Dan Faber, the executive director of the USTA Foundation, which is the charitable arm of the U.S. Tennis Association, has been named “Person of the Year” for 2019 by Racquet Sports Industry magazine (formerly Tennis Industry magazine) in the publication’s January 2020 issue. Faber led off the magazine’s 19th annual “Champions of Tennis Awards,” which honors people, businesses and organizations dedicated to improving the sport and business of tennis.
Faber was tapped to lead the USTA Foundation in 2013, and since that time, fundraising for the organization has jumped from $1.8 million a year to between $8 million and $10 million annually. “Our goal is to get to a $20 million sustainable level in three to five years,” Faber asaid.
In recent years, Faber, along with USTA Foundation Board President Thomas Chen, helped lead a refocus of the USTA Foundation on promoting and supporting the National Junior Tennis and Learning (NJTL) network, which brings tennis and education together to help change young lives. In 2019, the USTA Foundation topped a total of $40 million in awards for services, grants and scholarships.
Faber played tennis at Albion College in Michigan, where he studied education and later taught elementary school. In 2000, while working with the Council Rock School District in Bucks County, Pa., he was introduced to the NJTL of Trenton, N.J., where he became director of programs and development. “I realized the education component had an opportunity to be more impactful,” he says, “so I engaged a couple of my teaching colleagues and we created the Academic Creative Engagement (ACE) Curriculum.” Eventually, the USTA bought the ACE Curriculum, expanding it to programs nationwide. Faber was named executive director of NJTL of Trenton in 2005.
“Dan Faber is having a profound impact on America’s youth,” said Peter Francesconi, the editor of Racquet Sports Industry, the world’s largest tennis trade magazine (www.tennisindustrymag.com). “It’s his dedication, passion and effectiveness that have earned him RSI’s 2019 Person of the Year Award.”
In addition to its Person of the Year, Racquet Sports Industry also named winners in 23 other categories for its 2019 Champions of Tennis Awards (See the January Racquet Sports Industry digital edition for more on these winners):
* Tennis Industry Service Award: Jolyn de Boer, Hilton Head Island, S.C.
* Private/Commercial Facility of the Year: T Bar M Racquet Club, Dallas, Texas
* Tennis Sales Representative of the Year: Garry Ramey, Alpharetta, Ga.
* Pro/Specialty Retailer of the Year: Fromuth Tennis, West Lawn, Pa., and Orlando, Fla.
* Builder/Contractor of the Year: Renner Sports Surfaces, Denver, Colo.
* Grassroots Tennis Champion of the Year: Jessica McMillen, Austin, Texas
* Municipal Tennis Facility of the Year: Rome Tennis Center at Berry College, Rome, Ga.
* Stringer of the Year: Mark Gonzalez, Austin, Texas
* Community Tennis Association of the Year: Steamboat Tennis Association, Steamboat Springs, Colo.
* Tennis Advocate of the Year: Paula Hale, Raleigh, N.C.
* Wheelchair Tennis Champions of the Year: John Devorss, Salem, Ore.
* Junior Tennis Champion of the Year: David Kimani, Norwalk, Conn.
* Public Park of the Year: City Park/Pepsi Tennis Center, New Orleans, La.
* Park & Rec Agency of the Year: San Francisco Recreation & Parks, San Francisco, Calif.
* High School Coach of the Year: Doug Chapman, Somerset, Mass.
* National Junior Tennis & Learning (NJTL) Organization of the Year: MACH Academy, Augusta, Ga.
* Innovative Tennis Event of the Year: USTA New England Provider Appreciation Month
* Youth Tennis Provider of the Year: Sara Rasmussen, Wichita, Kan.
* Adaptive Tennis Champion of the Year: Jane Hines, Omaha, Neb.
* Adult Tennis Provider of the Year: Tim Ross, Livonia, Mich.
* Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) Member of the Year: Jarrett Chirico, Philadelphia, Pa.
* U.S. Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) Member of the Year: Sid Newcomb, Orlando, Fla.
* U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) Section of the Year: USTA Southern California
Racquet Sports Industry (formerly Tennis Industry) has been covering the tennis business and the sport for 48 years. Available in both print and digital editions, RSI is the official publication of the Tennis Industry Association, U.S. Racquet Stringers Association and American Sports Builders Association.
