First, let me explain that our family's primary recreation is tennis. Yearly we attend a large-scale tennis event for a week of our favorite entertainment- usually the Indian Wells Masters 1000 ATP World Tour tournament. We subscribe to the Tennis Channel through our cable company and have a USTA family membership. We qualify as bona fide tennis nuts.

We have just returned from the best experience we have ever had at a tennis event: our week at the Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Tournament & Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. The employees, the size of the tournament, the ambience of the grounds at the Tennis Hall of Fame integrated into an unexpected joy for my wife Kathi and myself. We secured a condo in the historic section of town between the harbor and the Hall of Fame grounds. We walked everywhere; we walked to the restaurants that we chose and delighted in the quality of food. But, the real delight was how we were cared for by the employees at the Hall of Fame. By the end of the week, we not only became acquainted with Marguerite A. Jones, Director of Membership & Annual Giving, and Leslie Thomas, Director of Retail, but became friends, inviting them to Oregon to reciprocate their over the top service to us during our week in Newport.

The unexpected gift for the week was the actual tournament competition. When we attend large tennis events, we are often privy to seeing the top-10 play. The Hall of Fame is a 250 ATP event with a draw that pulls from the top-100 or so tennis players. This year there was no top 10 player in the draw, because our top American players were in Austin competing in the Davis Cup. Still, much to our delight, in the week-long Hall of Fame tournament we watched great tennis and saw the intense rivalries and angst of tennis players from day one to the final, at a very affordable price and with excellent seats. At large tournaments and majors, the experiences are like snap shots without the flow of connected personal struggles. At the Hall of Fame tournament the joy of triumph and the agony of defeat are right there in front of us. The tournament has a very personal feeling and truly gives fans the opportunity to connect with the players and the competition. The tennis tenacity and the skill of the players at Newport was more evenly balanced, and it was enjoyable to watch something other than the blowouts we often see at large tournaments.

We look forward, with great anticipation, to our next visit to the Hall of Fame tournament, the Induction Ceremony and its surrounding events.

David S. Jones, MD and Kathi Ann Jones, MS - Ashland, OR