Black Meetings and Tourism

January / February 2017

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On November 3rd, City of Miramar Elected Officials passed a vote of confidence in support of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City of Miramar and the American Tennis & Education Foundation, Inc. (ATEF), a Florida Not-for-Profit Corporation and Member Club of the American Tennis Association. The non-binding MOU lays the foundation of the ATEF's unsolicited proposal that includes locating the ATEF National Tennis Center, Tennis Hall of Fame Museum, and a Hotel at Miramar Regional Park (16801 Miramar Parkway). This project would be inclusive of an American Tennis Association (ATA)/ATEF Administrative Office and a National Training and Competition Facility subject to City zoning and other applicable rules and regulations. The MOU was requested as a progressive step to memorializing an outline on the project's scope, anticipated construction, funding sched- ules, and estimated costs during a Commission workshop on July 6, 2016. "The potential of Miramar to be the home of the American Tennis Association and Black Tennis Museum is amazing. This development is consistent with the expansion of cultural tourism in Broward County and the vision of making Miramar a destination city, while offering access to the highest level of tennis training to our Miramar community. Our Commission is committed to the thorough vetting of this opportunity and looks forward to the formal proposal," stated City of Miramar Mayor Wayne Messam. According to Albert Tucker, vice pres- ident of Multicultural Business Development for the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau and a driving force behind the ATA project, there are four key points of interest he is addressing to move this development forward. "We have established a wonderful relationship with Florida Memorial University (FMU) and the prestigious HBCU will have a representative on the ATEF Board. Additionally, they will establish a University tennis program in conjunction with the development and the historic nature of the project," explains Tucker. "The ATEF Development Team will be working with the ATA Executive Board, and their membership, to estab- lish the name for the Black Tennis Museum. Additionally," Tucker adds, "we will be establishing a 2017 fundraising campaign that will take place in key cities across the country. The campaign will be designed to sup- port the local organizations of the ATA, the ATA National Office and the ATEF Development Project. Last, while it is not yet official, we are talking with the Smithsonian Museum of African History and Culture to have the Museum in Miramar serve as an affiliate of the Smithsonian Museum." About the American Tennis & Education Foundation: The ATA, founded in 1916 in Washington, D.C., is a 100-year old sports organization. The ATEF is a registered 501C-3 organization that serves as the non-profit organization of the ATA with 10,000 thousand members across the Country and 200 tennis clubs affiliated and encom- passing those members, thousands of supporters and a history of promot- ing participation in tennis by diverse communities. About The City of Miramar: The City of Miramar is located in South Florida within Broward County. It is a diverse community of 126,619 residents and recognized as a geo- graphic hub for numerous corporations of various sizes including major players in key global industries such as airlines, cruise lines, healthcare, finance, media and communications. As a strategic destination in South Florida, it is noted for its quick access to all major highways, South Florida's ports and airports. For more information about Miramar visit: http://www.ci.miramar.fl.us/ I N T H E N E W S AMERICAN TENNIS & EDUCATION FOUNDATION (ATEF) GETS MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING AFFIRMED FOR TENNIS HALL OF FAME MUSEUM AT MIRAMAR REGIONAL PARK MADISON WISCONSIN: A TOP MEETING DESTINATION FOR 2017 Madison, Wisconsin has been named a top meeting destina- tion by SmartAsset.com. SmartAsset compiles an annual list of the Best Cities for Conferences each year. This ear, Madison ranked 20th on the list. Deb Archer, president and CEO of the Greater Madison Convention & Visitors Bureau was excited by the news. "This is a wonderful nod about an important element of our work and key contributor to the visitor economy. This confirms and validates what so many of our satisfied cus- tomers have expressed to us – that Madison is a great place to meet and host events," she said. B M & T ••• January/February 2017 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 6

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