Pickleball Magazine 2-2 Courtesy of PickleballTournaments.com | Page 11

FROM THE USAPA
FROM THE PRESIDENT
As I write this message, the
reflections of many years gone by
are vivid in my mind. Nancy and I
celebrated our 50th anniversary
on February 18. Looking back,
it’s hard to imagine why such a
great lady would put up with the
likes of me for 50 years; I am truly
blessed. I think we are not unlike
any other couple – life tends to
get in the way of living sometimes
and you forget what’s important:
family.
2017 USAPA
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OFFICERS
PRESIDENT
David Jordan
VICE PRESIDENT
Jack Thomas
SECRETARY
Laura Patterson
TREASURER
Darryl Noble
BOARD MEMBERS
(COMMITTEES)
AMBASSADORS
Carrie Jermstad
COMMUNICATIONS
Bob Nibarger
GRANTS
Ray Pereyra
RATINGS
Chris Thomas
TRAINING CHAIR
Pat Murphy
LEGAL COUNSEL, GRIEVANCE
Phil Mortenson
NON-VOTING
BOARD MEMBER
ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Mark Friedenberg
STAFF
Executive Director, Justin Maloof
Managing Director of Competition,
Christine Barksdale
Business Manager, Linda Gartlan
Pickleball brought that reality
back to us in early 2003 as we
traveled the U.S. in our motorhome and were lucky enough to find
this great sport that we could enjoy together. After watching our sons
grow up and start their own lives, we, like so many others, missed
the socialization with other families around the sport venues where
our kids played and celebrated the victories or mourned the defeats,
but it was always a family affair that kept us together and enjoying
the spoils that competition brings. But then it happened — suddenly
they were grown and gone and we looked at our “empty nest” and
wondered what’s next. As we finished our careers and set our sights
on retirement, we decided we wanted to throw it all to the wind and
hit the road to see and experience America. We did just that and for 10
years we traveled the backroads and interstates of this country, seeing
and experiencing such a great country and the people in all their glory.
But what made it so special was what we found in Hershey, Pa., one
spring morning in 2003—such a funny-sounding game that would not
only bring us closer together but give purpose to our retirement years.
As they say, the rest is history.
DAVID JORDAN
We want to thank all of you who have participated with us along the
way and all of you who we have yet to meet. Your friendship, your
laughs and tears, and your appreciation for this game has meant so
much to us during this journey and we look forward to many more
years of seeing you on the courts of America.
As I have mentioned before, one way we will be celebrating this
milestone is in the form of a donation to the St. Jude Children’s
Research Hospital, the USAPA’s designated national charity. We ask you
to join us in this effort by donating $10 for every year you have been
married, as we have done. See details on our web site for how you can
help.
Thank you for being part of this great journey, and for allowing us to
take this space to celebrate our life together and tell you how much we
appreciate all of you who have made it so special.
From our court to yours, let’s celebrate life together.
MARCH/APRIL 2017 |
MAGAZINE
9