| | Published July 21st, 2010
| Moraga Open Sees New Sponsor, Maintains Local Ties
| | By Dean Okamura | | |
Alta Bates Summit Medical Center has signed an agreement with Moraga Country Club Tennis Director Mark Orwig to become the presenting sponsor for the Moraga Open Tennis Championship to be held August 3-8, 2010, at Moraga Country Club.
The change of sponsorship comes after a 23 year run as the Stead Open, a period which saw the tournament grow into a premier event in Northern California tennis. The current $25,000 purse draws players from across the country.
The Moraga Open does not award world ranking points. It relies on prize money to attract talent and thereby represents a huge opportunity for a wider tennis playing population.
By comparison, the United States Tennis Association point tournaments in Palo Alto and San Jose will each draw between 25 and 30 players from all over the world. The Moraga Open will draw a full field of 120 players, most with local ties. Some players even stay with local families during the tournament.
Because this event is deeply embedded within the Lamorinda tennis community, it required a new sponsor with a strong presence in the area. "Alta Bates is a great fit," says Orwig, "we hoped to find a sponsor with a local flavor."
Alta Bates is part of Sutter Health, a non-profit health care organization which reinvests earnings into community-based initiatives and charities. In 2009, Sutter states that charitable contributions exceeded $100 million.
"Alta Bates Summit Medical Center is very pleased to support such a premier event...we also look forward to the opportunity to let people know more about our new Lafayette Women's Health Center," said Jill Gruen, the regional marketing director for Sutter Health.
The Center's goal is to ensure a comfortable environment for women's health care needs. Director Ike Mmeje indicated that their focus is digital mammography, physical therapy for pelvic health, nutritional counseling, and lactation consultation.
Other nearby Alta Bates facilities include: the Carol Ann Read Breast Health Center which was founded by the Read family of Orinda and the Thunder Road Adolescent Treatment Center which aides adolescents with nicotine, alcohol, or drug addictions through family counseling, anger management, and gender-specific groups.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA