FROM THE USAPA
FROM THE PRESIDENT
Summer is coming to an end and all of us who are RVers are heading back home or to a winter destination. Traveling this summer with our 17-year-old granddaughter has been such a pleasure and an inspiration that the younger generation has a lot to offer.
While it was such a pleasure for us, it also reminded Nancy and me of another trip we made back in May, to Memphis, Tennessee. We were there, along with Justin Maloof( USAPA Executive Director) and Tennessee District
DAVID JORDAN
Ambassador Mike Morgan, to visit and tour the St. Jude Children’ s Hospital. It’ s a place where children who have been afflicted with cancer come for a level of treatment they can get nowhere else. To say this is a place where miracles happen would be an understatement. We were left in awe at the work that is done for these children and their families— with absolutely no cost to them whatsoever.
While on our tour, it was very evident that research is an important role of the hospital’ s mission and why it is so successful in the development of cures for childhood cancer. To say the least it was an inspirational tour and we all came away with a sense of how blessed we were and asked ourselves what we can do to help. Of course, pickleball was our answer and it is why we decided to ask the USAPA Board if they would help.
We asked, as an organization, could we join the fight and adopt St. Jude as our national charity. With Board approval, the USAPA will now work with St. Jude and our pickleball families across the U. S. to help in the fight against childhood cancer. You will hear more about this new partnership in the months to come. And be sure to visit the St. Jude’ s booth at National VIII.
Pickleball is a sport that has grown because people like you have been willing to give of their time and energy to make it the sport it is today. With your help, we can assist St. Jude in the fight against childhood cancer. Please contact me( president @ usapa. org) or Vice President Jack Thomas( ambassadorchair @ usapa. org) with your ideas on how pickleball can” play” it forward so someday these children can also enjoy being on the pickleball courts of this great country.
NEW USAPA AMBASSADORS
NEW AMBASSADORS: Danny Blevins..... Clay County, FL Don Boll.......... Bottineau, ND Ray Bowman...... Cathedral City, CA Rob Boyd.......... Rossland, BC Larry Burke........ Sante Fe, NM Thomas Burkart.... Rancho Murietta, CA Paula Carter....... Mayodan, NC Robert Chan....... San Francisco, CA Dick Duckett....... Melbourne-Eau Gallie, FL Joe Gilmore........ Williamson County, TN Jan Gradle......... Prescott Valley, AZ David Graham..... Marlton-Mt. Laurel, NJ
Carol Harpster..... Brunswick County South, NC
Margaret Hickman.. Decatur, IL Janet Hirst......... Decatur, IL John Jessen........ Stillwater, OK Harriet Kalin....... Palm Beach County, FL Lonnie Kojima..... Orange County South, CA Gregory Krolczyk... Palm Bay, FL Robert LeBlanc..... Massena, NY Craig Lovasz....... St. Charles, MO Marcy Lynch....... Montgomeryville, PA Al Montero........ Ewa Beach, HI Gary Odle......... Havelock, NC Barb Patterson..... North Austin, TX
Steve / Karen Pfanenstiel...... Baldwinsville, NY
David Rollins....... Steuben County, IN Kerry Straw........ Lewisberry, PA Alan Thompson.... Fredericton, NB Bill Voight......... Burr Ridge, IL
If you are interested in being an ambassador to help promote pickleball in your region, visit usapa. org.
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