2010 Mini Plan - Annual Progress/Update
Ambassadors Reporting Progress Updates
| Donna Donald | Regional Ambassador |
| Tim and Laura Statum, Bob Huskey | Alabama |
| Colleen Blakely, Rich Donald, Cindy Eddleman, Nancy Meyer, Al Rosati, Mary Selby, Robert Taylor, Donald Schildhaus, Robert and Mary Beth Bellomo, Ron and Conne Monson,Bruce & Gena Whitehead | Florida |
| Rick Laskey, Laura Patterson, John Simpson, Mike & Nancy Falkenstein, Jan Sharp, Liz Velazquez | N. Carolina |
| Carla Black, Jerry Eamer, Rena Grant, Jim Hisman, Bill Smith, Mike & Loretta Beckner, Joe Huber, | S. Carolina |
| Special Thanks to the following individuals who played a major role in our Results | Florida - Louann Dubendorf, Mike Perkins, Jeff Prosansky, Pat Zwolenski, Stan and Sally Michalski, Jim Claycomb, Garf Cooper Georgia - Dr. Tom and Ann Earley New York - Jack Beck, Ambassadors, Ron Farra, Rona Sherman Michigan Ambassador, Gary Bejin, Anita Marcus |
States, and USAPA Members
October 2009 | April 30, 2010 | October 31, 2010 | Percentage Change | New Members | |
Alabama | 3 | 3 | 4 | 33.3% | 1 |
Florida | 299 | 198 | 201 | - 32.7% | 45 |
Georgia | 27 | 36 | 45 | +66.6% | 27 |
North Carolina | 10 | 20 | 26 | + 160% | 20 |
South Carolina | 5 | 38 | 48 | +860% | 44 |
Atlantic South Region | 344 | 295 | 324 | -5.8% | 137 |
Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina have had phenomenal success. !
| Recreational | Find New Places to Play | The Goal for the Atlantic South Region for the year was to increase PTP from 54 to 75 for an increase of 38%. We have already surpassed our goal for the year, and we will continue on. AL Increase from 2 to 5 - 150% FL Increased from 37 to 67 -81% GA Increased from 3 to 6 - 100% NC Increased from 8 to 13 - 67% SC Increased from 4 to 15 - 275% Atlantic South Region, Increased from 54 to 106 places to play - 96.3% increase! |
| Mixed Generation | SC - Introduced pickleball to Georgetown High School. Students worked to raise funds to buy pickleball equipment.Ongoing pickleball club now. (Carla Black) SC- Introduced pickleball and played one one one with more than 100 Socastee High School Students and to students at N. Myrtle High School. (Rena Grant, Jerry Eamer, Bill Smith) Fl - Ambassadors teamed up with FOTR (Families on the Road) to teach the whole family and include them in open play. Players from 8 to 80 participated in open play at the Thousand Trails RV Park. Fifteen year olds competed with adults in the parks scheduled Round Robin events. Boy Scout Troop learns the game and played with Wesley Chapel's Meadow Point Players. Fun events at Kings Point in Sun City Center, always includes players of all ages. (Rich Donald) NC/SC/FL - Introduced at local YMCA's and Kids Summer Camps in NC and Fl ( Laura Patterson, Liz Velazquez). Special training classes for Special Needs Adults, Children and even Special Olympic Coaches. ( Rena Grant, Rick Laskey Liz Velazquez,). Pickleball introduced to students at the Ward Elementary School in North Carolina. ( Laura Patterson) | |
| Beginner Clinics | AL -Beginner training is available and has been provided at the Maurice Recreational Center in Graysville, AL (Tim and Laura, Statum). Working with local recreation director to introduce pb at new courts in Opelika. (Bob Huskey) GA -Beginner training is available and has been provided in Canton, GA on a regular basis. (Tom and Ann Earley) FL - Ambassador Rich and Donna Donald provided beginner training for the following: Peace River RV Park, Wauchula, Fl - (bi-weekly) Torrey Oaks RV Resort, Bowling Green, Fl Lake Magic RV Resort, Clermont, Fl ( now listed as new PTP) Highland Lakes, Leesburg, Fl Ruskin, Fl - Golf and Boating Resort -(now listed as new PTP) Valencia Lakes - Waumauma, Fl - (now listed as new PTP) There is a very structured beginner training program in place at The