Jack Beck, Ambassador, USAPA, Sarasota County, FL.
Jack Beck is the Sarasota County, FL, Ambassador for the USAPA. His mission: "grow pickleball". Pickleball is catching on in Sarasota and Venice in a big way thanks to Beck.
Jack says it all started in January, 2008. With a great group of experienced players like John Haler, Wayne and Betty Tucker, Ron Graf, Jim Whyatt, Russ Cuccia and many others, they gave demonstrations and instructed players on Mondays. With publicity they received from the local Venice paper, they worked with over 180 individuals, sold 90 plus paddles and dozens of balls. Some people were already experienced players and came with paddles in hand looking for someone to play with.
Meet Jack Beck Sarasota County, FL.
Russ Cuccia, Ambassador, USAPA, Venice, Fl
Russ was born in White Plains, New York. It was 42 years ago at the age of 12 that he moved to Venice Florida, where he still resides today. It was December of 2007 when Russ’s wife read an article in the local newspaper about Pickleball being introduced at a local park. He and his wife (who I am told is an excellent dessert chef!) attended one of the very first pickleball demonstrations at Foxworthy Park in Venice, hosted by fellow Ambassador, Jack Beck. Both he and his wife were hooked on the game, instantly bought their paddles and have been playing ever since.
Meet Russ Cuccia, Venice, Florida
Rich and Donna Donald, Joint Ambassadors, New Tampa FL.
Rich and I reside in MeadowPointe II in Wesley Chapel, Florida and work as a Team as Joint Ambassadors for the New Tampa area.
Like most people in Florida, we are from somewhere else. We were both born in upstate New York and relocated with our jobs to Florida in 1994 and have made this sunny State our home.
Actually, we should probably say that we have made this our “home base”.
In August of 2008, Donna was appointed as the Atlantic South's Regional Ambassador, replacing Richard "Greenie" Greenfield.
Meet the Donalds Donna and Rich Donald, Joint Ambassadors, New Tampa, FL
Jerry Eamer
USAPA Ambassador, Conway, SC
Please extend your best Atlantic South Welcome to Jerry Eamer, our newest Ambassador representing Conway, South Carolina. Jerry and his wife are both enjoying retirement now. They originate from the Rochester and Watertown area in upstate NY and relocated to SC about three years ago. Jerry has always enjoyed sports, especially tennis and racquet ball and so when he was introduced to pickelball just a year ago he was immediately addicted and committed to promoting this new sport.
Jerry tells us there are currently about 40 players in his area; a small group that plays in his community and a larger group who play in nearby Myrtle Beach.
One of his first goals was to attract new USAPA members and during his first month, he brought 7 new members into our pickleball family. He has already been in contact with the local parks and recreation department as well as a private recreation club to introduce the game. He is excited about trying to introduce pickleball into the local Senior Games and working with other local ambassadors in NC and SC to build some competitive tournament play.
Welcome aboard Jerry!
Ambassadors from
Canton, Ga.
Dr. Tom and Ann Earley....
.....sporting their Silver Medals from the 2009 Masters Mixed Doubles at Palm Creek
Originally from Urbana, Illinois, Tom is a retired Orthopedic Surgeon for Small Animals. He owned two surgical clinics in the Atlanta area - Greater Atlanta Veterinary Referral Surgical Practice in Roswell and Marietta. He has been a veterinary surgeon and also taught at the University of Georgia Veterinary School in Athens, Georgia. He retired 7+ years ago but still maintains a position as the President of Foalert, Inc. and travels to horse shows and equine veterinary conferences on occasion.
Born on a ranch in North Texas, Ann is a retired harpsichordist after playing with the Munich Chamber Orchestra, Smithsonian Chamber Orchestra, and as a CAMI soloist with various chamber orchestras across the USA. She also taught private piano lessons for over 25 years. After a hand problem, she completed a Mechanical Engineering degree from Georgia Tech and worked five years for Qualtest, Inc. as a testing services engineer. She retired in 2003 to travel with her husband, Tom.
