4ATLANTA GETS "SOAPED"!!! back to the show
It was "HEAD" turning - it was fun - it was informative - it was a great night for racquetball in Atlanta. TeamHEAD Racquetball superstar, Sudsy Monchik, unquestionably ONE of the greatest players ever to pick up a racquet, visited L.A. Fitness / Roswell West on September 17th, '03 and the response was phenomenal!! It was "Sudsy's Magic Show" brought to life. And the 150 or so racquetball fanatics in attendance didn't hesitate to voice their approval.
Everything was done right for this promotional event. Most of the thanks belong to TeamHEAD Regional Coordinator, Danny Eckley; L.A. Fitness Regional Racquetball Director, Gary Gloeggler; and L.A. Fitness / Roswell West General Manager, Dennis Donofrio. Temporary bleachers were brought in to handle the SRO crowd. Food and drink were furnished. There were giveaways aplenty and anyone who so desired, received an autographed poster from Sudsy himself. The overall atmosphere was electric, fun and classy. Nobody left unhappy after one of the best racquetball promotional events ever held in Atlanta.
The work started on the front end with local marketing and the credit for that belongs to Danny Eckley and his Atlanta Racquetball Club website. Danny made sure to inform all local racquetball enthusiasts early and often (through the website and an e-mail campaign) about Sudsy's appearance, thus insuring a large turnout.
The program itself consisted of two different Q & A sessions; an exhibition match between Sudsy and local star/IRT pro, Jason Thoerner (the action, while much less intense that an IRT tournament, exhibited spectacular shotmaking ability); a random drawing to see which local players would get a chance to play with the pros (both Sudsy and Jason took on three singles players each, then played two doubles matches - men's and mixed doubles); all followed by a picture taking/autograph session. Anyone can relive "Sudsy's Magical Night in Atlanta" by visiting the website: AtlantaRacquetballClub.com, where you will find approximately 20 video clips documenting the evening. The event turned out so well, that before it was even over, Sudsy volunteered to come back to Atlanta next year up to three times. Now that's impressive!! So was Sudsy. So was the entire night. Racquetball is on the rise in Dixie and events like this are helping to lead the way.
Special thanks again to sponsors: Znet Insurance Group (znetinsurance.com); Atlanta Racquetball Club (AtlantaRacquetballClub.com); Racquetball Mall (RacquetballMall.com); and L.A. Fitness / Roswell West. They made it all happen. Now it's up to all racquetball enthusiasts to make sure it keeps happening. Support your sport, support your sponsors and keep racquetball on the rise.
Mucho thanks to Jeff Beimfohr for writing this article!