CHRIS HOWARD of Prescott, Ariz.
Chris Howard of Prescott, Arizona has been in the game for more than forty years, helping spread the love by teaching, playing and even writing about the sport for much of that time. Howard started his journey back as a pre-teen in Ohio and ended up in Arizona in 1976, taking a couple of teaching gigs in Phoenix for awhile before ultimately ending up in the Northern Arizona city of Prescott in 1985.
Howard’s been in the small Northern Arizona city ever since, and it’s been there where he has made his biggest mark in tennis, helping get the Prescott Racquet Club built, as well as being a strong grassroots activist and executive board member for the Prescott Area Tennis Association, as well as helping grow the game through the USPTA teaching organization.
However, the thing Howard might most be known for is serving as Prescott’s tennis voice. He has been the weekly tennis columnist the last couple of decades for the city’s daily paper – the Prescott Daily Courier, writing hundreds of columns that can range from local tennis goings-on in Prescott to the pro game to tennis etiquette dos and don’ts.
Howard has watched his little town blossom, and remains active on all fronts in the game. He recently spoke with USTA Southwest’s Jeff Sikes for this month’s ActiveForever Member Profile. Howard gave the USTA the scoop on how his journey with the sport began, what’s kept him around the sport so long, his role as a tennis media voice, and what his hometown of Prescott is doing to grow the game.
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