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History of SCA Pickleball Club

First Club Members

2010 – FOUNDING “FATHERS” – GORDIE JOHNSON, SHERM UCHILL AND DAVE RUSSLER

3-2-2010 – HAD 86 PEOPLE THAT WERE INTERESTED IN STARTING A PICKLEBALL CLUB

3-2-2010 – APPLIED FOR CLUB STATUS (TURNED DOWN BY LIFESTYLE – THEY WANTED PICKLEBALL TO BE A CLUB WITH PADDLE TENNIS) – APPEALED THE DECISION TO LIFESTYLE

3-21-2010 – TENTATIVE APPROVAL TO BE A STAND ALONE CLUB FROM LIFESTYLE

4-9-2010 – SCA LIFESTYLE APPROVAL TO BE A STAND ALONE CLUB

4-22-2010 SCA BOARD APPROVAL TO OFFICIALLY BECOME A CLUB

5-3-2010 – FIRST ANNUAL PICKLEBALL MEETING – 38 PEOPLE IN ATTENDANCE – ELECTED

PRESIDENT – SHERM UCHILL
VP – SHELLY KURZWEIL
TREA – DAVE RUSSLER
SEC – MIKE KOZINA

6/1/2010 – FIRST SPIRIT MAGAZINE ARTICLE

10/01/2010 – WEBSITE LAUNCH

10/12/2010 – PROPERTY & GROUNDS APPROVAL TO CONVERT 2 TENNIS COURTS (#’s 4 & 5) TO 8 PICKLEBALL COURTS

10/28/2010 – SCA BOARD OF DIRECTORS APPROVAL TO CONVERT TENNIS COURTS 4 & 5 TO 8 PICKLEBALL COURTS

11/19/2010 – FIRST PICKLEBALL CLUB TOURNAMENT – TURKEY SHOOT 2010

12-31-2010 – CLOSED THE YEAR WITH 113 MEMBERS

2011

PRESIDENT – KEN ROSENBERG
VP – GORDIE JOHNSON
TREASURER – DAVE RUSSLER
SECRETARY – BARBARA WRIGHT

06/11/2011 – OPEN HOUSE – RIBBON CUTTING GRAND OPENING CEREMONY OF THE 8 NEW PICKLEBALL COURTS 

12-31-2011 – CLOSED THE YEAR WITH 110 MEMBERS

2012

PRESIDENT – DOUG KIMBALL
VP – DAVE RUSSLER
TREASURER – GERI GRODZINSKY
SECRETARY – BARBARA WRIGHT

12-31-2012 – CLOSED THE YEAR WITH 130 MEMBERS

2013

PRESIDENT – RON BEHRENS
VP – KAREN KRANSKI
SECRETARY/TREASURER – JEFF ROSENFELD
SECRETARY – PATTI GLOD

12-31-2013 – CLOSED THE YEAR WITH 202 MEMBERS

2014 

PRESIDENT – RON BEHRENS
VP – VINCE CIMINO
TREASURER – JEFF ROSENFELD
SECRETARY – PATTI GLOD

12-31-14 – CLOSED THE YEAR WITH 236 MEMBERS

2015

PRESIDENT – VINCE CIMINO
VP – IRWIN BINIMOW
SECRETARY – LISA CARTER
TREASURER – BOB WENDLING
AT LARGE – BUDDY PYLE
AT LARGE – JANE GERHART
AT LARGE – CLAY JOYNER  

12-31-15 – CLOSED THE YEAR WITH 239 MEMBERS

2016

PRESIDENT – VINCE CIMINO
VP – IRWIN BINIMOW
SECRETARY – ELAINE BARLIN
TREASURER – DAVID HUTTON
AT LARGE – BRUCE BETTRIDGE

 12-31-2016 – CLOSED THE YEAR WITH 259 MEMBERS

2017

PRESIDENT – RON LATORRE
VP – JEFF ROSENFELD
TREASURER – DAVID HUTTON
SECRETARY – SUSAN WHITE
AT LARGE – CLAY JOYNER
AT LARGE – DAVID RUSSLER
AT LARGE – JANICE SEVERSON

12-31-2017 – CLOSED THE YEAR WITH 272 MEMBERS

2018

PRESIDENT – RON LATORRE
VP – LARRY HOLMES / MIKE CORBETT
TREASURER –DAVID RUSSLER
SECRETARY – SUSAN WHITE
AT LARGE – GORDON JOHNSON
AT LARGE – VINCE CIMINO
AT LARGE – PAM LESLIE

2019

President - Mike Corbett
Vice President - Dave Caron
Sec'y/Treas - Doug Neff

Assistant-Sharon Telford-Proctor, Photographer-Jacki Duncan, Orientation-Bob Keenan, Training-Larry Strumwasser, Paul Myers

Noteworthy: New website as sole, official news & information source, 1st Club BBQ & 1st Dink-a-thon Tourney, "Try Pickleball for Residents" Event & 6 week new player training program, Outreach to SCA community through "Spirit" & SCA-TCV, 3rd Team "Fun" League, "7 Shots of Pickleball Training Series," Training & Guided Play Series, Started year with just over 200 members, closed 2019 with nearly 300 members.