Villages, Fl Fl- Bob Taylor/Mary Selby - provided beginner clinics: Lakewood Country Club Sarasota Country Club Fl - Cindy Eddleman and Nancy Meyer - provided beginner clinics: Faith Presbyterian Church - Cape Coral ( now listed as new PTP) Sabal Springs Community - Ft. Myers Gulf Waters Community, Ft.Myers Carefree Resort and other active adult communities in the Ft. Myers area. FL - Donald Schildhaus introduced pickleball to the Citrus Hills Community and to the City of Bonita Springs Recreation Center. (now listed as new PTP) FL - Robert and Mary Beth Bellomo introduced pickleball to the Sun N Lake Community in Sebring, Fl (now listed as new PTP) FL - Beginner Clinics are regularly scheduled at Active Adult Communities. (The Villages, Spruce Creek, Plantation of Leesburg, Highland Lakes, Tanglewood/Sebring, Carefree Resort- Ft. Myers, Leesburg and Hawthorne) NC - Laura Patterson did demonstrations/beginner clinics at the following: Winston Salem Lake Family YMCA(now listed as new PTP) Kernersville, NC YMCA, Rupert Bell Recreation Center Also introduce pickleball at the Woman's Senior Masters Racquetball Championship in Gaithersburg, MD NC - RickLaskey - Beginner clinic at Heritage Square Senior Community.(Rick Laksey) SC - Rena Grant Jerry Eamer and Carla Black, Bill Smith provided beginner clinics at the Socastee and/or Georgetown High Schools and the North Myrtle Beach High School. Rena also did a beginner clinic at Midway Park in Myrtle Beach and does beginner training on a regular basis at the Recreation Center. Bill Smith also does beginner training at the Recreation Center. SC - Training for beginners is scheduled on a regular basis in Active Adult Communities: ( Lakeside, Conway, SC. (new PTP), Dell Webb Cane Bay, SC, Sun City Carolina Lakes, Sun City Hilton Head) SC -Jan Singer worked with city officials for painted courts and has introduced nearly 50 people to the game and continues to offer beginner training in Chester, SC, SC -Mike and Loretta Beckner introduced pb and the Senior Extravaganza and introduced moe than 80 people to the game at a demone and training session at Odell Weeks in Aiken. SC -Joe Huber and members of his club introduced pickleball at the Mt. Pleasant Senior Center. | |
| Recreational Speedball | Several Recreational and Social Events included pickleball, and many were played as benefits to local organizations. There are many more played in various communities, but here are those that made the news or were featured by our Ambassadors. GA - Turkey Swat Tournament to benefit the Cherokee County Humane Society NC - Mt.Olive Picklefest, (Joint effort, NC Ambassador Laura Patterson and SC Ambassador, Jerry Eamer) SC - Round Robin for Choose To Lose Program - SC Ambassador, Rena Grant Del Webb Cane Bay VS The Havens - SC Ambassador Jim Hisman Del Web Charles VS Myrtle Beach - SC Ambassadors, Jim Hisman and Rena Grant FL - Tanglewood Pickleball Spring Bash, Relay for Life Pickleball (American Cancer Society) Scott Green Tournament, Pennies for Pickleball, Winter In Paradise Pickleball Wing Ding, Pickleball Picnic at Higgs Park, Carefree Ladies Round Robin, Highland Lakes Olympics, The Villages -Toys for Tots, Geezers and Gals HoliDaze, St. Patricks Day PB, and Sadie Hawkins, Sun City VS Kings Point, New Years Eve Round Robin at Thousand Trails. Torrey Oaks and Peace River Mixed Generation Round Robin. Florida/Mixed Generation, Cove Olympics. Carefree Summer Camp ( Ambassadors Colleen Blakley, Al Rosati, Cindy Eddleman, Nancy Meyer, Rich and Donna Donald) VA - ASR Ambassador At Large Ron and Connie Monson were tournament directors for the First Northern Neck Tournament in Topping, Va | |
