Pickleball Magazine 3-3 Courtesy of Pickleball Tournaments | 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