The Harvard Club of Miami
is pleased to post the following invitation from the
who formally invites our members to
The 2011 South Florida Business Statesman Dinner
In Support of Scholarships for
South Florida Non-profit Leaders to Attend
the HBS Social Enterprise Executive Program in Boston
Honoring The Business & Philanthropic Accomplishments Of
BUTCH BUCHHOLZ, JR.
Founder
Lipton International Players Championship - Key Biscayne, FL
(currently Sony Ericsson Open - Key Biscayne, FL)
on
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Registration and Networking: 5:00-6:00PM
Dinner and Presentations: 6:00-7:15PM
Event tickets will include open bar, dinner, parking, and
entry to evening matches on center court starting at 7:30 pm
at
Key Biscayne Tennis Center
6702 Crandon Blvd.
Key Biscayne, FL 33149
Click here for directions
All reservations and payments must
be received by Friday, March 18, 2011.
HBS Club of South Florida Members (plus one guest): $150 per person
Harvard Club of Miami Members (plus one guest): $150 per person
HBS Class of 2009/2010 (plus one guest): $130 per person
Non-Members & Guests: $180 per person
Sponsorship Opportunities
Diamond Table (10): $10,000
Platinum Table (10): $6,000
Gold Table (10): $3,000
Silver Table (10): $2,000
Emerald Couple (2): $500
To purchase tickets, please visit our website at www.hbssouthflorida.org.
To pay by check, please send your payment to:
HBS Club of South Florida
Attn: Daniel Kern
512 Hampton Lane
Miami, FL 33149
NOTE: If paying by check, please RSVP with the number and names
of all guests to BSD2011@hbssouthflorida.org.
For more information, please contact us
at BSD2011@hbssouthflorida.org or (786) 866-9765.
Earl "Butch" Buchholz, Jr.Chairman & Co-Founder, Sony Ericsson Open
Whether in a boardroom or on a tennis court, Butch Buchholz (pronounced Buckholtz) has always been active in a sport he knows well. Chairman of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Fla., Buchholz has dedicated much of his life's work to that tournament - a unique tennis championship for both men and women.
First conceptualized by Buchholz while a touring pro over 30 years ago, the first Sony Ericsson Open was played in 1985 and since then the tournament has grown into the fifth largest tennis tournament in the world. Today, with $9.0 million in prize money and all the top players competing, the Sony Ericsson Open is surpassed in size and stature only by the four Grand Slams. As a 12-day event, the tournament drew 293,228 fans in 2009 - the second highest attendance - and features a permanent stadium, hailed as being among the best in the world.
Active in tennis since his youth, Buchholz played his first tournament at age six and won his initial title a year later. He became the first player to win junior titles at the Australian Open (1959) and French Open (1958), Wimbledon (1958) and the U.S. Junior Championships (1958). Ranked fifth in the world in 1960, Buchholz entered the professional ranks with Jack Kramer's worldwide circuit. A member of three U.S. Davis Cup teams from 1958-60, he won 22 professional tournament events and was one of Lamar Hunt's famous “Handsome Eight" of World Championship Tennis (WCT). He retired at the age of 29 after injury ended his 10-year professional career, but the same spirit that drove him as an intense competitor inspired him to develop and grow in the business of tennis. His credentials include tournament promoter, network television commentator, owner/operator of tennis clubs, and U.S. Junior Davis Cup Tennis Team captain in 1970.
A founding member of the first men's players association in 1963, Buchholz has served tennis in many capacities. He directed tournaments in his hometown of St. Louis from 1964- 1968, directed WCT events from 1969-78, directed a Virginia Slims event in 1972, was Commissioner of World Team Tennis from 1977-78, served as Executive Director of the ATP and was a member of the men's pro council - the governing body of men's pro tennis - from 1981- 83.
Butch expanded his realm in the tennis world in 1997 by acquiring the Pilot Pen International Championships at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale in New Haven, Conn., a combined ATP and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event held annually in August.
Butch added another element to the mix in 1998 when he agreed to take over the management of the prestigious 50-year-old Orange Bowl International Tennis Tournament. He secured title and presenting sponsors and rescued a junior tennis tradition from extinction. In 2000, Buchholz created an ATP International Series event played in Buenos Aires in February.
In 1992, Buchholz and the late Arthur Ashe, then tennis director at Miami's Doral Hotel, were reminiscing about how tennis programs in their hometown parks had shaped their lives. They were inspired to form the "Good Life Mentoring Program" in partnership with the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, providing valuable life skills for elementary and middle school students. Moore Park Tennis Center in Miami became one of the venues where hundreds of youngsters would benefit from this program.
When Buchholz saw that Moore Park's 50-year-old Tennis Center needed extensive renovation and reconstruction, he was determined to play a role in its redevelopment. He had previously been successful in forging a public-private partnership to develop the Tennis Center at Crandon Park and knew that it could work for Moore Park. Following discussions with Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Buchholz moved forward, and on March 24, 2001, the Ashe-Buchholz Tennis Center at Moore Park was dedicated.
Buchholz remains Chairman of First Serve Inc., a concept that began in conjunction with the USTA in 2001 as a way to give back to tennis by using the sport as a positive influence on our nation’s youth. First Serve is a youth empowerment organization that utilizes tennis to help kids develop the skills, values, and experience they need to be responsible, productive and successful in life. The program utilizes public tennis facilities as a venue for teaching a broad range of age appropriate life skills.
Buchholz, a product of public parks in St. Louis (his father was a public park tennis instructor), has stepped up his personal involvement with the First Serve effort. Butch’s son Trey Buchholz was recently named Executive Director with a charge to broaden the reach and resources of First Serve throughout the entire tennis community, both locally and nationally.
Buchholz lives in Coral Gables, Fla., and is active in civic and charity organizations throughout South Florida. He and his wife Marilyn have three children: Kathy, Trey and Kristen; and five grandchildren: Brittany, Brooke and Jack Gentile and Hayley and William Buchholz.
About the HBS Social Enterprise Executive Program
Harvard Business School “Strategic Perspectives in Non-profit Management” (SPNM) is a six-day program that allows non-profit leaders to examine and reevaluate their organizations while strengthening their capacity to improve organizational effectiveness. Three key objectives of the program are: (1) Understanding core management concepts; (2) Applying these concepts strategically; and (3) Learning how to implement change within the organization. A central theme of SPNM is how change constantly affects an organization. Faculty and participants explore proactive methods of anticipating and mastering the evolving requirements of nonprofit leadership (HBS website).