2018 North Carolina Tennis Foundation Hall of Fame Dinner

Please join us on Saturday evening at the Carolina Hotel in Pinehurst as we honor the 2018 North Carolina Tennis Foundation Hall of Fame Class. This year's class includes USTA Southern Past President, Paula Hale , NC State Champion, J.W. Quick and National Champion George (Doc) Simkins, Jr.

Paula Hale came to tennis as an adult and with that, she has spent more than 30 years volunteering at the Community Tennis Association level, the state level, sectional level and now the national level. At every stop, she has brought people together to grow and develop tennis. Starting out with the Wilson Tennis Foundation, Hale quickly jumped on board at the state level, volunteering as the Sanction and Schedule Chair for many years. From there Hale began to serve on the USTA North Carolina

Board, serving as Board President from 2002 through 2003, then serving as president of the NC Tennis Foundation from 2004 through 2005. She and fellow USTA North Carolina President, Henry Hostetler, guided the NC Tennis Foundation and USTA North Carolina to a new home, 2709 Henry Street in Greensboro. Hale and Hostetler also launched a capital campaign, raising over $1.8 million dollars to pay for the building, the relocation of the Hall of Fame and an endowment for tennis.

Simultaneously, Hale began volunteering at both the USTA Southern Section and USTA National levels. She rose to become the USTA Southern Section President from 2015 through 2016, and she continues to serve USTA Southern as the USTA Delegate. Paula Hale is a force for tennis, generously giving her time and talents to bring this sport to people throughout our country.

John W. (J.W.) Quick is best described as "graceful and gracious with a huge chunk of humility." Self-taught and highly accomplished, Quick was ranked the #1 tennis

player in North Carolina 11 times. Quick captured several Greensboro local titles and eight NC State Singles titles, while also finishing runner-up 12 times in both singles and doubles! Quick competed and won at the National Championships for the American Tennis Association, winning two titles in the 35's age division and finishing in the top four twice.

Quick also developed into an excellent teacher of the sport, coaching many of our state's finest players to state and sectional excellence. J.W. Quick was a longtime employee at Kayser Roth. In 1987, he partnered with Martina Navratilova against Chris Evert and another player in an exhibition. The following year he was asked to play again, this time partnering with Ivan Lendl against Andre Agassi and his partner. J.W. Quick is known as one of the finest men to play tennis in North Carolina. He always offers up kind words and by watching him on court, one would never know if he was winning or losing. Quick is truly a classy competitor and sportsman!

Dr. George C. Simkins, Jr. (Doc) competed in local, state and national championships from 1938 until he passed away in 2001. Due to insufficient data, it is hard to accurately identify the number of titles he won during his playing career. Here is what can be verified: 14 singles and doubles titles, the first beginning in 1956, the others spanning from 1981 to 1989. Simkins also won 11 State Championships from 1972 to 2001 and was a finalist six times during that same timeframe. Nationally, Simkins won three American Tennis Association (ATA) Championships.

There is no doubt Simkins was an excellent tennis player, but what he accomplished off the court was even more profound! Simkins was the driving force behind the

integration of tennis, swimming, and golf facilities in Greensboro as well as hospital privileges. His landmark Supreme Court case, (Simkins v Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital) changed the lives of many people.

In the 1950's, Simkins played the first interracial tennis match in Greensboro when he contacted Dr. Allen Coggeshall, the president of the Greensboro Tennis Association, and asked if he and some of his players would play an exhibition match at the Windsor Recreation Center courts to help promote tennis in the black community. This match later led to integrating the courts at Memorial Stadium and eventually the Greensboro City tournament. Simkins also partnered with Dr. Robert ("Whirlwind") Johnson to bring an exhibition match between Arthur Ashe and NC Hall of Fame member, Allen Morris. Althea Gibson also played a match against Bill Carrigan in that same exhibition.

In 1998, the Greensboro Parks & Recreation Department named the Indoor Tennis facility (later the Indoor Sports Pavillion) at Barber Park, the Dr. George C. Simkins, Jr. Indoor Sports Pavilion.

The North Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame now includes 96 members with the addition of Paula Hale, J.W. Quick and Dr. George Simkins for the class of 2018. The inaugural class was inducted in 1975. The North Carolina Tennis Foundation selects two or three members each year to add to the Hall of Fame during Tennis Weekend. This class will be inducted on Saturday February 3, 2018 at the Pinehurst Resort and Country Club.

To learn more about the North Carolina Tennis Foundation and the programs it supports click here.