2020

President - Caron Cocores/Ely
Vice President - Janet Pyle
Sec'y/Treas - Susan Tener

2021

President - Peter Brown/Katrina Heath
Vice President - Katrina Heath/Lisa Serban
Sec'y/Treas - Bruce Gordon/Craig Smith/Judy Casper

2022 SCA Pickleball Club History and Summary of Activities

The 2022 Pickleball Club Board of Directors were elected during the November 2021 Annual Club meeting.

President - Doug Neff; Vice President - Craig Smith; Secretary/Treasurer - Ron Lawrick;  Board Members At Large - Paul Myers and Pam Leslie.  Ken Healing was appointed Secretary/Treasurer following the resignation of Ron Lawrick early in the year.

The new Board immediately established goals for 2022:

  1. Expand Club social events and activities to involve more members.
  2. Expand Club court events and activities to involve more members.
  3. Expand Club training activities for all player levels.
  4. Reorganize Club website and include the Pickleball Club Today newsletter.  
  5. Encourage members participation in Board and membership meetings.
  6. Work respectfully with the SCA Board and COO to expand Club courts and facilities.

Development of New Pickleball Courts:

Club leadership formed a committee with construction experience to coordinate with SCA staff for the conversion of the underutilized bocce courts at the Liberty Center to eight new pickleball courts. Construction of the new courts began in October and is anticipated to be completed in spring 2023.  Club members were provided an opportunity to vote on the eight new court colors with the light blue kitchen and dark blue court feature winning with close to 60% of the vote.

In the interim, the Board coordinated with the SCA Board to convert one tennis court to four temporary pickleball courts to be used while the new pickleball courts are being constructed.  The Club purchased portable pickleball nets to be used on the temporary courts.

Pickleball Newsletter:  The Board launched a bi-monthly newsletter called “Pickleball Club Today” to keep Club members informed about current and future events.

Membership Meetings/Social Events in 2022

The Board held Club quarterly membership meetings to conduct Club business and keep membership informed. The annual Chili Cookoff was held in March 2022.  The Club Annual Membership/Election Meeting was held in November where the Club utilized the newly developed e-voting feature on the Club’s website which allowed Club members to cast a vote for the 2023 Club officers electronically.  The Pickleball Bash 2022 was held as the Club’s end of year function to celebrate our love of the sport.

Pickleball Club Events in 2022

Meetups were held four days per week throughout the year.

League Play – Two (5 week) FUN Leagues were held for Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced players that included Championship Playoffs, BBQ and a Draft Pizza Party.

Social Court Events included the Red & Black Valentine Classic, Women’s Social Luncheon, Men’s Social Baked Potato Bar, Moonlight Dink-A-Thon, and the PickleBOO Mixer Round Robin.

Charitable Court Events included a Pickleball Scramble for the Ukraine Fundraiser with funds going to Chef Jose Andres World Central Kitchen, Pickleball Mixer Shoe Drive, Charity Round Robin for Veterans with funds going to the USO, Three Square Food Bank Social Round Robin and “Blankets of Hope” for the Homeless Shelters at the PickleBOO event.  These fundraising events resulted in the Club raising nearly $15,000. 

Competitive Events – Annual Mixed Doubles, Men’s Doubles and Women’s Doubles Tournaments.

Training – Three Beginner Fundamental classes, monthly Beginner Orientation Classes, IPTPA Instructor Class and Intermediate Player Clinic.  Monthly “On the Court” sessions that discussed various topics that brought expert advice and information about pickleball.  A Pickleball Paddle Fair was also held on the courts with several paddle companies present and a discussion on choosing a paddle.

At the Club Annual Membership Meeting, the following Board Members were elected to serve in 2023:

President - Mike Messenger; Vice President – Joan Moore; Secretary – Sharon Proctor; Treasurer – Neal Husak; Board Members at Large – Ruby Leong, Larry Strumwasser and Sheila Gillis.

A special thank you to all the Club volunteers throughout the year – without you, none of this would have been possible.

Club membership beginning January 2022: 392.  Club membership December 31, 2022: 503.