The USTA/Midwest Tennis & Education Foundation (MTEF) would like to announce the 2022 winner of the Heart for Community- MTEF District Executive Director Award. This is a new award founded in memory of Margaret Ruemanapp, who served as Executive Director in Northern Michigan and was a recognized leader. This award honors her innovative and inclusive spirit. Award recipients must exhibit a commitment to growing the game of tennis for youth with an emphasis on serving those with disabilities, from underserved communities, and/or those economically disadvantaged. The award honors an Executive Director and will fund an initiative of their choice with $1,000 paid out to the district directly in their honor.
MTEF is honored to announce that the 2022 Heart for Community- MTEF District Executive Director Award goes to David Engle from USTA Ohio Valley.
Dave has been a part of tennis and has served his community for over 50 years. He learned to play in college, until injuries prevented him to play further. Then he turned to serving others and giving back. By coaching at Shawnee High School and Wittenberg University, he changed the players’ lives forever. Like Margaret, Dave was a teacher, coach and provided a guiding hand to all. They were both dedicated leaders that were positive influences on their communities from youth to adults. Dave’s years of service to the USTA Midwest Section and the Ohio Valley District is truly honored. We congratulate him on his retirement and thank him for his dedication to the game. Listed below are just a few of Dave’s local accomplishments:
Ohio Valley Tennis Association (OVTA) Family of the Year 1992
Midwest Family of the Year 1993
USTA Family of the Year 1994
Wittenberg University North Coast Athletic Conference Coach of the Year
Midwest Region College Coach of the Year
Treasurer of Springfield Adult Tennis Association
Coach of men’s & women’s tennis at Springfield Shawnee High School 1981-88 (math teacher & basketball coach)
Taught tennis at Springfield Country Club 1985-1989
Managed tennis courts/taught tennis at Springfield Parks & Rec. 1990-1996
Volunteer for Springfield Tennis Patrons-helped organize and run junior tournaments
Certified official (junior, adult leagues and college)
Executive Director for OVTA from 1999-June,1 2022
*USTA Ohio Valley would like to create the Dave & Joyce Heart of a Champion Award. It will be presented to the Adult League Captain, who has gone above and beyond to make an impact on tennis. The award will be presented each league season at the USTA Ohio Valley Annual Meeting.
Who is Margaret Ruemanapp?
Margaret Ruemanapp exhibited the following qualities as a youth tennis coach: patience, dedication, leadership and generosity. She had a positive influence on many youth players in Northern Michigan and made a difference in her district.
She was a USPTA professional for 40 years and spent most of her life promoting, fostering and encouraging grassroots tennis for the benefit of children, youth and adults. She was inclusive and competitive. Margaret established programs to introduce youth of the local Native American tribes to tennis; she traveled the expanse of northern Michigan to start tennis programs where none existed. She started and coached the Harbor Springs High School girl’s tennis program, coached for Petoskey, ran “Fun In Tennis” camps for free to get kids involved, promoted inter-district youth competition between teams of Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas and created “family tournaments” featuring parent/child teams. Margaret was a teacher, coach, instructor, and friend, who gave a guiding hand to all.
Margaret was a recognized leader. She was inducted into the Michigan High School Tennis Coaches Hall of Fame in 2013 and the Petoskey High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017. She spent 10 years as Chair of the Juniors Program and several years as Executive Director of the Northern Michigan Tennis Association (NMTA) bringing her grassroots commitment to the sprawling 39 county districts. In 2020, Margaret was posthumously awarded the NMTA Phyllis Laurila Award, an achievement award recognizing her incredible lifelong contribution to growing Northern Michigan tennis.
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