Santosh & Ruth Krishnan Increase
Gift To $50,000 For Capital Campaign

The Fred Wells Tennis & Education Center is pleased to announce that Santosh and Ruth Krishnan of St. Paul, Minn., have increased their previous $20,000 gift towards the $1.7 million FORTify Our Future Capital Campaign to $50,000. This gift provides naming rights of a dedicated court at the facility. Court 4 of the front dome will be named the Santosh & Ruth Krishnan Court upon completion of the project in early September. The Krishnans join Rick Rinkoff and Julia Ferguson of St. Paul, Minn., Tom and Michele Mingo of Mendota Heights, Minn., and the Wells Family Fund of the Minneapolis Foundation as lead donors to the Capital Campaign, which has raised almost $700,000 thus far.

The FORTify Our Future Capital Campaign is financing the required capital improvements necessary for the Fred Wells Tennis & Education Center to renew its lease with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. Those necessary improvements include replacing its two tennis domes, resurfacing and adding a ninth court, installing air conditioning and new lighting in both domes, expanding the parking facilities and constructing a new walkway between the front and back domes. These improvements will “FORTify Our Future” for years to come and support The Fort’s ever-growing TennisWorks program – its free youth tennis & life skills continuum for under-resourced students in grades 3-12 in the Twin Cities.

“The Fort has been part of our family for over 15 years,” Santosh Krishnan said. “It has been a place to play tennis in an atmosphere of warmth and fellowship, while making lasting friendships. It is a feeling that I have not experienced in any other tennis facility.”

The Krishnans have been actively involved at The Fort, both as players and volunteers. Santosh has been the Board of Directors’ treasurer the past two years, and both have volunteered with the TennisWorks after-school program, specifically with Urban Academy.

“Ruth and I love the sights and sounds of the Fort – its diverse membership playing the game, the smiling and excited faces of children streaming in for the after-school programs, and our enthusiastic tennis professionals and staff leading lessons and programs,” Santosh Krishnan continued. “We are happy to do our part for the Fort. As members of the Fort family, we all share the responsibility to write the next chapter in the story of the Fort and support the vision of our founder Fred Wells.”

“Saying thank you to Santosh and Ruth Krishnan for their generous second gift to the Capital Campaign just doesn't seem enough,” Esther Tsai, Fred Wells Tennis & Education Center Executive Director, said. “The Fort is truly blessed to have patrons like Santosh and Ruth who have been funding our mission for many years, volunteering their time to our TennisWorks program, and contributing his expertise serving as our board Treasurer. I am personally touched by their genuine care and willingness to help when asked."

For more information about the Fred Wells Tennis & Education Center’s FORTify Our Future Capital Campaign, including renderings of the front dome, or to invest in our future, please visit www.fwtec.org/capital-campaign or contact Lisa Mushett at lisa@fwtec.org or at (612) 252-8367.