Pickleball Magazine 3-3 | Page 9

2018 USAPA BOARD OF DIRECTORS OFFICERS PRESIDENT Jack Thomas VICE PRESIDENT C J Jermstad SECRETARY Laura Patterson TREASURER Darryl Noble IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT David Jordan AT-LARGE BOARD MEMBERS (COMMITTEES) COMMUNICATIONS Bob Nibarger GRANTS Ray Pereyra TRAINING Pat Murphy LEGAL COUNSEL, GRIEVANCE Phil Mortenson STAFF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Justin Maloof MANAGING DIRECTOR OF ATHLETIC COMPETITION Christine Barksdale BUSINESS MANAGER Linda Gartlan FROM THE PRESIDENT W OW! Where do I begin? The excitement of being involved in the unbelievable growth of our sport is exceeding even my wildest dreams, and I’m sure all of you reading this magazine feel the same. The question most often asked used to be “What is pickleball?” That is fast changing to “What in the world is fueling the incredible growth of pickleball?” (Sport and Fitness estimate just over 3 million players in the U.S. alone; USAPA membership has increased 480% in the last five years; and there are approximately 1,100 new KNOWN facilities=92/month). Many of you have heard me refer to the USAPA Ambassador Program as “the growth engine of pickleball,” which, I believe, is still true. That force of 1,700 continues to do an incredible job of preaching the pickleball gospel! However, in my opinion, the question of what is “fueling” that engine can be answered in one word, VOLUNTEERISM! We should all take a minute to think about and appreciate all of the tournaments, leagues, clubs, boards, demos/clinics and just about every way to be involved in our sport that might not have been possible without the thousands of volunteers freely giving their time and energy. So, the next time you have an opportunity, give them a kind word, smile, handshake, or maybe even a hug, as a show of your appreciation. There are certainly other exciting things happening such as more tournaments are benefitting charities, cruise lines are adding pickleball as an onboard activity, the International Federation of Pickleball now has eight member countries with others having made applications, the USAPA Junior USAPA PRESIDENT JACK THOMAS program and Schools initiatives are up and running, AND the recently announced and LONG overdue USAPA Ratings program is a reality and will be implemented very soon (be sure and read USAPA Executive Director Justin Maloof’s article for more details). Finally, the last line of my first Pickleball Magazine article said, “The communication lines are now open.” Some of you must have read the article because other USAPA Board members and I have been receiving communications from you, which has allowed us to answer your questions, address your concerns, etc. From our side, one of the things we hope you saw in the most recent Member Newsletter was the “From the Board” article in the USAPA News & Information section. “From the Board” is a recap of the recent board meeting(s) activities. For those of you who might have missed the Jan/ Feb magazine, the links below are the easiest and quickest ways to contact USAPA Board and Staff. USAPA Contacts: All Board, Staff and Support names and emails: https://www.usapa.org/ about-the-usapa/ Internal Email Form with direct messaging to each key person: https:// www.usapa.org/usapa-form-mail/ Stay safe and HAVE FUN! Jack MAY/JUNE 2018 | MAGAZINE 7