Enough is enough! Since 2007, Jeff Clark has been working tirelessly to build a quality, public tennis community at Riverside Tennis Center for the City of Wichita. He brought it to a level of regional recognition that the facility hadn't seen since the 1980's. He was let go at the end of 2017 and Riverside has been falling apart since that day. While he has made some managerial mistakes along the way, the positive impact he has made on thousands of lives and on the tennis community as a whole far outweigh the missteps that we are all well aware he made in his final year at Riverside. The Park Department has shown nothing but incompetence since his release. Starting with offering him a verbal agreement to return as a Contract Instructor to them denying that for reasons they refuse to disclose; to unethical hiring practices in hiring his replacement of Chris Heck that they rescinded after Mr. Heck resigned from his current job. Riverside Tennis Center has become a tennis gem in the heart of Wichita, Kansas and a huge reason for that was the direction of Jeff Clark.
It has been more than 4 months since Mr. Clark's untimely dismissal and the tennis community is paying a dear price. With this petition, we ask The City of Wichita to BRING JEFF CLARK BACK! Whether it be returning as Director, which is by far the smartest thing, or an Independent Contractor, or simply leasing the facility to him to run entirely. He has proven for nearly a decade that he is the right person for this job and served and represented the City of Wichita well, while giving the tennis community the fantastic, affordable, and PUBLIC tennis programs and facilities it deserves.
Updates
Reached 250 supporters
February 1, 2018
January 19, 2018
The Park Department continues to ignore our requests for a meeting regarding the state of Riverside. Call your city council representative today and demand they address the ongoing mismanagement of our courts.
Reached 100 supporters
January 19, 2018
January 18, 2018
We are approaching one hundred signatures and need to hit this milestone before we approach the Parks Department. Post the link on your Facebook page right now. Text three people who care about Riverside and tell them to sign today.
63 Comments
I have always enjoyed Jeff’s passion for tennis & his enthusiasm for teaching. The city needs to put their differences aside & do the right thing. Riverside is a nice complex, but at the moment doesn’t seem to be important to the people making decisions for it. Put the egos away & bring back Jeff.
for the past 5 years, our family has regularly used the Riverside facility solely because of the influence of Jeff Clark. He coached both of my sons from novice beginners to Varsity tennis players over that time. We will not return or support Riverside in the future however, unless Jeff is brought back.
I travel a lot and I can tell you the city does not understand how good they had it. Jeff ran great programs. My biggest concern is the youth programs. Jeff provided lower income kid's the opportunity to grow and compete. Just look at the state tournaments each year and you would see Jeff's students
Jeff is the sole reason our group switched from Genesis to Riverside 7 yrs ago. We have now reluctantantly moved back to Genesis...no one in my opinion cares about the individual player, regardless of age, as much as Jeff does. Swallow your pride City and do what's best for our tennis community and OUR city.
All of the work that has been put in over the last 7 years is being erased and kids that don’t have to money for genesis or the country clubs aren’t getting affordable the opportunities that riverside offers. Without riverside and Jeff I would not have been able to play Tennis in college.
Jeff has been such a great coach to me and I'll never forget all the effort he put into the program!
Jeff Did an outstanding job and keeps the student in mind. WE refused to go to others because of their cost and lack of professionalism. I sure hope that this wasn’t a witchhunt designed to get rid of Jeff Clark by the competition.
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Enough is enough! Since 2007, Jeff Clark has been working tirelessly to build a quality, public tennis community at Riverside Tennis Center for the City of Wichita. He brought it to a level of regional recognition that the facility hadn't seen since the 1980's. He was let go at the end of 2017 and Riverside has been falling apart since that day. While he has made some managerial mistakes along the way, the positive impact he has made on thousands of lives and on the tennis community as a whole far outweigh the missteps that we are all well aware he made in his final year at Riverside. The Park Department has shown nothing but incompetence since his release. Starting with offering him a verbal agreement to return as a Contract Instructor to them denying that for reasons they refuse to disclose; to unethical hiring practices in hiring his replacement of Chris Heck that they rescinded after Mr. Heck resigned from his current job. Riverside Tennis Center has become a tennis gem in the heart of Wichita, Kansas and a huge reason for that was the direction of Jeff Clark.
It has been more than 4 months since Mr. Clark's untimely dismissal and the tennis community is paying a dear price. With this petition, we ask The City of Wichita to BRING JEFF CLARK BACK! Whether it be returning as Director, which is by far the smartest thing, or an Independent Contractor, or simply leasing the facility to him to run entirely. He has proven for nearly a decade that he is the right person for this job and served and represented the City of Wichita well, while giving the tennis community the fantastic, affordable, and PUBLIC tennis programs and facilities it deserves.
Updates
Reached 250 supporters
February 1, 2018
January 19, 2018
The Park Department continues to ignore our requests for a meeting regarding the state of Riverside. Call your city council representative today and demand they address the ongoing mismanagement of our courts.
Reached 100 supporters
January 19, 2018
January 18, 2018
We are approaching one hundred signatures and need to hit this milestone before we approach the Parks Department. Post the link on your Facebook page right now. Text three people who care about Riverside and tell them to sign today.
63 Comments
Jeff cares about Wichita and in growing the sport of tennis for everyone. He inspires young people to play tennis and be active rather than always watching T.V. or playing video games. Retirees and stay-at-home moms are inspired at lessons and drills. Hiring him back is the right thing for our community.
I have always enjoyed Jeff’s passion for tennis & his enthusiasm for teaching. The city needs to put their differences aside & do the right thing. Riverside is a nice complex, but at the moment doesn’t seem to be important to the people making decisions for it. Put the egos away & bring back Jeff.
for the past 5 years, our family has regularly used the Riverside facility solely because of the influence of Jeff Clark. He coached both of my sons from novice beginners to Varsity tennis players over that time. We will not return or support Riverside in the future however, unless Jeff is brought back.
I travel a lot and I can tell you the city does not understand how good they had it. Jeff ran great programs. My biggest concern is the youth programs. Jeff provided lower income kid's the opportunity to grow and compete. Just look at the state tournaments each year and you would see Jeff's students
Jeff is the sole reason our group switched from Genesis to Riverside 7 yrs ago. We have now reluctantantly moved back to Genesis...no one in my opinion cares about the individual player, regardless of age, as much as Jeff does. Swallow your pride City and do what's best for our tennis community and OUR city.
All of the work that has been put in over the last 7 years is being erased and kids that don’t have to money for genesis or the country clubs aren’t getting affordable the opportunities that riverside offers. Without riverside and Jeff I would not have been able to play Tennis in college.
Jeff has been such a great coach to me and I'll never forget all the effort he put into the program!
Jeff Did an outstanding job and keeps the student in mind. WE refused to go to others because of their cost and lack of professionalism. I sure hope that this wasn’t a witchhunt designed to get rid of Jeff Clark by the competition.
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Jeff cares about Wichita and in growing the sport of tennis for everyone. He inspires young people to play tennis and be active rather than always watching T.V. or playing video games. Retirees and stay-at-home moms are inspired at lessons and drills. Hiring him back is the right thing for our community.