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Marty Hennessy Foundation Milestone

Just eight years ago the Stirling Club, Charlie Palmer group, a handful of members and entertainment legend Tony Bennett teamed up with Marty Hennessy, Mike Agassi and Ryan Wolfington to start a youth foundation that would give children an opportunity to play tennis, have leadership experiences, and academic help in hopes of earning scholarships to college. When it began, the poster child of the organization was Frideric Prandecki. He was the first child the foundation supported. Frideric, along with others that followed, have always been part of a program called "Earning your way." In this program they work for their scholarships as a way to understand the value of what has been given.

"Frideric had to sell raffle tickets and get items donated for our auction," said co-founder Ryan Wolfington. "He and Trent Alenik did a lot of the work to make our first few fundraiser's possible."

It helped that Tony Bennett proclaimed, "Marty Hennessy is my best friend in the whole World." He went on to say, "I have met kings and queens but no one means more to me than Marty."

Mr. Bennett's support, along with legendary entertainers like Rita Rudner, Clint Holmes, Jay Leno, Mosaic, Jack Jones, Vinnie Falcone, Dominic Allen and our own Kelly Clinton, really made the foundations fundraiser among the best in the country.

"Rita's daughter, Molly has been playing tennis out here since she was two," explained Marty. "She and Tony have done everything they can to help us help the children in town that need it most."

VegasTennis.com's Marty Hennessy Jr. Tennis Foundation had its first alumni graduate from college last year. Frideric is the first in his family to graduate college and credits the foundation with the achievement of that dream.

"Without the foundation I never would have even thought of college," Frideric explained. "Bob and Winnie Schulman and all the Stirling Club members made me feel important, like I could do anything. Without cleaning the courts at the Stirling Club, without Marty and Ryan's help, who knows where I would be."

Frideric graduated as captain of his tennis team, which at one point was top 8 in the NCAA standings. Also graduating is Trent Alenik from Villanova University business school. Villanova, the 7th best ranked business school in the country was also where Trent led his team as captain his junior and senior year. President of the entrepreneur club and finishing with a high grade point average he was the only recipient of the student achievement award. He received the Innovative Creative Excellence award at graduation. Both Frideric and Trent turned down lucrative jobs on the east coast to come back and help the foundation.

"I wanted to come back and help the next generation," explained Trent. "I also feel being around the foundation children, Ryan, Hilliary and Marty is like getting my masters degree in life, and that means a lot to me." Trent is also in the process of finishing his real master's degree in accounting.
5 children that received help from the foundation have graduated college this year and three are going back to get their masters degrees.