EDWARDSVILLE — Paul Abert, president of The Bank of Madison County, spoke recently about his other role in the community: treasurer of the Edwardsville Futures tennis tournament, presented by The EGHM Foundation, where he helps manage financial duties for the event at the Edwardsville Tennis Center.
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Abert has been involved with the Futures Tournament for 14 of its 15 years and said he enjoys the work and the people connected to the event.
"We are excited for our 15th year," Abert said. "I am proud to have been part of that for the last 14 years. I do work locally for The Bank of Madison County; we're a division of The Bank of Belleville, but for the next two-and-a-half weeks, I am tournament treasurer, and all things tennis here in Edwardsville. So, I hope we continue to get the support from the community that we've had in the past. It's top-notch tennis."
Abert said much of his work happens out of public view, particularly after the tournament ends.
"Most of my activities happen behind the scenes," Abert said, "and once the tournament is done. I take care of making sure we have the reporting; I do get a lot of support from the school district and the administration for the tax reporting and the financial reporting we have to do afterwards. But during the tournament, I get to write the checks to the officials and the players. So, with the help of Emily (Cimarolli), she keeps everything organized, and I get to come out every day and make sure everybody gets paid. So that's the fun part."
The tournament is described as the only professional tennis tournament in the St. Louis area each year, and Abert said it continues to grow.
"We continue to tweak it every year; Dave Lipe (the tournament director) and his team continue to be just first-class tournament directors and first-class people. And so, I think the players can really relate to that, because it's like home to them; they feel comfortable.
"And then, it's so cool to see them go to bigger stages, and play at the professional level at the Grand Slams. So, again, you can't know what you're going to miss until you get there to see it, and you'll want to keep coming back."
Abert said tennis also has been important to his family. He and his wife became connected to the sport through their children, who played in Lipe’s program during high school.
"Well, for us, for my wife and me, tennis has been a big part of our lives," Abert said, "because our kids play it. Both of our children played in Dave's program throughout their high school careers. And we learned to love the sport. When you love the sport, you see the talent and commitment it takes from the players.
"You come out, and you get to know some of these players, see the hard work they put into it, and it just really resonates. It's one of those sports where you have to be self-driven, and you have to be disciplined. It's a lot of hard work, and so I think we respect that in these athletes, and we want to come support them. The Futures events are always a great couple of weeks."
