Working to defeat Sudden Cardiac Death
The Gootter Grand Slam is an annual tennis tournament and pro-exhibition drawing Tucson's top players and featuring matches between tennis legends. Named after Steve Gootter, an accomplished athlete, the event is held each spring.
Music, food, and a wellness fair create a wonderful environment to play, watch and learn more about sudden cardiac death. A gala dinner kicks off the event weekend, featuring foods from around the world, entertainment and a live auction.
The 2013 Gala Dinner was held at the Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa in Tucson, Arizona and honored Ginny Clements with its Philanthropic Award.
Mike and Bob Bryan - Twin brothers Robert Charles Bryan (Bob) and Michael Carl Bryan (Mike) are American professional tennis double players who are the best tennis team in history. The twins have won multiple Olympic medals, including the Gold in 2012 and have won more games, matches, tournaments and grand slams than anyone in history. They have been the World No. 1 doubles players for over 297 weeks (as of October 15, 2012), which is longer than anyone else in doubles history.
Rich Rodriguez, UA Football Coach - Rich is the head football coach for the University of Arizona and begins his second season there this fall. He was formerly head football coach for the University of Michigan as well as for the University of West Virginia. We are honored to have Coach Rich participating in the 2013 Gootter Grand Slam!
Murphy Jensen - After winning the 1993 French Open with his brother Luke, the Jensen brothers became the most popular doubles team in the history of the game. Murphy Jensen has most recently been the host of two Tennis Channel favorites, "Open Access" and "Murphy's Guide". Murphy dedicates much time and effort participating in charity tennis tournaments and special events around the country.
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Check back next year for tickets to the 2014 Gootter Grand Slam
Check back at the end of the year to find about more about sponsorships for the 2014 Gootter Grand Slam
The Steven M. Gootter Foundation would like to thank the tennis stars who over the years have made such an amazing contribution to our cause.
Bryan BrothersTwin brothers Robert Charles Bryan (Bob) and Michael Carl Bryan (Mike) are American professional tennis double players who are the best tennis team in history. The twins have won multiple Olympic medals, including the Gold in 2012 and have won more games, matches, tournaments and grand slams than anyone in history. They have been the World No. 1 doubles players longer than anyone else in doubles history. They have also finished the ATP year-end number 1 doubles team a record 8 times.
Learn more about the Bryan Brothers highly acclaimed career.
Murphy JensenAfter winning the 1993 French Open with his brother Luke, the Jensen brothers became the most popular doubles team in the history of the game. Murphy Jensen has most recently been the host of two Tennis Channel favorites, "Open Access" and "Murphy's Guide". Murphy dedicates much time and effort participating in charity tennis tournaments and special events around the country.
Learn more about Murphy Jensen.
Mats WilanderSwedish tennis star Mats Wilander, a former number 1 ranked player from Sweden, has played in the Gootter Grand Slam for the past seven years. From 1982 through 1988, Mats won seven Grand Slam singles titles (three at the French Open, three at the Australian Open and one at the U.S. Open) and one Grand Slam men's doubles title (at Wimbledon). He completed 1988 ranked number 1 in the world. Mats was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2002 and played on Sweden's Davis Cup Championship Team in 1984, 1985 and 1987.
Learn about Mats' "Wilander On Wheels" WOW highly acclaimed priviate tennis clinics.
Mikael PernforsBest remembered for reaching the men's single final at the French Open in 1986 where he gained his highest ranking of #10 in the world. Mikael also has 3 career singles title and one doubles title to his name. Before turning professional, Pernfors played for the University of Georgia where he won back to back NCAA singles titles in 1984 and 1985. Mikael also played on Sweden's Davis Cup Team.
Aaron KricksteinAaron Krickstein, formerly ranked number 6 in the world, holds two records that still stand: the youngest player to win an ATP Tour event at age 16, and the youngest in the world top 10 at age 17. He earned the nickname Marathon Man for his five set record of 28 wins (winning 11 times from 2 sets down), and 9 losses. He played Davis Cup for 6 years and currently participates on the Men’s Senior Tour (Champions Series Tennis).
Jimmy Arias - Jimmy Arias, formerly ranked number 5 in the world in 1984, is also a bronze medalist winner. Jimmy won the French Open Mixed Doubles championship with Andrea Jaeger in 1982. Today he serves as a commentator for ESPN International and the Tennis Channel.
The Steven M. Gootter Foundation honored Ginny Clements with its Philanthropic Award at the 2013 Gootter Grand Slam. Clements, Chairman of the Board of Golden Eagle Distributors, Inc. has an extensive background of service to the Tucson community. Her affiliations include membership on the boards of the University of Arizona Foundation, Carondelet Neurological Institute, Junior Achievement of Arizona and the Steele Children's Research Center. A member of Angel Charity for Children, Inc. since its inception in 1983, she served as the General Chairman in 1990 and currently serves on the Advisory Board. Ginny and her husband Tom Rogers have four children and six grandchildren.
The Steven M. Gootter Foundation will honor Dr. Gulshan and Neelam Sethi with its Philanthropic Award at the 2012 Gootter Grand Slam. The Sethis have been married 40 years and have made a wonderful mark in Tucson through numerous philanthropic endeavors including Angel Charity for Children, the Tucson Children’s Museum, the University of Arizona and as benefactors of the Fox Theatre where they produce the popular Bollywood at the Fox and BollyKids events. They have two children and five grandchildren.
