NorthBay Enjoying Role as Title Sponsor
When professional tennis returns to Fairfield next month, NorthBay Health will again be front and center as the tournament’s title sponsor.
The NorthBay Health Men’s Pro Championship will be held at Solano Community College Oct. 7-13 and offer a total purse of $100,000. It’s an ATP Challenger event featuring a strong international field of athletes competing for a title and coveted rankings points.
When the Napa Valley Country Club could no longer host a Challenger event, local tennis instructor and coach Phil Cello brought it to Solano County. The first tournament was held at Rancho Solano in 2015 before Cello moved it to the campus courts the next year as a way to bring focus to the local college. NorthBay joined forces in 2017 and has been the title sponsor since.
“Any time we can be engaged with the community and promoting healthy, family-friendly events like this, that’s where we want to be,” said NorthBay Health President and CEO Konard Jones. “It’s just one more step in our process of providing compassionate care and advanced medicine close to home.”
For NorthBay, the decision to become the title sponsor in 2017 brings many benefits, but most important was the Fairfield tournament’s role in supporting the Dr. Chris Cammisa Tennis and Education Foundation. The Foundation helped bring men’s and women’s tennis to Solano Community College, and also introduces tennis and a related educational program to underserved youth in Solano County.
Dr. Cammisa was a past chairman of NorthBay’s department of family practice. He was also chief medical officer at Partnership HealthPlan from 1999 to 2010 before his passing in June 2014. Dr. Cammisa was also an active advocate for youth athletes throughout the county.
“Dr. Cammisa was with us for many years, a well-respected local physician,” Jones said. “So, it’s satisfying, as well, to honor his legacy. Getting kids — and adults — to participate in healthy lifestyle activities like tennis contributes to community health. Learning tennis and getting some help with homework might not otherwise be available to these young people without the work of the Cammisa Foundation. It’s all good.”
The Fairfield tournament is the final leg of the men’s worldwide USTA Challenger Tour’s swing through Northern California. It is one of five tennis tournaments of its kind in the United States and a great opportunity for a company to reach a large audience eager to watch professional sports up close in Fairfield.
There will be 48 players in singles and 16 teams in doubles once the draw is set.
For additional sponsorship opportunities, a desire to volunteer, or for youth, to serve as “Ball Kids,” contact tournament director Phil Cello by phone (707) 853-0915 or email Cellotennis@Comcast.net, or assistant tournament director Rafael Rovira, (707) 246-0990, or email at Rafael.rovira@Solano.edu.
The tournament website can be found at FairfieldProTennis.com, or follow on Facebook at Cammisa Tennis and Education Foundation.
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