| Competitive | Skills Clinics | North Georgia Picklebll Club Carefree Community, Ft. Myers Fl (Summer Camp) Faith Presbyterian Church Group, Cape Coral, Fl (multiple sessions) Thousand Trails RV Park - about every 2-3 weeks Torrey Oaks RV Park, Fl Sun City Pickleball Club, Sun City Center,Fl Kings Point Pickleball League, Sun City Center, Fl Highland Lakes - Leesburg, Fl Legacy of Leesburg, Fl Hawthorn of Leesburg, Fl Riverside Golf and Boating Club, Ruskin, Fl Valencia Lakes, Waumauma, Fl The Villages, Fl - Weekly Clinics scheduled and frequently with Coach Mo |
| Ladder Leagues | Ladder Leagues have been introduced d in the following locations: GA - Del Webb at Lake Oconee SC- Del Webb, Cane Bay, Charleston, Recreation Centers in Myrtle Beach and N. Myrtle Beach Fl- Davenport, Fl Florida Keys, Conch Republic and Tanglewood in Sebring. | |
| Senior Games | FL - Pickleball is included in the following local County Senior Games across the state: Pensacola, Jacksonville, Tampa Bay, Lee County, Polk County, Heartland (Sebring), Good Life Games in Seminole. Introduced for the first time this year in Collier and Charlotte County. Pickleball is played at the Florida State Senior Games. Senior Games are also played at Dell Webb in Summerfield, Fl and at The Villages, Fl. Ambassadors Cindy Eddleman and Nancy Myers are on the planning committee and will be the directors of the Senior Games in Lee, Collier and Charlotte County in 2011. Rich and Donna Donald are working with the coordinators of the Good LIfe Games in Seminole. GA - Work is underway to include pickleball in the Cherokee County Senior Games. SC - Pickleball introduced for the first time at the Waccama Senior Sports Classic, and at the SC State Games. It will be an official event in 2011 with Ambassador Rena Grant as the event coordinator. Pickleball is also played in the BJAAC (Beaufort,Jasper Active Adult Pickleball Challenge) Senior Games in Bluffton, SC NC - Pickleball is played at the Onslow County Senior Games, and the program director from the Jacksonville Commons Rec Center has scheduled a non Sanctioned Senior Tournament for February 2011 . Program Director went with Ambassador Rick Laskey as an observer to the Chesapeake Va games to learn how to run the event. Ambassador Laura Patterson held two demonstrations at the Piedmont Senior Games and is on the steering committee for the 2011 games. Pickleball is also played at the Hickory Nut Gorge Olympiad in Rumbling Bald, NC | |
| Discounted Showcase | No activity at this time | |
| Sanctioned Events | Continue to pursue sanctioning at State Games in Florida. There is an interest in USAPA Sanctioning, but space, referees, and management continue to be a concern; Ambassadors in SC and NC are planning a "summit" in the near future to discuss options for tournaments in their areas. Florida has officially scheduled their first USAPA Santioned Event. The Geezer Meister Games is a Tier 4 tournament scheduled for January 2011, thanks to Jim Claycomb and the picklebll club at Dell Well Spruce Creek in Summerfield, F. | |
| Communication | Newsletter | A monthly Ambassador Newsletter is distributed on the 15th of each month, which provides articles of interest, tournament and social event information, membership and PTP updates, promotion of Google How To Group, and pickleball information across the entire Region. Pickleball information is available in several venues across the Region, primarily in Park and Recreation News, YMCA newsletter, and RV Park Flyers where pickleball is played. |
| Website | http:www.south.usapa.org - The website for the Atlantic South Region. Pickleball news for AL, FL, GA, NC, SC . What's so great about this and the newsletter is the generosity and enthusiasm of many of our Ambassadors, Members or pickleball clubs that contribute to its success. | |
