Friday, Dec. 3, 2004

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Tourism Assn. hopes to keep all current
tennis pros

Vote comes on recommendation from new head pro

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

Employment offers were being made Thursday to all of the current tennis pros at the Peachtree City Tennis Center, officials said.

The city’s Tourism Association, which runs the tennis center and the city’s amphitheater, has kept the venues’ employees on an interim basis since mid-January after it took over operations from the development authority.

The association voted to extend the job offers to the current pros based on a recommendation from newly-named head pro Ben Maes, said association executive director Linda McCarthy.

“Our hope is they will all accept those positions,” McCarthy said late Thursday morning. “All of those offers are being made today.”

Each pro will be in charge of at least one specific program at the center, McCarthy said.

In recent weeks, the association hired both current staffers at the amphitheater, along with a head pro and three employees for the tennis center and three association administration employees.

With the possibility of having a new amphitheater manager in place, assuming he accepts the association’s offer that was approved Wednesday night (see story on this page), that just leaves just one position left to fill: director of the tennis center. McCarthy said interviews for that job are going on this week and a vote on the matter could be taken at the next association meeting.

Although they have retained all of the venues’ current workers, employees’ job descriptions have changed, McCarthy said.

“We’re just trying to streamline our operation and management of the facilities,” McCarthy said of the re-organization and changing of job descriptions. The job descriptions are important to make sure each employee knows what their job duties and roles are, McCarthy said.

For example, an administrative assistant has had her job description changed to member services coordinator.

“We are hiring the best qualified people for the job,” McCarthy said.

Although the tennis center is open to the public, members pay annual fees but don’t have to pay court fees for outdoor hard and soft courts, and they can reserve courts prior to the day of play and up to seven days in advance. Members also get discounted fees for covered court fees.

The personnel hired by the association include current amphitheater employees Peggy Schnitzer as box office manager and Lisa Gaddy as patron service specialist.

Tennis center employees who were hired to positions include Maes, Sharman Marciano as member services coordinator, Rebecca Powell as customer services lead and Suzi Huber as customer services specialists.

Other association employees hired to the full-time staff include Madeline Rezba as office administrator, Joel Dunnington as facilities maintenance manager and Rochelle Faucette as administrative assistant.