New tennis sponsor
Gold handshake
In April of this year the Port Douglas Tennis Club entered a new era with a brand-new committee who were determined to grow the club bigger and better.
They’re a friendly club that welcomes all players and members, both local and visiting. They have floodlighting so that anyone can enjoy tennis day and night. The club holds various social nights each week to cater for all levels of tennis and works with juniors to seal the future of the club. Seven months ago, a membership drive got underway, and they promised themselves a fourth court, which by the way is still a dream.
Without that fourth court the club can’t hold Regional and National competitions so in the long run it must happen. The Committee also approved a sponsorship program for local businesses with tailored offerings and three levels of recognition - Platinum, Gold, and Silver. Local seafood restaurant Wrasse and Roe were quick to sign up for the Platinum package. Now the Ramada Resort by Wyndham Port Douglas has returned serve with a cheque to be a Gold Sponsor for the club.
Star performer
Hani Daher who was only appointed General Manager for Ramada Resort by Wyndham Port Douglas at the end of March, is excited about the deal with the Port Douglas Tennis Club “We love Port Douglas and the Tennis Club is so much part of the town, so we are happy to support them with this sponsorship” he said. Quite frankly we’re lucky to have a person of the calibre of Hani Daher in our midst. Before he settled in Port with his family, he was pre-opening resorts all over the world "I managed the Sheraton in my hometown Melbourne and the Ramada in Port Villa Vanuatu, a property in Jordon and South Africa and other destinations” he said.
Hani was acting Area General Manager for Stamford Hotels in Adelaide which included the iconic Stamford Grand at Glenelg. During the Covid Pandemic he had the unusual task of closing the well-known Glenelg property, the opposite to what he usually did. Of course, the hotel is now back to normal in the Adelaide seaside suburb. He also worked for the Radisson and Marriot groups. Hani, his wife Amy, who’s a photographer and uses social media to showcase her pictures and videos and his children Adam (9) and Elena (6) have settled in well and love the relaxed lifestyle “I have a young family and we all love the outdoors and everything the region has to offer so it’s just perfect,” said Hani.
Can-do attitude
Hani is also incredibly positive. When I was chatting with him for this article, he used the term "Let’s make it happen" more than once. For my money that's an attitude everyone should have in this Shire so that we can grow our economy into the future, especially post Covid. ‘Do it in Douglas, let’s make it happen. Sounds good to me. By the way I'm told Hani is also a half decent tennis player so expect to see him down at the courts having a hit.