Fostoria Focus receives Fred Burns Award
April 21, 1996, article three

PIX#1 - Ann Krupp and Fostoria Focus General Manager Pam Lawrence show off the Fred Burns Award the Focus won from the United States Tennis association Western Section on April 13. Krupp nominated the Focus for the award, which was for coverage of tennis in the community. Also on hand for the award from the Focus were sports and outdoor writer Jamie Baker; reporter Leonard Skonecki; and Linda Wagner, production manager.

Since August of 1994 the Fostoria Focus has been hard at work spotlighting “the good news of Fostoria.” It’s been our pleasure to report the numerous positive doings of Fostoria’s people, businesses, community groups, churches and schools.

But this week we’re going to take the liberty of blowing our own horn a bit, as they say, and put “the good news of the Fostoria Focus into perspective.”

The Focus is the 1996 recipient of the United States Tennis Association Western Section’s Fred Burns Award.

The Fred Burns Award recognizes the journalist, sportscaster, newspaper, radio or television station that contributed the most toward promoting tennis on the local, district or sectional level. Fred Burns was a Cincinnati journalist who did great service to tennis by his reportage. He also bequeathed funds to the Western Tennis Association to benefit its programs.

Pam Lawrence, general manager, accepted the award on behalf of the Focus at the USTA Western Section’s Awards Luncheon Saturday, April 13, at the Radisson Hotel in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Also attending were Linda Wagner, Focus production manager, Jamie Baker, sports and outdoor writer; and your intrepid reporter.

Accepting the award, Pam said, “I would like to thank the Western Tennis Association. This is a great honor for a small weekly newspaper. And I would also like to thank Anne (Fostorian Anne Krupp). If it hadn’t been for her nomination, we wouldn’t be here today.”

Anne Krupp and her husband Tom are long time members of the Western Tennis Association.

A second Northwest Ohioan, Tom Martin of Toledo, won the Cap Leighton Award which recognizes the teaching professional who contributes to tennis in his or her community beyond his or her livelihood, promoting involvement in tennis for player’s of all levels and ages and who develops programs and participation in those programs.

Cap Leighton was a Chicago area pro who was known for his innovative instructional methods for beginning tennis players.

Howard Myers of Whitefish Bay, Wis., won the Stanley Malless Award who has contributed to tennis programs from the grass roots up for five or more years.

Stanley Malless was president of both USTA and the Western Tennis Association.

The Frank Dowling Award went to Bob Barr of Okemos, Mich. That award annually recognizes an outstanding umpire with five or more years service in the Western Tennis Association. Frank Dowling, known for his training of umpires, was an outstanding umpire himself.

Lilia Osterlon of Can Winchester, Ohio, won the Helen Shockley Award recognizing the outstanding age 16-18 female player who best exemplifies the highest standards of tennis accomplishment, character, conduct, sportsmanship, appearance and amateurism. Helen Shockley made many contributions to junior tennis and founded the “feed in” consolation.

Michael Russell of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., won the Wallace R. Holzman Sr. Award, honoring the age 16-18 male player for displaying the highest standards of tennis accomplishment, character, conduct, sportsmanship, appearance and amateurism. Wallace R. Holzman Sr. was a treasurer of the WTA and contributed to junior tennis to help youngsters gain opportunities through the sport.

The River Trails Tennis Center of Arlington Heights, Ill., won the Sectional Member of the Year Award, presented annually to a WTA affiliate to recognize service to the tennis community, service to its members through junior and adult programs and its history of providing those services.

The United States Tennis Association is the national governing body of amateur tennis. The USTA sponsors one professional tournament each year, the prestigious U.S. Open. The USTA is divided into 17 Sections of which the Western Tennis Association is one.

The WTA includes Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and parts of West Virginia and Kentucky.

The Western Tennis Association is the second largest of the USTA’s Sections with 60,000 members. The WTA is itself divided into 14 districts. The Northwest Ohio District is one of the three Ohio districts.

The WTA sponsors three annual tournaments — the Western Open for junior amateurs throughout the nation, the Western Closed for amateurs within WTA’s boundaries and the Western Closed Indoor.

USTA ranks players age 14 and older. It sponsors programs in schools where teaching pros teach physical education instructors how to teach tennis. It also sponsors competitive and recreational programs for adults.

The Western Tennis Association also presents five, ten, and twenty year Volunteer Service Awards.

Receiving a 1996 twenty year Service Award was one of the game’s outstanding figures, Patricia Freebody.

Freebody is a native Australian. As a player she has participated in major women’s tournaments such as the Australian Open and Wimbledon. She was Billie Jean King’s doubles partner.

She coached Chicago District Tennis Association girls’ teams to 10 national titles; won the USTA Merit Award in 1976 for her work with junior players; and in 1978 became the first woman president of the Chicago District. In 1986 Freebody won the Stanley Malless Award and coached the U.S. Tennis Team at the Tokyo World Games.

In 1989 she became president of World Team Tennis. In 1993 she was chosen executive director of the WTA. Earlier this year she moved up to the USTA national staff.

At her presentation, WTA Communications Director Chip Powers kidded Freebody, “During a personal tour of the world she came to the United States for a visit. Now, 25 years later, she is still visiting.”

No one in American tennis would have it any other way. Other recent recipients of the Fred Burns Award are John McQuinn, sportswriter for the Midland (Mich.) Daily News for his coverage of Midland’s annual pro tournament; David Hunter, a Vincennes, Ind., radio broadcaster; Rod Sniadecki, long time tennis writer and columnist for the South Bend (Ind.) Journal; Blake Sebring, sportswriter for the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Journal for his coverage of local amateur tennis; Jack and Marilyn Oliver of Mentor, Ohio, who publish the bi-monthly Northern Ohio Tennis News which covers tennis news about kids from high school on down; and Pam Shebest, sportswriter for the Kalamazoo (Mich.) Gazette for her coverage of the USTA Boys’ 16-18 National Championship.

The tournament, played in Kalamazoo for 52 years, features boys 16 and under and 18 and under and has been won by the likes of Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Jim Courier and Michael Chang.

The Focus is pleased and honored to be named in such company.

So once again, the Focus would like to extend its thanks to the Western Tennis Association and its 1996 Awards Committee (Chairman Joanne Jansky and members Jim Davis, Barbara Rowe, Linda Spann, Robert Wood, Laurie Covert and Chip Powers).

It was an honor and a pleasure to have the paper recognized by the Association along with the other award recipients, folks who, like Pat Freebody, have given so much of themselves to enhance their sport and to provide wholesome opportunities for youngsters.

The Focus is proud to report on Fostoria’s youth activities, whether athletic, academic, recreational or community service.

This seems as good an occasion as any to distribute a couple other thank yous as well. One goes to Don and Judy Miller. Without their vision we wouldn’t have the opportunity to be Fostoria’s good news newspaper.

And an extraordinary opportunity it is. The number of community-minded, public-spirited, charitable and selfless activities, innovative business efforts; and interesting doings of individual residents never fails to knock our socks right off. (Which gives us a lot to cover, but leaves the office a bit cluttered.)

So our second thank you goes to Fostoria’s residents and our readers and advertisers. We couldn’t do it without you.