Mark Ficks is certainly no stranger to the winner’s circle. The affable Tennis Pro and Director of Racquet Sports for South Shore Health & Racquet Club in St. Joseph has a burgeoning trophy case that already includes Michigan Pro of the Year Honors in both 2007 and again in 2011 from the United States Professional Tennis Association. Now it’s essentially a three-peat on steroids as he was informed this week that the Midwest USPTA has selected him as their Midwest USPTA Tennis Professional of the Year.
While Ficks says he was nominated by some of his peers in the industry ahead of his selection by the Midwest Board & Awards Committee, he’s handing off huge credit for the honor to the entire team at South Shore Health & Racquet Club on Tennis Court in the Shoreham neighborhood south of St. Joe, telling me, “I believe that part of why I’m receiving this honor is for the way in which our team at South Shore handled the adversity of the “COVID Year.” In fact, he goes on to say, “When I was contacted about the award, I immediately requested that the committee add South Shore’s name to the engraving on the physical award.”
Ficks says the Midwest section of the USPTA is made up of Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, & Wisconsin, lending even more impact to what the award means to him, personally, advancing from a state winner to a regional winner. He says that the tentative plan is for the award to be presented at a formal dinner & awards ceremony on the grounds of, and during, the August ATP/WTA Professional Tennis Tournament in Cincinnati in August. It also involves a presentation on the stadium court of that event during the night session “which features players like Federer, Serena, Nadal, and the like.” Last year the event was cancelled due to the pandemic, but Ficks says they are keeping their fingers crossed that this year’s tournament will actually happen.
Mark is particularly gracious in recognizing his employer at the South Shore Health & Racquet Club, “because the General Manager, Sarah Lancaster, and the owners have been amazing to me during my 15 years there, giving me the freedom to be creative and take chances with the program.”
If, by the way, Mark’s face looks familiar to you from the photo accompanying this story on Moody on the Market, it may be because you’ve caught one of his myriad performances as a singer on the patio of our favorite place or in a more formal setting, as he plays regularly on the local scene.
