Chilmark frustrations resurface with tennis pro let go – The Martha’s Vineyard Times

Eddie Stahl, the long-serving Chilmark tennis professional, will not be heading the summer tennis programs this year at the town Community Center. 

The hiring decision was announced just months after a rancorous debate over tennis culminated on town meeting floor, and some within the community are once again frustrated with the courts’ management. Some say they are now reconsidering their involvement with the Community Center.

Jay Grossman, a leader of the Friends of Chilmark Tennis (FACT) group that has sought more accountable town tennis court management, told The Times that his group was not made aware in advance of the decision to not rehire Stahl.

Following the council’s hiring announcement, Grossman told The Times that a number of longtime community center supporters — including those who have contributed fundraising and volunteer work — feel their trust has been violated and that the will of the community has been disregarded. Groassman added that FACT is looking at playing alternatives outside of the Chilmark Community Center.

“It’s a true loss to the community for the decision not to have him back for a 28th summer,” Grossman said.

The Chilmark Town Affairs Council, which manages the courts every summer, announced in early June that they have hired Sara Kemp to a new Tennis operations director position. The position will consolidate the roles of adult tennis director, youth tennis director and tennis shack manager, and all tennis staff will report to Kemp.

“Sara is a lifelong tennis player and tennis programming professional, and she brings tremendous energy, organizational skill, and experience to the CCC [Chilmark Community Center] tennis program and our courts,” the council’s announcement reads. “She has many years of leadership experience in both corporate and public school settings and is deeply passionate about tennis.”

The council’s announcement offered little on why the decision was made. “These hiring decisions were based on the recommendation of the CCC hiring committee and the concurrence of the Center’s Board,” the release reads. “They were not easy and many considerations go into making a decision of change. We are confident that the community will be best served by these talented leaders.”

The release also acknowledges Stahl’s work. “We recognize and appreciate the considerable contribution to the Chilmark community and its tennis program that Eddie Stahl has made. We gratefully acknowledge his service and dedication to the community.”

Whether Stahl would be rehired has been on the minds of many Chilmarkers, and was a hot topic before a contentious vote at April’s town meeting. The controversy this spring centered around opposition between the council and the Friends. FACT’s initial town meeting proposal, though later withdrawn, was to create a town committee to manage the courts instead of the council.

FACT supporters felt before the vote that a town committee, by definition a public entity, would be more transparent and accountable to Chilmarkers than the nonprofit council has been. FACT also wanted more tennis programming available for year-round residents of all ages. 

And at a public meeting held by the council before the vote, and on the town hall floor, many Chilmarkers voiced support for the rehiring of Eddie Stahl, who has been teaching tennis in town for 25 years.

The Friends have supported Stahl in an April letter to the council board and to Community Center executive director Susan Andrien. One of FACT’s stated objectives in that letter was that the center to renew Stahl’s contract for summer 2024.

“Eddie has been the true heart and soul of the Chilmark Community Center for the past 27 years,” said Grossman. “He’s dedicated his life to thousands of community members of all walks of life, and especially kids, to welcome them to the sport and most of all, to have fun and develop life skills.

Some of the public scrutiny on the council before the town meeting involved accusations that council president Suellen Lazarus was prejudiced against Stahl. Lazarus denied this at the public meeting the day before the vote. However, Stahl told The Times in April that Lazarus had been targeting him since the departure of Kiera Lapsley, the council’s executive director in 2023. The longtime tennis pro added that he was wrongly accused of orchestrating a letter-writing campaign against Lapsley following her intentions to demote the summer program’s junior tennis director.

After the hiring announcement, some Chilmark tennis players expressed disappointment with the council. 

Josh Thomson calls himself a FACT supporter, and said that he and his family play tennis at the Community Center. He also said that up until recently, he has taken part in Community Center summer activities, but that he will not this season given Stahl’s absence.

For Thomson, Stahl was an important part of the tennis experience in Chilmark. “Eddie’s built a very special community and group of tennis players who really enjoy playing together, and the camaraderie,” Thomson said.

“Obviously it’s very disappointing for someone who has been doing this for close to 27 years — who has been beloved by many people, year-rounders and also seasonal tennis players,” he added.

Thomson said that tennis players will be interested in any of Stahl’s next steps. “He is beloved enough that a new chapter could start. A lot of tennis people are waiting to see what he does next.”

The decision not to rehire Stahl also comes after the first meeting of the Chilmark Community Center committee created by a town vote in April. That first meeting involved member introductions, the committee meeting schedule going forward, and identifying stakeholder groups for the first few meetings.

The committee’s members include Emily Bramhall, Linda Coutinho, Stephanie DeRosa, John Diamond, Dan Karnovsky, Hillary Noyes-Keene, Matthew Poole and town moderator Janet Weidner. Coutinho is also a member of the Chilmark Community Center advisory committee, not to be confused with the committee approved at town meeting.

A document available on the town website also lists groups that might be invited to future meetings. These include past and present select board members, the Chilmark School principal and physical education teacher, and the Chilmark Preschool board members and head teacher.

Stahl declined to comment when reached by The Times.