The Earleys have no children, but had horses until 2007. They have two chocolate standard poodles, Freddie (12) and Bocce (3), and 13 heritage turkeys (Narragansett's, Standard Bronze, and Bourbon Reds). They live on a 15 acre horse farm in North Georgia/Cherokee County and have their own vegetable garden. Ann teaches an Adult Music Appreciation class for her friends/neighbors.
When not playing pickleball, they enjoy Bocce with their neighbors. Both are avid baseball fans.
Tom and Ann bought the balls, paddles, nets, posts and everything else they needed to convert local tennis courts to four lighted pickleball courts, which is now the home of the North Georgia Pickleball Club. Pickleball , Pickleball Socials, and Round Robin Tournaments are an everyday event.
Here is a link to the story we did about Tom and Ann and their North Georgia Club.
Read More About the Earley's and N. Georgia Pickleball
Meet Tom Gardner -
USAPA Ambassador
The Villages, Florida
"My wife Janet and I moved to the Villages on a part time basis in August, 2004 and made it permanent in December, 2007. We are both native Illinoisans and lived there our entire life until moving here. We have three children and 3 1/2 grandchildren.
I spent my professional career of 35 years at State Farm Insurance working in the investment dept. My wife was a homemaker(she claims this as the priority) but also had her own interior design business.
I have been active in sports all my life including baseball and basketball on the varsity level as an undergraduate at the Univ of Wisconsin. When my children were growing and involved in sports I was involved coaching various youth teams and also was one of four gentleman involved in the creation of the PONY baseball program in Bloomington, Il. This involved creating leagues for youth from the age of 5 to 18 and at the time I left included nearly 1000 kids.
With our background, it was important that we find an active community when we retired. The Villages fit the bill and it was here that we were introduced to pickleball. I have been playing it for nearly 5 years. It is on the courts where we have established many friendships. It is a great sport and one that we know can be enjoyed at many different levels "
Former Regional Ambassador for the Atlantic South Region - Dick "Greenie" Greenfield
By Dick Manasseri and Donna Donald
Richard "Geenie" Greenfield, a native of Royal Oak, Michigan was recently appointed as the USAPA Regional Ambassador for the Atlantic South Region, which includes Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina. For the past several years he & his wife Kathy, and his favorite caninie companion, Molly, an 11 year old Gordon Setter, have resided at The Villages FL where he is a Pickleball instructor with a great passion for our game.
"Greenie', as he is known to his friends, graduated from Central Michigan University and received an MBA from NYU. He served in Vietnam as a Lt. in the US Army. His business career includes achievements in several areas including hospitaility, real estate, and manufacturing.
During his travels, he continued to pursue his health and fitness goals which included marathons and triathlons. Above all, Greenie is a great family man and his extended family includes all the Pickeball players he can create. He loves to teach the game to friends of all ages.
Greenie and Kathy, along with their daughter Corey have raised over $100,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society with their tireless efforts to create and sustain the Craig Greenfield Triathlon and Duathlon event which is held every August in Clarkston, Michigan in honor of Greenie's son, Craig. Thousands of athletes enjoy this wonderful event every year and they hear the story of Craig's life, a life that was too short, but long enough to remind us all of the precious gift we each have.
Greenie is using his energies these days as an active leader in a Region where Pickleball is truly THE sport of choice for many athletes, both young and older. Says Greenie, "I love good pickleball and spread it wherever, whenever and however I can.......I am attempting to break the Worlds Guiness Record of Assembly (12,500) for the most pickleball players in one gated Retirement Community."
Mike Heinke, USAPA Ambassador,
The Villages, Fl
Mike is a native of Dayton, Ohio, and resided in the Buckeye State until his 2005 discovery of The Villages. Mike is a graduate of the University of Dayton, where he earned a BS in Education in 1969 and from there he launched what would be a 35½ career in teaching at the high school level.
