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Sunny. High 91F. Winds light and variable..
A clear sky. Low around 70F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.
Updated: June 25, 2024 @ 1:35 pm
Dr. Jerry Edmonds III, Vice President of Workforce and Community Engagement at Vance-Granville Community College and the President of ETEF, delivers a speech at the ETEF scholarship banquet.
Shown from left are Jamir Parham, Zion Moseley, Kenan Robert and Seaniya Rodgers with Dorcel and Jerry Edmonds.
Dr. Jerry Edmonds III and his wife, Dorcel, pictured at the NC USTA awards banquet at Pinehurst Resort where the Edmonds Tennis & Education Foundation was recognized as the 2023 NC National Junior Tennis & Learning Center of the Year.
A sign for the Edmonds Tennis and Education Foundation posted just outside the tennis courts at the Edmonds’ residence.
252-436-2830
Dr. Jerry Edmonds III, Vice President of Workforce and Community Engagement at Vance-Granville Community College and the President of ETEF, delivers a speech at the ETEF scholarship banquet.
Shown from left are Jamir Parham, Zion Moseley, Kenan Robert and Seaniya Rodgers with Dorcel and Jerry Edmonds.
Dr. Jerry Edmonds III and his wife, Dorcel, pictured at the NC USTA awards banquet at Pinehurst Resort where the Edmonds Tennis & Education Foundation was recognized as the 2023 NC National Junior Tennis & Learning Center of the Year.
A sign for the Edmonds Tennis and Education Foundation posted just outside the tennis courts at the Edmonds’ residence.
HENDERSON — On Saturday afternoon, the Edmonds Tennis and Education Foundation held a scholarship banquet for six deserving recipients — Seaniya Rodgers, Kenan Roberts, Laila Ruffin, Jamir Parham, Amari Blair, Zion Mosley and Anaya Brame — to receive $2,500 to allocate toward their pursuit of higher education.
Offering free tennis lessons for underserved community members of Vance and the surrounding counties, ETEF is a non-profit organization that accommodates youth tennis players ages 5-18.
Dr. Jerry Edmonds III, vice president of workforce and community engagement at Vance-Granville Community College and president of ETEF, served as the master of ceremonies for the evening.
After the banquet, Edmonds highlighted the importance of the tennis program in Vance County — one that is predominantly Black and suffers from generational poverty.
“Education is our passion,” Edmonds told the Dispatch. “Programs like ours are needed to augment tennis and youth development in the area.”
Operating through grants and private donations, the ETEF asks donors to commit to a five-year scholarship for a single student.
“The last thing we want to do is offer a scholarship and then not be able to afford it,” said Edmonds.
While the scholarship provides funds that go to textbooks and other education costs, Edmonds says the real value is the networking and connections the recipients make with their mentors.
By pairing donors and recipients up based on interests illustrated in their application essay, the ETEF allows students to gain an early advantage in their field. Edmonds said many scholarships have led to summer internship opportunities.
Edmonds offered a speech of his own before Coach Sherri Alston read a letter of endorsement from Rep. Don Davis backing the program. In addition to the letter from Davis, Rep. Frank Sossamon was in attendance at the event to show his support.
“We’re a non-partisan organization,” said Edmonds. “There are some things where politics shouldn’t come into.”
According to Edmonds, the banquet included a wide range of members across the political spectrum.
The event was held at 127 Willow Creek Run — a residential property that serves as the home base for the ETEF operation and where Edmonds and his wife, Dorcel, live and coach together.
Edmonds’ parents first built the house when they moved to Henderson in 1990. A year later, after packing down the yard and leveling it off, they finalized the construction of a tennis court just outside and began offering free one-on-one tennis lessons.
Now, with the house having since been renovated and the court resurfaced, Edmonds looked to expand on his father’s operation to increase the progress impact on the community. The property is now home to nearly 100 kids enrolled in the ETEF tennis program, and in 2023, Edmonds and his team accessed over 1,000 students via the ETEF programs, including mobile pop-ups and work with local schools.
The program takes a holistic approach to wellbeing through tennis, focusing on all aspects of the sport like nutrition, skin care, hydration and sustainability.
In May, ETEF held a “Tennis & Dentist” event, where local dentists participated in the youth tennis program and stressed the importance of good oral hygiene.
Along with scholarships and free tennis lessons, the ETEF also offers paid internships. Vance County varsity basketball and softball player Clara “Bird” Faucette works for the program, and Pearla Tabor, a cheerleader for Vance Charter, is the longest-tenured intern at ETEF.
In an effort to appeal more to rural communities, the United States Tennis Association reached out to the ETEF and accepted it as a National Junior Tennis and Learning Center. In 2022, they named ETEF the NJTL of the Year.
“We were pleased to represent Henderson and show that good things are happening here,” said Edmonds. “The community has been amazing in their support.”
Edmonds said the program is intended to teach kids life skills — like public speaking, communication and integrity — and “prepare them for the workforce and to be productive community members.”
But, as of right now, the program is currently at capacity.
Edmonds said they hope to expand to a new facility with multiple courts and a full-time paid staff to accommodate more students — not just in Vance County, but Warren, Granville, Franklinton, Nash and Northampton as well.
“We are putting plans in place to make sure this program is sustainable for years to come,” he said.
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