In honor of Eugene St. Martin’s decades of devotion to youth tennis in Baton Rouge, a grass roots group of tennis enthusiasts have been collaborating with BREC on a special project to recognize his years of service to the tennis community. Donations will be used to convert two adult courts at Highland Road Park to five youth courts. As additional funds are raised, a Eugene St. Martin endowment fund will be established to provide future low-cost or free youth programs. Other than Lafayette, Baton Rouge will be the only city in Louisiana to have permanent 36 foot public courts. The fundraising goal is to initially match BREC funding of $20,000. The expected completion date of the youth courts is April, 2015.
Mr. Eugene’s awards and contributions to the sport of tennis:
- 2014 YMCA Capital Area Red Heart Award Winner
- 2012 GBRCTA Community Tennis Hero Award Winner
- Recognized by the USTA as the Top Ten People in the country for Community Tennis Service
- 35 Years of Teaching Tennis
- Attended US Open’s Tennis Teacher’s Conference for 33 years
- UPTA Member for 30 years
- USPTR Member for 35 years
- State Director-Special Olympics-Tennis
- Volunteer for Wheelchair Tennis-30 years
- Instituted the NJTL Program at Highland Park —30 years
- Volunteer in Junior Team Tennis and Junior Olympics
- Member of Sertoma Club – 20 years. Runs annual fundraising tennis tournament