Executive Director's Report

By Dwight Johnson

I was recently asked by someone outside the sport, “What do you do as the Executive Director of USA Table Tennis?”  That got me to thinking that many of you do not know what we do here at USATT Headquarters.  So with that said let’s explore what each person does here at the Headquarters for you, the membership. 

Dawn Simon is our Administrative Coordinator.  She is responsible for maintaining and updating the membership database, club affiliation, coaching activities, processing tournaments, and the mail. Dawn is the one you want to contact if you have any questions about membership, clubs, coaching, and tournaments.

Fran Boardman is our Ratings Coordinator.  Her main focus, although not limited to this, is updating ratings and processing tournaments.  She also investigates discrepancies within the tournaments to ensure that the ratings are as accurate as possible.  So if you have a question about your rating, call Fran.

Al Prast is our Financial Manager.  He is responsible for the finances within USATT.  He does all invoicing, billing, and accounts receivable.  He also interfaces with our bank and auditors.

Margaret Smith is our Operations Director.  She is the backbone of this organization.  Margaret oversees all the activities above and more.  She runs all the USATT sponsored tournaments, elections, national team activities, officials activities, board votes, international relations and competition, elite youth activities, web activities, and interfacing with the editor of the magazine.  Margaret is busy all the time but always trys to find the time to talk with you the member.

Debbie Doney is our Program Director.  She is responsible for all the programs throughout USATT, such as grassroots programs, corporate sponsorship, membership drives, club ideas, coaching programs, communications and media liaison, and many others too numerous to mention here.  If you have an idea please contact Debbie and I know that she will help develop or let you know what is going on with USATT Programs.

As the Executive Director I am ultimately responsible for all the above.  I also interact with the Executive Directors of other USA sports and the U.S. Olympic Committee.  Corporate Sponsorship is another activity that demands a lot of attention.  So does international relations with other countries, the ITTF, and other sports bodies throughout the world.  I also set up contracts for our national tournaments, making sure that we get the biggest bang for the buck.

Running this organization is easy when you have busy and productive people like we have here at headquarters.  So the next time you have a question or issue, don’t hesitate to call or e-mail us.  Until next time keep the ball on the table.