Donna Fales, first recognized in this column 15 years ago, has been at the helm of Rebuilding Together Miami-Dade (RTMD) for 10 years, bringing together volunteers and communities to improve the homes and lives of homeowners in need.
Fales truly is a master organizer who has done fabulous work in her role with Rebuilding Together to keep low-income, elderly, veterans and disabled homeowners in their homes. As Donna retires from this post, it seems an appropriate to to honor her once again for her contributions to our community.
Before RTMD, Fales had another career that encompassed tennis, family and community service. A world class tennis player with many championships under her belt, Fales has been a coach at the University of Miami, tournament director for numerous prestigious tennis events, television commentator, and business executive. Those roles put her in a position to be an ambassador of sorts to the tens of thousands who have played in the international tournaments she has run, been coached by her, or been involved in her clinics over the years.
Fales’ story begins in Atlanta, GA where she was born and raised until she was 12 years old. Donna then lived in Arlington, VA until she was 22 and attended the College of William and Mary. It is not surprising that Fales earned a stellar reputation in the world of tennis as the sport always was in her blood.
In fact, from the time she was a teen, she assisted her dad with free tennis clinics for youngsters and beginning adults and was hooked on the sport. It seems her dad contributed countless hours running tennis tournaments and events for the community while also working full time — and the apple certainly fell close to the tree. She became a world class player in the bargain.
Following graduation from college, Donna traveled to Africa giving tennis clinics to youngsters and adults. After marrying her husband of almost 65 years, Gordon Fales, she lived in New York where she volunteered at the International Center introducing foreign visitors to New York City.
Moving to Miami in 1969, she became a member of the Junior League which promotes volunteerism. This led her to serving on the board of WPBT Channel 2 and Ransom Everglades School, and volunteering on behalf of a youth tennis program, the National Junior Tennis League founded by Arthur Ashe.
She later became the national president of that league and subsequently founded the Greater Miami Tennis Foundation in Miami. After years as a volunteer, Fales eventually became the paid executive director of the Greater Miami Tennis Foundation (GMTF).
Donna’s community service work continued when she retired from GMTF and volunteered to run a marquee event for Rebuilding Together Miami-Dade. Her skills made her an obvious choice when a year after volunteering for Rebuilding Together Miami-Dade, Donna was hired as executive director.
Over the years, she has won countless major tennis championships, earned numerous awards for service and has been installed into no less than seven prestigious Sports Halls of Fame. In 2011, she was named Florida Tennis Player of the Year–Women.
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