2009 USTA Intermountain Board of Directors:
President: Frank Adams
Sectional Delegate and Past President: Shari Spencer
Vice President: Jon Messick
Secretary: Judge Andrew A. Valdez
Treasurer: Holger Nickel
Colorado Representative: Rob Scott
Idaho Representative: Dennis “Bubba” Bennett
Montana Representative: Laurie Cripe
Nevada Representative: Tim Blenkiron
Utah Representative: Ken Harris
Wyoming Representative: Angela Emery
Biographies of the Executive Committee are below:
President: Frank Adams
Frank Adams attended Midwestern University and majored in medical lab technology. He served in the United States Air Force from 1979-1984, lived two years in Japan, worked for ten years as a labratory technician, and worked for ten years as a microbiologist in research and quality control for Leprino Foods. Frank serves as a USTA Recreational Coach Workshop Trainer, Intermountain Tennis Association Zonal Team Coach, Wheelchair Tennis Coach for the Colorado Wheelchair Tennis Foundation, Intermountain Foundation and 2007 Board Member. He is married with two children attending Colorado University and Colorado State University.
Frank's many accomplishments include: Professional Tennis Registry Teaching Certification Recipient in 1992; President of the Colorado Tennis Association 1999; Colorado Tennis Association Board of Directors 1993-1999; Intermountain Tennis Association Board of Directors 2000-2007, currently Vice-President; USTA Community Development Committee Member worked on Best Practices Resource Book: USTA NJTL Committee Member mentor to Missouri Valley District: USTA Innovation Committee Member - Tennis Partnerships; USTA Technical Committee Member 2005-2006 - Dynamic Ball Testing, Adopt-a-Court, Outstanding Facility Award; Tennis in the Park Crew 2006.
Sectional Delegate and Past President: Shari L. Spencer
Shari Spencer is the newly appointed President of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Intermountain Section for –2007-2008. She is currently serving her fourth two-year term on the board. Currently, Shari's other volunteer roles with Intermountain are as board liaison to the Advocacy Task Force (which she initiated this term), her 3rd term as a a member of the National Information Technology Committee, and representing the 17 Section Presidents on the National Budget Committee. Her previous roles include as member of the National Strategic Planning Committee, two terms as the Sectional Representative to the USTA Administrative Council, and as Board Liaison to the Intermountain's Marketing & Communications Committee.
Shari has been very involved with the Nevada Tennis Association (NTA) since her move from Atlanta to Las Vegas in 1997. She started by serving on the Las Vegas Challenger Committee, then several years on the NTA board, where she served as Vice President through last year. She continues to serve on their Constitution and Rules Committee, and her past committee work includes their Information Technology Committee, Strategic Planning Committee and chairing the NTA’s Volunteer Committee. Additionally, she served with the Building and Facilities Committees that was instrumental in partnering with the City of Las Vegas to develop the Darling Tennis Center.
Outside of her work with the USTA, Shari is an accomplished senior executive with financial, consulting and business management expertise garnered from twenty years in diverse roles with multi-location organizations, ranging in size from start-up to Fortune 50. Shari is currently Chairman/CEO of Strategic Leadership Services, Inc., a private company providing outsourced CFO services to domestic and international clientele. An experienced financial and IT consultant, Shari has consulted to various public and private Nevada gaming and manufacturing companies. In addition to her consulting practice, she has served as Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer for Leisure Industries, a publicly-held travel & leisure organization with revenues of $100MM, as well as for a privately-held regional payroll processing company. As Director of the Financial Administration Division for A I Recovery, a subsidiary of AIG, Shari was responsible for $200MM annual cash processing and distribution as well as the initial system design to support the operation. She was founder and managing principal of Technology Assisted Productivity, a consulting firm specializing in technology consulting and process automation to smaller businesses. Shari served as President of the charter class of the Evening MBA program at Goizueta Business School of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
Vice President: Jon Messick
From 1980 to 1985 Jon was a staff accountant at Schaefer & Gayeski, CPA’s, Kennedy & Coe, CPA’s. He was a Controller for small chain of grocery stores. Jon has experience in independent accounting work. Also, he has passed CPA certification exam.
From 1985 to 1996 Jon was the men’s tennis coach Colorado State University, and has been the women’s tennis coach from 1989 to present. For over fifteen years, Jon has been a tennis professional for various tennis clubs and resorts including, John Gardiner’s resorts the Ranch Country Club in Colorado, and at Fort Collins Tennis Center in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Jon previously served as the President of the Colorado Tennis Association (CTA) for a third year and has been a District Representative to the ITA board. As a member of the Colorado Tennis Association Board, he is Chairman of the Seeding and Ranking Committee, a member of the Central Region Ranking Committee for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, and is a member of the board of directors for the Fort Collins Tennis Association.
Jon has been recognized for his vast tennis experience as the 1989 USPTA Coach of the Year, the 2001 recipient of the Bud Robineau Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Tennis Community, the 2004 recipient of the USTA/Intercollegiate Tennis Association Community Service Award for the Intermountain Region and the 2005 recipient of the Outreach Award by the Colorado Wheelchair Tennis Foundation.
Secretary: Judge Andrew A. Valdez
Andrew A. Valdez is a judge at the Third District Juvenile Court in Salt Lake City, Utah. A native of Utah, Valdez is a graduate from the University of Utah College of Law. Prior to his appointment to the bench, in 1993, Valdez was a commissioned captain in the U.S. Army J.A.G. Corps, and a trial counsel with the Legal Defenders Association and Homicide Division.
He has served as chair of the statewide Youth Parole Authority, and has served on the Utah Sentencing Commission, Board of Trustees for Primary Children’s Medical Center, Juvenile Justice Task Force, Board of Juvenile Court Judges, and the Judicial Counsel. He is currently a member of the National Youth Gang Center and was honored in 2003 with the Martin Luther King Civil Rights Award by the N.A.A.C.P. In 2005, Judge Valdez was awarded the Footprinter’s Association Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Award, and the Utah State Bar Judge of the Year Award for 2005.
In recognition for outstanding service to the University of Utah and the community, Judge Valdez received the 2009 Distinguished Alumnus Award presented by the University of Utah Alumni Association.
Andrew Valdez is committed to helping troubled young people and has developed a court-based mentoring program, partnering with community based educational schools. His nonfiction book, No One Makes It Alone, is a true story based on his own life.
Treasurer: Holger G. Nickel
Holger Nickel of Idaho Falls, Idaho, is the past President of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Intermountain Section for the 2007 - 2008 Board of Directors. Holger has been an active volunteer for Intermountain since 1990. He served as Chair of the Junior Ranking and Endorsement Committee and the as Board Liaison to the Junior Competition Committee. On the national level, he was a member of the USTA Youth Competition and Training Committee, a Section Representative to the Comptetitive Player Council, a USTA certified Umpire, a Clinician for USA School Tennis Program and was a National Tournament Evaluator for the USTA in the mid 1990's. Holger has been involved with the Idaho Tennis Association (IdTA) since 1985, and still serves on their Board of Directors. He was President of Idaho's Board from 1993-1995 and Vice-President from 1989-1992.
Holger also volunteered for Idaho Tennis as an Area USTA League Coordinator, Junior Endorser and Tournament Director. Before moving to the United States, Holger was a Tournament Director in Germany from 1970 - 1975. In 2003, he was inducted into the Idaho Tennis Hall of Fame. Holger also volunteers his expertise to tennis by donating his time to the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA). Since 1999 he has served the USPTA Intermountain Division as President, First Vice-President, Second Vice-President and Regional Vice-President. Holger resides in Idaho Falls, Idaho, where he lives with his wife, Rhonda.