Elizabeth McGee Cookson (Betty) was born Dec. 8 1922 in Sacramento CA. She married the late Robert A. Cookson on Feb. 22 1947 and is the mother of three boys, Bob, Jim and Rich. She is a grandmother to nine children and a great grandmother to five. Betty graduated from University of California Berkeley and after graduation worked for IBM. Subsequently, she became a house wife and mother while also serving as a long time community leader in the California Republican Party. As an adult, Betty began playing competitive tennis, a love she enjoyed previously in her youth. She and her husband became involved in USTA from the local to international level, she as both a leader and a player. She continues to successfully compete, winning her 16th National Doubles Championship just this year (2016).
Betty is also the recipient of the USTA National Service Award. You can hear more about her work with USTA by clicking here.