“Let the games begin”: Court Sports 4 Life announces hiring of new leader

Court Sports For Life, the nonprofit that runs the Steamboat Tennis and Pickleball Center, announced Thursday the internal hiring of Meg Tully as its new executive director. 

In February, the nonprofit announced it was moving on from former Executive Director Loretta Conway, who held the position since the inception of the organization about three years ago. 

CS4L Chair Steve “Moz” Modzelewski said selecting Tully was a no-brainer because she is part of both the Steamboat Springs and the tennis and pickleball communities. Tully took over full ED responsibilities Thursday. 

“She will be a great, calm influence that will continue to push things forward without drama,” Modzelewski said. “Whenever a fire seems to be flaring up, she is good at lowering the temperature and not taking a lot of action that ultimately may be fanning the flames rather than helping put them out. That is needed.” 

Tully emphasized her appreciation for the Swiggarts and Conways who came before her as leaders of the tennis center. She plans to build on what they have already accomplished over the years. 

“They paved the way for this and I wouldn’t be here in this new position if it hadn’t been for the great job that they have done,” she said.

Tully moved to Steamboat in 1992 where she began working at the ski area as a lift operator. Over time, Tully’s roots in town spread to new opportunities and led her down the path of becoming the executive director of several nonprofits including Historic Routt County, Routt County Council on Aging and International Erosion Control Association. 

Growing up in Alabama, Tully first picked up a tennis racket at six years old and played competitively through high school. Once her professional life got in the way, Tully lost out on several years of play until about 20 years ago when a friend in town invited her to play at the tennis center. That moment reinvigorated Tully’s adoration for tennis and she was hooked once again. 

Two years ago, Tully’s palate for net sports expanded while traveling to Florida where she met new people and learned the sport of pickleball during open play sessions. She says both sports play a major role in her life and she has an equal love for both. 

Tully began working at CS4L about a year and a half ago as its business development director before applying for the vacant executive director position just a few days after it became available. 

“I feel like every professional experience I have had in my life is culminating in this particular moment,” Tully said. “I feel aligned with my experience, my purpose and my passion. I feel very, very fortunate.” 

When the search committee — led by co-chairs Steve Weiss and Blair Picard — opened the position to the public, it received interest from all over the country including applications from New Jersey, Wisconsin and Texas. 

The committee eventually whittled down its candidates to a final round of three and determined Tully was perfect for the position seeing she was already a well-respected member of the community and had much knowledge of the organization’s inner workings. 

She was practically learning the ropes of the position while assisting interim executive director Ricky Jenkins during the transition period. 

“It was interesting,” Modzelewski said. “When you look at it at first, you don’t quite realize the good answer is literally in your own backyard. We are just happy about that. She is completely able to hit the ground running … We aren’t so much elevating her to this position as we are recognizing that she is doing this position.” 

Immediately, Tully is ecstatic to get going with some of the projects the center already has underway. Most prominently, she is chomping at the bit to get the new pickleball facility open. 

“That is a $12 million capital project we have had going for a couple of years now and it is slated to open, we’re hoping in mid June, so we are almost at the finish line for that one. That puts us on the map as one of the premiere facilities offering tennis and pickleball on the globe.” 

Another major project coming up for the center is its Courting Love capital campaign which focuses on reinvigorating the tennis bubble which needs a new membrane and HVAC system among other improvements. 

When looking back at the end of her tenure, Tully will view success through two lenses. 

The first is from a business sense. She hopes the nonprofit will have paid off its loans and is fiscally in a great place with a staff that is happy and thriving. 

The second is from a community standpoint. She hopes to draw crowds from all over the world who fill the courts at all times. She plans to keep the sports as affordable as possible and see players laughing, improving, getting healthy and making new friends each and every day. 

“I see us being complementary to skiing and the other fun things (Steamboat offers) like mountain biking,” Tully explained. “I want everyone to feel that tennis and pickleball are at the top of their to-do list when they come here in terms of recreation … I envision exactly what we have now but bigger and better.” 

To reach Tom Skulski, call 970-871-4240, email tskulski@SteamboatPilot.com.