In 2011 the Steven M. Gootter Foundation honored Alfie and Allan Norville with the the Philanthropic Award. Alfie and Allan were honored as exceptional examples of philanthropy and making a difference in the lives of others.
The Allan & Alfie Norville Endowed Chair for Heart Disease in Women Research was established at the University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center in 2006. They are both on the board of the Sarver Heart Center and their campaign against heart disease continues each and every day. The Gootter Foundation is humbled by their example of leadership and philanthropy in our community and honors the Norvilles for their inspiration in achieving our goal of finding a cure for Sudden Cardiac Death.
The Steven M. Gootter Foundation honored Bobby Present with its Philanthropic Award at the 2010 Gootter Grand Slam. Present is a founding member of The Steven M. Gootter Foundation. During his tenure as President, the organization has raised $1 million
toward defeating sudden cardiac death. A native Tucsonan, and senior vice president at RBC Wealth Management, Bobby has been a dedicated volunteer for his entire adult life. Bobby was recognized by the Steele Memorial Children’s Research Center as one of the 2007 “Fathers of the Year” and received the Man of the Year award from the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona in 2000.
Dr. Gordon Ewy was honored as the recipient of 2009's Steven M. Gootter Foundation Philanthripic Award. Dr. Gordon A. Ewy is professor of cardiology and director of the Sarver Heart Center at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. He occupies the Gordon A. Ewy, MD, Distinguished Endowed Chair of Cardiovascular Medicine, a unique honor in that it is extremely rare for someone to occupy his own named chair. Dr. Ewy has been named a “CPR Giant” by the American Heart Association for his early research on defibrillators and defibrillation. He continues to be listed as one of the best doctors in America.
Dr. Ewy is the co-author of four books and numerous scientific publications that include original research contributions, reviews, book chapters and editorials, with more than 270 of these publications listed on the national PUBMED. His primary research focus has been in the field of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and he is active in a busy cardiology practice and as an educator.
As director of the Sarver Heart Center, Dr. Ewy leads more than 175 physicians and scientists toward attaining a goal of a future free of heart disease, vascular disease and stroke via the academic principles of research, education and patient care. His success in developing resources for the center was acknowledged in 2010 when he received the Eugene G. Sander Endowed Faculty Fundraising Award from the University of Arizona Foundation Board of Trustees.
He started the Resuscitation Research Group at the Sarver Heart Center that pioneered Chest-Compression-Only Resuscitation, a technique that has been shown to not only be easier to learn and perform than conventional CPR, but also to be more effective for out-of-hospital primary cardiac arrest.
Bazy Tankersley’s most satisfying endeavor throughout her life has been in the field of education. During the years she lived in Maryland, she founded two elementary schools. The second one, after many successful years, went on to include grades one through twelve. In 1980, she and her friends Jane Ivancovich and Margaret Modine founded St. Gregory School in Tucson, for which she still “runs errands”. In the past, she served her communities by being on teachers’ college boards - first in Illinois and later in Maryland.
Some of her years were spent as a journalist. First, she was a daily columnist for a newspaper that she and her first husband, Maxwell Peter Miller, ran and owned together. At the time, they lived in the twin cities of LaSalle and Peru, Illinois. From there, she and Miller were sent to Washington by her uncle, Col. Robert R. McCormick, longtime head of the Chicago Tribune. He asked her to be editor and Miller to be manager of the Washington Times Herald, which had just been purchased by the Tribune. Bazy acted as editor there for several years and later became a weekly columnist for the Tribune.
Tankersley’s other passion is raising Arabian horses. She has maintained her Arabian horse stud ranch in Tucson for the past forty years where she raises around fifty foals a year. Her stable is very actively engaged in showing the more athletic disciplines of these beautiful creatures.
As an offshoot of her twin passions for horses and education, she was active in the state of Maryland teaching riding to the deaf, and in Tucson where she started Therapeutic Riding of Tucson.
Tankersley is a long-time friend and supporter of the University of Arizona. She plans to leave her Arabian horse farm to the Animal Science Department of the University and her residence to the Southwest Center in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
The Sarver family legacy is one of strong work ethic, tremendous fiscal savvy, solid commitment to the needs of the community, and extraordinary generosity in the advancement of worthwhile charitable goals. Robert and Penny Sarver continue to embrace this tradition and have generously supported numerous worthwhile causes. The University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center and the Steven M. Gootter Foundation have greatly benefited from their generosity. Robert sits on the Board of Trustees of the Sarver Heart Center which he helped build, in memory of his late father, Jack. The Center is home to over 100 physicians and researchers dedicated to fighting heart disease.
Robert was born in 1961 in Tucson, Arizona and is the majority owner of the Phoenix Suns. A Sabino High School graduate, Robert earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1982 from the University of Arizona. Penny is a native of Kansas City and earned her bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Oklahoma. Robert and Penny met in 1991 in Scottsdale and were married in 1996. Their family includes three sons: Max, Jake and Zach. Robert and Penny view their contribution of time and money not so much as a donation, but as an investment. It is an investment in the people working at the Sarver Heart Center, and an investment in the promise that they can discover new ways to prevent and treat heart disease.
Sarver Heart Center
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