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Wolfington Family East Coast Leadership Tour 2010

The Foundation children just finished the one-of-a-kind East Coast Leadership tour. It consist of 3 weeks, 8 cities, 15 speakers, prestigious colleges, historical tours, celebrities, senators, producers, CEO's, inventors, and a legendary coach, all comprised together to inspire children to be the leaders of tomorrow.

The Wolfington Family, including the O’Neills, Gillins, and Mitas, for the 5th year sponsored foundation children to experience the "NJTL East Coast Leadership Tour," sponsored by VegasTennis.com’s Marty Hennessy Jr. Tennis Foundation and Marriott.

The 3-week trip included visits to Nantucket, Hyannis Port, historical Philadelphia, the beaches of Avalon and the pure excitement of New York City and Boston. To inspire excellence in academics and athletics, children applying for the trip had to have a minimum GPA, be ranked as a top tennis player and be recipients of the USTA-Nevada Academic-Athletic Leadership Award.

Every morning the children had a "Leadership Breakfast" with a variety of leaders to discuss how one finds happiness and success.

"What impacts the children the most is hearing the advice from successful people on how to find happiness," explained Ryan Wolfington. "As a result of these speakers and the amazing sites and opportunities, the children come back different people, stronger, wiser, more mature and motivated than ever before. It is a life changing experience."

Past speakers included: Pulitzer prize winning author David McCullough of "John Adams," Senator John Ensign, President Bush Sr., Walden Media Co-Founder/President Michael Flaherty (Chronicles of Narnia), TV star Kathie Lee Gifford, Governor Jeb Bush, Senator Ted Kennedy, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Pro Martina Hingis, Automotive pioneer Eustace Wolfington, film Producer Sean Wolfington, and Harvard Men’s Tennis coach David Fish.

Thanks to Philip Scudder the youth were sponsored to take the HyLine ferry from Hyannis Port to the beaches of Nantucket, MA. Young’s Bike Rentals set them free to roam the city and see the beautiful sites riding in style. Captain James (Jim) Genthner owner of ?The Endeavor? yacht sponsored an early morning sail, which was a highlight for the children, many who had never been on a boat before. Captains Jim’s words of wisdom were as magnificent as the views and wind against their faces.

"No one else can make you happy," he explained. "You have to find that within yourself."

Philadelphia Marriott graciously sponsored the City of brotherly love tour, thanks to General Manager Mike Roddin. Here they met with Ronald McDonald’s founder and Michael Jackson Victory Tour promoter Jim Murray, as well as Automotive Pioneer Eustace Wolfington and inspirational speaker Mark Chilutti of McGee Rehabilitation hospital. After being shot and confined to a wheel chair Mark inspired the children with his story of winning two national tennis championships in doubles.

The children had a once in a lifetime experience and private tour of the Chanticleer gardens. Owned by the Rosengarten family who owned Merck and Company the estate sits on 47 acres and has 17 full time staff of whom 12 are gardeners. This is all to keep the gardens a beautiful place to relax, read, converse and meditate! It was followed by an elegant dinner sponsored by Berchuchi’s Italian restaurant.
They also enjoyed a day at Philadelphia’s Museum of art where Renoir’s exhibit of 60 private paintings were in view along with their usual 225,000 works of art.

Thanks to Pascal Collard the children played tennis on the grass at America’s oldest and most prestigious Merion Cricket Club. They also enjoyed the clay courts at Philadelphia Country Club thanks to the Wolfington family. Rose Weinstein and Jeff Harris with World Team Tennis topped off the trip with a night watching Andy Roddick at a pro event.

Sponsored by Ana and Sean Wolfington the children enjoyed relaxing days on the beaches of Avalon, New Jersey. Here they enjoyed hearing from Olympian Eric Bernotas, youth outreach speaker Tom Moyer, Entrepreneur Alex Wolfington and film Producer Sean Wolfington.

In New York, Marriott came through again with great accommodations. The children enjoyed the energy and excitement of the city including shows, central park, historical sites and more. One of the highlights of the trip was going to Jersey City to meet legendary coach Bobby Hurley, the subject of the award winning book and documentary ?A Miracle at St. Anthony’s.? Sharon Wolfington Brown, the Sr. Vice President of Stryker, a leading medical technology company, made New York’s trip possible.

The trip ended with a very special treat in Boston. A stay at the Ritz Carlton and an invitation to the premiere of a great new movie called ?Waiting for Superman.? The film is directed and produced by an Academy Award winning team from ?An Inconvenient Truth? and recently won the Sundance Film Festival. This was made possible and topped off by a dinner and leadership talk from Walden Media President Micheal Flaherty. Walden produced Chronicles of Narnia, Charlottes Web, RAY and countless other films.

Thanks to the support and genorosity of many Stirling Club members VegasTennis.com's Marty Hennessy Foundation has helped mentor, train and tutor hundreds of children. The Foundation helps over 500 youth annually. This year the foundation helped 6 children get scholarships to play college tennis, bringing the grand total up to 23 in 5 years.

None of this would be possible without the support of the follwoing members and supporters: Tony and Susan Bennett, Clint Holmes, Rita Rudger, Rudy Ruettiger, Mike and Bob Bryan, Winnie and Bob Schulman, Stan and Cheryl Tomchin, Jason Straus, Tony Gandour, Johnny Brenden, Marriott, Jim Hammer, Connections Academy, David Dinkins, Gerry and Diane Wendel, Sharon and Norm Jenkins, Joey Cusamano, Dr. Marsha Niska, Irene Frasier, Sandy White, John and Dana Goyak, Shari Gabriel, Claudine Grant, Bill Clark and Jeff Sanford, Janet Ford, Steve Heitzner, Joy Bell, Andy Ferguson , Richard Feminilli, William Silbey, Ron & Patty Rudin, Patty and Milledge Hart, Dr. David and Laura Mulkey, Dr. David Lanzkowsky, Laurie Steed, and Scott Karosa. More information and photos are at www.lasvegastennis.com. Inspiring Children through Mentoring, Tennis and Education.