Tipton Lakes Athletic Club undergoes leadership switch

Jim Stone found it increasingly difficult to live in Indianapolis and run Tipton Lakes Athletic Club, so he put it up for sale.

That hasn’t worked out, so Stone, who co-owned the club with his ex-wife Cheri, has sold off his share of the ownership to her.

“It’s hard to run it when it’s for sale,” Jim Stone said. “I was up in Indy, and it was easier not to drive down. She’s going to maybe change it around a little bit and maybe put some money in it.”

Stone had owned the club with Cheri for the past 10 years. Prior to that, he was a tennis pro for eight years. He also was the boys tennis coach at Columbus East for eight years before giving that up following the 2016 season.

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Cheri Stone, who works at United Way, took over sole ownership of the club two weeks ago.

“We’re going to really stress customer service, have it be a really exciting place to be — not that it wasn’t before,” she said.

The club will have a grand re-opening and member appreciation party from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 7. The event will feature music, food, drinks and a grand prize drawing. Several booths will be set up with vendors offering coupons and promotions to their stores.

Cheri Stone named Mary Beth Wilson as general manager of the club. Micheal Blevins will continue his duties as tennis director and will assume the role of co-manager, and Derek Henderson is the new fitness director.

Wilson, who grew up in Texas and played tennis at Purdue, has been a tennis pro for about eight years. She will oversee all the employees in the fitness, tennis, front desk and kids court daycare departments.

“We’re hoping to just have a lot better customer service,” Wilson said. “We’re hoping to make the club look nicer, and that will be a process. We’re just hoping that it will be a place where people love to come and work out and play tennis.”

Blevins has been a tennis pro for three years and tennis director for the past year-and-a-half. Along with becoming co-manager, he also will take over the club’s social media and marketing.

Blevins is in charge of about 270 juniors and about 100 adults in the club’s tennis program.

“Tennis had the best year it’s ever had, so the main goal now is to increase membership on the fitness side,” Blevins said.

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Built: 1984

Address: 4000 W. Goeller Bvld.

Hours: 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

Owner: Cheri Stone

General manager: Mary Beth Wilson

Tennis director and co-manager: Micheal Blevins

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