Pickleball Magazine 3-4 Courtesy of Pickleball Guru | Page 70

Regional
matters
sayings is, “I never lose. Either I win
or I learn.” She continues to learn each
day and is forever grateful and blessed
for all of the friendships she has made
since she started playing pickleball
back in 2013.
Linda Hoggatt
Linda plays with the
Sun City Grand and
Surprise Pickleball
Clubs in Arizona and
recently retired as the
Regional Director for the Southwest.
A native of Eureka, California, Linda
and her late husband, Don Kiernan,
had owned a chain of grocery stores in
Oregon known as Kacy’s Markets.
A great lover of the open skies, Linda
got her pilot’s license in 1980 and began
living out her dream of flying as a pilot
for Southern Oregon Skyways. She
received her multi-engine rating and
her IFR rating and was working on her
commercial license when her husband
passed away, essentially grounding her
with three children at home.
Linda sold the business and went to
work for the Ashland, Oregon, Police
Department where she was a 9-1-1
supervisor, records supervisor and
Administrative Services Officer doing
crime analysis.
In 1990, she met Paul Hoggatt, and
two years later they were married.
Deciding to move to Arizona, Linda
retired from the Ashland Police
Department in 2006.
Linda and Paul were both softball
players, playing in travel and recreation
leagues until they found pickleball,
which soon became an obsession for
them.
When Juanita Vincent retired in 2014
as the Southwest Regional Director
for the USAPA, Linda stepped in and
filled the role. As Regional Director,
68
continued
she has seen firsthand the explosive
growth of pickleball in Arizona and New
Mexico. Linda implemented the annual
Ambassador Review Program, which is
still being used across the country, and
appointed the first Regional Educational
Ambassador. In May, she retired as the
Southwest Regional Director and now is
spending some of her time as a Referee
Certification Evaluator.
Bud Lite
With a name like
Bud Lite, how could
the USAPA’s newest
Regional Director for
the Southwest not have
fun on the pickleball courts?
Larry “Bud” Lite now helps oversee
the sport for pickleball’s governing body
in the states of New Mexico, Arizona
and Mexico along with Costa Rica. He
has been playing, teaching and sharing
his knowledge of pickleball since 2009,
along with his wife, Judy.
Bud was instrumental in having the
first permanent pickleball complex
(18 courts) built in Albuquerque. From
August 3-8, Albuquerque will host
the 32nd Annual National Veterans
Golden Age Games. Over 500 pickleball
players are registered to play. Then
next year, June 14-25, the city will host
the National Senior Games, which is
estimated to bring in upwards of 1,000
pickleball players from around the
country.
Bud Lite is certainly quenching the
thirst of so many who want to play the
great game of pickleball.
Keith Wolverton
A graduate of
Michigan State
University, Keith
Wolverton served our
country in Vietnam and
later retired from the
Los Angeles Inspector General’s Office
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where he was the in-charge Senior
Director. Keith and his wife decided to
move back to the Midwest and began
playing pickleball in 2011 and haven’t
stopped hitting the courts ever since.
He is now the USAPA Regional
Director for the Great Lakes and
has been instrumental in the rapid
growth of the sport in his home state.
Keith helped form the Grand Rapids
Pickleball Club, which has grown from
about 50 original members to over
600 players today. He was also the
tournament director of the last two
State Games of Michigan and the 2017
State Games of America, which featured
over 600 registered players.
Keith continues to be active in all
things pickleball and helping new
players learn the fun of the sport.
Bill Hess
Bill Hess’ love of
sports began on the
wrestling mat where
he was the Georgia
State Chairman for
USA Wrestling – the
governing body for amateur and
Olympic wrestling in the United States.
While he spent a short amount of
time as a teacher and coach, Bill also
worked in sales of sporting goods
and marine products for numerous
manufacturers.
He and his wife, Carole, first picked
up a pickleball paddle about nine years
ago and continue to play at the North
Georgia Pickleball Club in Canton.
A former USAPA Ambassador in
Cherokee County, Georgia, he currently
is the Atlantic South Regional Director
for the USAPA. With a BS degree from
Upper Iowa University, Bill also earned
a master’s from the University of
Northern Colorado. •