Giving
Endowment

The Pete Cooper Tennis Endowment Fund

PETE COOPER: ENGLISH COACH, TENNIS COACH, LIFE COACH

Pete Cooper served CCES from 1971 - 1979 as tennis coach, English teacher, Assistant Upper School Director, and, during his last four years at CCES, as the Director of the Upper School. A leader and mentor, Mr. Cooper touched the lives of so many during his time at CCES, but perhaps his greatest legacy was the relationships with the students he coached on the Varsity Boys Tennis Team.

In the Spring 2017 issue of Highlights magazine, CCES alumnus, Barry Cox ’77, shared his memories and gratitude for his teacher, coach, and mentor. The following are excerpts from his moving article, “Pete Cooper: English Coach, Tennis Coach, Life Coach”: “Pete Cooper was such a great mentor to us as students and as tennis players on the Varsity Boys team, that we still tell the stories, bringing those moments from black and white to Technicolor. Many of us were lucky enough to attend Christ Church Episcopal School from the Lower School until we graduated in 1977. During that time we were blessed to have been impacted by this very special man.

Mr. Cooper, as we respectfully called him during our time in school, was a man of smiles and discipline.
Mr. Cooper, as we respectfully called him during our time in school, was a man of smiles and discipline. We first came to know Mr. Cooper when we joined the tennis team in 6th grade. The Upper School had just been completed, and, without courts, most of our practices were held at the Greenville Country Club. Mr. Cooper spent time with all of us during those days, conveying a philosophy of aggressive competition while demonstrating a respect for other people. The Lord only knows how many miles he drove as we attended matches from Virginia to Tennessee to Charleston, but the message was always the same: Treat each other with respect. He brought us together as a team while also teaching us how to be kind and caring individuals -- often by his own example.”

The Lord only knows how many miles he drove as we attended matches from Virginia to Tennessee to Charleston, but the message was always the same: Treat each other with respect. He brought us together as a team while also teaching us how to be kind and caring individuals -- often by his own example.

Purpose

Many thanks to Barry Cox for establishing the Pete Cooper Tennis Endowment Fund in the Fall of 2019. Barry recognized a need to create a permanent source of funding to support the tennis program at CCES. Funds contributed to the Tennis Endowment Fund remain intact for perpetuity and are invested and managed as part of the overall CCES Endowment. The annual proceeds of the Tennis Endowment Fund (4.5% of the rolling 3-year average of investment) will be used to fund operating costs for the tennis program as well as provide for maintenance of the tennis courts. Gifts/pledges to the Pete Cooper Tennis Endowment Fund may be made through cash, stock, planned, or deferred giving. For more information on making a gift to the Pete Cooper Tennis Endowment Fund, please contact Jamie Inman, Assistant Head for Advancement, at 864.299.1522 ext. 1272 or inmanj@cces.org.
Christ Church Episcopal School (“CCES”) admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at CCES. CCES does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, national or ethnic origin, creed, religion, or sexual orientation in the administration of its educational policies, admission policies, financial aid, scholarship or other programs, or athletic or other school-administered programs and activities.