Award Honors Three Individuals Who Have Made Significant Impact On the Washington Tennis & Education Foundation
Honorees to be Acknowledged During a Special On-Court Ceremony On Saturday, August 2 at the 2014 Citi Open Tournament
WASHINGTON, DC – July 30, 2014 – The Citi Open today announced the 2014 inductees to the Washington Tennis & Education Foundation (WTEF) Hall of Fame, Presented by Citi, which recognizes individuals who have served and helped grow the organization throughout its history.
The 2014 class was selected by the WTEF Board of Directors and the honorees will be commemorated during a special on-court ceremony at the Citi Open tournament on Saturday, August 2 at the H.G. William FitzGerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park.
The 2014 WTEF Hall of Fame, Presented by Citi class includes:
- Charlie Brotman, Founder, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Brotman Winter Fried Communications
- Dwight Mosley, Former Executive Director of Washington Tennis & Education Foundation
- Albert Ritzenberg, Former member of WTEF Board of Directors and WTEF Advisory Board
In 2012, Citi helped to establish and launch the WTEF Hall of Fame to honor and acknowledge those individuals who have had a significant impact on, and help grow, this storied organization since its inception more than 50 years ago.
To date, eight individuals have been inducted into the WTEF Hall of Fame, Presented by Citi:
- Donald L. Dell, Group President, Lagardère Unlimited;
- John A. Harris, President, Potomac Ventures;
- The Hon. Paul Robert Ignatius, Former Secretary of the United States Navy, former President of the Washington Post and the Executive Vice President of the Washington Post Company;
- The Hon. Henry Kennedy, retired Judge, U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia;
- Peter B. Work, Co-Founder, Partner and Senior Counsel, Crowell & Moring;
- Hon. John Breaux, former Louisiana Senator, Vice President of the WTEF, and Senior Counsel, Patton Boggs;
- DD Eisenberg, Nonprofit Board Member, WTEF; and
- Willis Thomas, Jr., Program Director, WTEF.
The WTEF was founded more than 50 years ago when several tennis enthusiasts started a foundation to help promising young players with their travel expenses to junior tournaments. Since then, it has evolved into an organization that provides academic help to at-risk children, who can then apply the lessons learned on the tennis court, in the classroom and beyond.
“Citi is delighted to honor these outstanding individuals who exemplify the very best in citizenship and have worked tirelessly to benefit the WTEF and advance its very important mission,” said Candi Wolff, Executive Vice President and Head of Global Government Affairs at Citi and a WTEF board member. “We congratulate the members of this exceptional class and are excited to have them stand alongside our eight previous inductees. Citi shares their commitment to helping at-risk youth, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with the WTEF and supporting its programs throughout the year.”
“Each of these individuals exemplifies the mission, vision and values of WTEF. They offer each of us inspiration, hope and the promise of a better future for children throughout the city. We are proud to partner with Citi in honoring these three distinguished leaders into the Hall of Fame as WTEF would not be what it is today without their selfless dedication. On behalf of the entire Board and staff of WTEF, I offer my sincerest thank you and congratulations to the class of 2014,” said WTEF Executive Director Eleni Rossides.
More information on the 2014 WTEF Hall of Fame class:
Charlie Brotman
For half a century, Charlie Brotman has been a voice of Washington. Since Dwight Eisenhower’s 1956 reelection, Brotman has held the title of “the president’s announcer,” giving the play-by-play of the inaugural parade. During the 1950s and ’60s, Brotman worked as an on-air radio-TV personality and a marketing/promotions/publicity director. In 1969, he opened Charles J. Brotman & Associates in Washington, D.C. specializing in the promotion and publicity of sports and entertainment events. Brotman was also the former stadium announcer for the Washington Senators Baseball Club, and also introduced the nation’s Chief Executive at Senators Opening Day baseball games, throwing out the ceremonial “first ball” from 1956 through 1971. He served the same function again during the Washington National’s inaugural season when Major League Baseball returned to the District for the 2005 season, after a 33 year absence. He has been inducted into 10 different Halls of Fame during his more than 50 years in public relations and announcing, including the Washington Hall of Fame, the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, Jock’s Hall of Fame, the Public Relations Society of America Hall of Fame, the Advertising Club of Washington Hall of Fame and the Greater Washington Fastpitch Hall of Fame. Today, Brotman continues his 35-year legacy as the voice of the Citi Open.
Dwight Mosley
Dwight served as Executive Director of the Washington Tennis & Education Foundation from 1984 until he passed away in 1996. Under his tenure at WTEF, Dwight helped bring tennis to thousands of children throughout our city. He led the what was then the Washington Tennis Association to sharpen its focus on low-income children at-risk of academic failure and expand activities to combine tennis with remedial academic support; in 1994 the WTA was renamed the Washington Tennis & Education Foundation (WTEF) to reflect this updated mission. Mosley’s legacy lives on through the Mosley Foundation, which in 2004 helped pay for fixing up the five courts at the Taft athletic complex at 19th and Otis streets NE. The complex was renamed the Dwight A. Mosley Athletic Complex in his honor. The USTA also created a scholarship in his name and honor.
Albert Ritzenberg
Albert “Allie” Ritzenberg, has had a varied and distinguished career as a tennis player and innovator. He is still going strong after 70 years on the tennis courts in the Washington area. Ritzenberg starting playing tennis in Washington’s public parks. Among his many achievements, he is especially proud of having pioneered indoor tennis and having helped integrate the game in Washington. At a time when most clubs were totally restricted by race or religion, this tennis director had no part of it. Ritzenberg, who is Jewish and whose father was a Russian emigrant, integrated club membership and tournaments and hired an African-American teaching assistant. Additionally, Allie has taught several clinics to the disadvantaged and disabled, and was instrumental in starting innovative programs for them. He takes his civic responsibilities seriously and serves on a number of boards and advisory committees that deal with children and the arts. In the early 1960’s, Allie organized an exhibition tournament with top US players with the proceeds going to the Washington Tennis Patrons Foundation (now known as WTEF). Ritzenberg served on the WTEF Board of Directors from 1977-79 and 1995-99; on the WTEF Advisory Board from 1980-95 and is currently an Emeritus Director.
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