Pickleball Magazine 3-4 Courtesy of Pickleball Guru

2018 USAPA BOARD OF DIRECTORS OFFICERS PRESIDENT Jack Thomas VICE PRESIDENT CJ Jermstad SECRETARY Laura Patterson TREASURER Darryl Noble AT-LARGE BOARD MEMBERS COMMUNICATIONS Bob Nibarger GRANTS Ray Pereyra TRAINING Pat Murphy IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT David Jordan LEGAL & GRIEVANCE Phil Mortenson STAFF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Justin Maloof MANAGING DIRECTOR OF ATHLETIC COMPETITION Christine Barksdale BUSINESS MANAGER Linda Gartlan FROM THE PRESIDENT A s my high school principal used to say on the morning announcements, “I never cease to be amazed.” His comment always followed some outstanding achievement for our school. His words could not be more appropriate for our sport as it is growing at an unbelievable rate in every way imaginable. Of course, we’re all aware of the obvious, such as total estimated player count, new places to play, USAPA membership growth, new equipment development, major sporting goods companies getting in the game, tournaments (both in player count and venues), international play, etc. While all of these and other growth areas are super exciting and borderline overwhelming, I recently realized another, maybe not so visible, area of tremendous growth we’re experiencing—charitable giving. USAPA PRESIDENT JACK THOMAS future charity-related events. I found tournaments supporting Parkinson’s, ALS, Alzheimer’s, various memorials, and many other very worthy causes. Several pickleball clubs have their own foundations that their tournaments support. So, when planning your future tournament calendars, consider charity events. It doesn’t matter the nature of your involvement, just participate. I promise, you’ll be glad you did. There are no losers! The saying “The joy of giving is greater than receiving” does not only apply to the Christmas season. In June, Joan and I traveled to Cartersville, Georgia, for the 2nd Annual St. Jude National Indoor Classic Tournament. The tournament was a lot of work, a ton of fun and, more importantly, raised a significant amount of money for USAPA’s designated charity, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. This would not have been possible without the unselfish dedication to the cause by everyone associated with the tournament. Every expense of the event, except for a steeply discounted facility fee, was taken care of at no charge. There was no vendor fee, but the vendors generously donated a percentage of their revenues. And the players were wonderfully supportive. I mention all of this because it’s a great example of the seemingly inherent generosity and caring nature of the pickleball community, and just another reason I’m so proud and honored to be your president. After returning from the St. Jude tournament, I did a quick search of the tournament calendar for recent and Jack 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! JULY/AUGUST 2018 JULY/AUGUST 2018 | | MAGAZINE MAGAZINE 9 7

Pickleball Magazine 3-4 Courtesy of Pickleball Guru | Page 9