ Team for 3 seasons under their former Athletic Director, Carlton Rice.

Other Tennis Related Functions:

I am the current president of the Charleston Westside Tennis Club and have proudly served for more than 5 years. The club is part of the “Rainbow League” which was originally founded to insure that people of color had the opportunity to participate in tennis in various cities. As I mentioned, the club promotes youth tennis in disadvantaged communities.

Besides Tennis:

I’m a proud veteran of The United States Army. I served an 8-year enlistment in Bavaria, Germany during The Cold War with The 54th Engineering Battalion. I have also worked for 9 years as a Substance Abuse Prevention Professional with Charleston County where I managed 6 programs that served the schools in downtown Charleston and on the Sea Islands. Presently and for the past 17 years, I’ve been a 5th Grade teacher/coach with the Charleston County School District. Lastly, I was ordained a reverend with the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 2007 and continue to serve faithfully at the historic Morris Brown AME Church.

Education:

I matriculated at the following institutions of higher learning: Trident Technical College, The University of South Carolina, The College of Charleston, Payne Theological Seminary and Kaplan University.