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Professional Tennis Management Celebrates 25 Years of Excellence

logoFerris State University’s highly-respected Professional Tennis Management program plans to serve some love at its 2011 PTM Banquet Weekend in recognition of 25 years of continuous success.

PTM’s celebration of “25 Years of Excellence” will be held this Friday and Saturday, April 15 and 16, in Big Rapids at the Racquet and Fitness Center and the Holiday Inn Hotel and Conference Center. PTM alumni, tennis professionals, guest speakers, students, faculty and staff will be in attendance throughout a busy weekend of activities. The banquet weekend’s keynote speaker, sponsored by Wilson, will be Todd Martin, a former highly-ranked tour professional who was rated as high as No. 4 in the world.

“The purpose of the PTM Banquet Weekend is to celebrate our students’ achievements and recognize them,” said Derek Ameel, the current PTM director and manager of the Racquet and Fitness Center. “We give out scholarships, bring industry speakers, top speakers and alumni come back to provide our students networking opportunities.”

As part of the celebration, more than 60 current PTM students will have opportunities to connect with visiting alumni and tennis professionals. One aspect of the program’s success that will be celebrated throughout the weekend is its 100-percent placement rate for graduates of PTM that continues since it was founded in 1986 by Scott Schultz.

“This was the first four-year program in the country and is still the premiere of its kind in the world today,” Ameel said of PTM, based in Ferris’ College of Business.

Ameel said that he has “always felt connected to the program” since he graduated from Ferris in 1994. He hopes that current PTM students gain industry knowledge and learn from the experiences of the presenters. Ameel noted that many graduates are involved in influential positions throughout the tennis industry. He also said that others have branched out to other areas of interest, such as Dolph Ramseur, a 1991 graduate, who owns Ramseur Records.

“I want students to understand what it takes to be successful in the industry and see what was successful for others,” Ameel said of what he hopes will be an inspirational experience for students.

The PTM Alumni Invitational Tournament will be held Friday, April 15 for current students to compete against past program graduates on the tennis court.