| Membership | Personal Touch | This has been by far the most effective way of bringing on new USAPA members. All Ambassadors are also provided with a flyer that promotes our Atlantic South Website, and are requested to print them with the USAPA Application on the reverse side. These are given out at beginner clinics, skills clinics, to pickleball friends and players in our clubs, leagues etc. The N. Georgia Pickleball Club REQUIRES USAPA membership in order to be a N Georgia Club member. |
| USAPA Banner | Jerry Eamer has made good use of his USAPA banner and his portable net.. It was proudly displayed at the brand new courts in N. Myrtle Beach, and provided to other Ambassadors in the area for use at the recreation centers for PBS or Fox News filming. He took his banner and net to the Mt. Olive Pickle Festival in NC and his net to assist in Aiken, SC. The Banner is always on display at the Maurice Recreation Center in Graysville, Al. The N Georgia Pickleball Club always displays the banner at their courts, always ready for visitors from Parks and Recreation, PBS or the Local Newspaper. The USAPA Banner was displayed at Senior Games events, All Beginner Training, Skills Clinics, Winter in Paradise Wing Ding and at the Sun City Promotional Event, by the Donalds. They also mailed their extra banner to Ft. Myers/Cape Coral, North Carolina and Key Westj and Aiken, SC to be displayed at Olympics and Pickleball Events in those area. | |
| Membership Table | The membership table was set up at new player training in AL. And a membership table complete with flyers, website information, USAPA T-shirts, membership applications, sample newsletters, newspaper clippings, pictures, and brochures were set up at ALL beginner and skills clinics in Fl, however our membership results from the table were not as good as the personal touch. A similar display table was set up at the Senior Extravaganza by the Beckners in Aiken, SC | |
| Publicity | Media Attention | AL - Graysville AL Mayor will be in attendance at the May 15th demonstration and has invited the local CBS affiliate. GA - Filming for PBS Special was done at the courts of the N. Georgia Pickleball Club and aired on WPBA Atlanta in November. GA - Reporter Crystal Nixon of the Cherokee Tribune also did a story on Pickleball in Cherokee County, and the article included the promotion of International Pickleball Week. NC - Captioned photos of local players winning in tournaments in AZ, Fl and VA have appeared in the Jacksonville Daily News. NC - Liz Velazquez and her summer camps at Mountain View Campground were featured in Sept 10, 2010 CampNews. SC - On March 8th Ambassador Rena Grant was interviewed by Jack Murphy on the River Talk Show on WWMB along with fellow player Janie Young. This was a 30 minute program replayed several times during the week. SC - Rena was also interviewed by sport news commentator Matt Lincoln,, TV Channel 13 at the Crabtree Gym in Myrtle Beach. She was also featured in the Senior Life Section of Myrtle Beach's local newspaper. SC -Jerry Eamer and fellow plickleball player Fran Jenkins pictured with N. Myrtle Beach Mayor, Marilym Hartley for International Pickleball Week. SC - Bill Smith and others pictured in the Sun New during International Pickleball Week Celebrations. SC - Mike and Loretta Beckner featured in pickleball article in the Aiken Standard FL - Pickleball Tournament fundraiser to benefit families battling cancer featured in the Daily Sun (The Villages, Fl) Fl - Pickleball at the Island Rec Center (Marco Island) was featured in the Marco News. Fl - Tampa Tribune Reporter Paul Catala did a feature article on the Winter in Paradise Pickleball Wing Ding in Kings Point, Sun City Center, Fl. Proclamations to support International Pickleballl Week: Governors - NC and Fl Mayors - Tampa, Fl; Jacksonville, NC; Graysville, AL, Winston-Salem, NC Pickleball Videos on YouTube: Keowee Key, SC. The Villages, FL. - Wall Street Journal North GA Pickleball Club |
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