As an avid sports fan, he quickly immersed himself in high school sports, serving as a high school basketball, baseball, and football coach during his professional teaching tenure. Coaching was not a casual pastime for Mike… he is a Past President of the State of Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association (the second largest high school baseball association in the country.) and Past President of the Miami Valley Baseball Coaches Association.
Meet Mike Heinke
Meet Jim Hisman
USAPA Ambassador, Charleston, SC.
Jim is originally from upstate NY, born in the Catskill Mountains, and worked in the I.T. field in Binghamton, NY for 37 years. When he retired, he relocated to Summerville, SC in 2007 and moved to Del Webb Charleston at Cane Bay in 2008. In his earler years, Jim was an avid golfer and softball player. Now he plays pickleball.
The Del Webb community where he currently lives, is a brand new community just northeast of Charleston and has just over two hundred homes already sold" the plan is for over 1,000. Already they have recruited 40 members for their pickleball club.
Jim tells us, "Del Webb had two pickleball courts just newly completed and nobody knew anything about the game, so a few of us organized a Pickleball Club at the start of this year and it has been growing ever since." The club is all ready looking into the possibility of more courts as we will need them as our community grows.
The club has been concentrating on learning the game and the rules and they really love the game. Jm says "We have started with two competitive divisions and two novice divisions in the doubles ladder leagues and we are just getting ready to launch our challenge ladder leagues in Men's and Women's Singles, Men's and Women's Doubles, and Mixed Doubles."
Sounds like this club is making some great progress. We look forward to hearing more about their fun events and ladder league play.
Bob Huskey , USA Pickleball Ambassador for Lee County Alabama
Bob Huskey, age 57, has been very active in sports
throughout his life. His two main sports through his adult life have been golf and racquetball. He was introduced to golf at a young age, and played on his high school golf team, lettering 3 years. He continues to play golf nowadays with a 4 handicap.
His racquetball career started in his late twenties. He was so taken by
racquetball that playing 10 tournaments a year became the standard. During his career he won 7 individual Alabama State singles titles and 6 Alabama State doubles titles. He also won many other titles at other tournaments. He was inducted to the Alabama Racquetball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Meet Bob Huskey, Lee County, AL
Chuck Keller, Ambassador, USAPA, Sebring, FL
Chuck is originally from St. Charles, IL. After high school, he joined the Air Force, about the same time the U.S. was deploying its missile systems. Obviously noting his disregard for rationale thought, Chuck's Air Force superiors never allowed him to get too close to those red buttons.
Then he joined the CA Hwy. Patrol (we like to call him CHIPpy). He finished college and applied to the Navy Criminal Investigation Service. Upon acceptance he became a Special Agent (so now he has cultivated that rationale thought thing). Chuck, and his wife, Kathy, spent the next 23 years traveling the Far East and Europe, in the NCIS. They raised three sons, all now married – one in MI, and two in VA. Those sons have presented them with 8 grandchildren. Chuck and Kathy initially retired to Virginia Beach, but have been in Tanglewood in Sebring, Fl. now for 7 years.
The Past Ambassador of The Atlantic South Region- Neal Nightingale
Neal Nightingale has been active in the sports world for over 65 years. His past experiences include an extensive variety of sports involvement, both in the sports participation and sports education arena.Neal has won championships by himself, as well as with fellow team players, through competition in Football, Basketball, Tennis, Lawn Bowling and Pickleball. He has won State Championships in Pickleball Men’s Singles and Doubles and holds the title of World Champion in both Men’s Single’s and Doubles Pickleball. He is a four time World Champion.
Meet Neal Nighingale,Past Regional Ambassador, Atlantic South
Wayne Roswell, USAPA, Former Ambassador, Sebring Florida
This Atlantic South USAPA Blog would still be a "good idea" for most of us it were not for Wayne. Yes, he's the original 'creator' of this great site.
While no longer an Ambassador for the Atlantic South Region, Wayne is still considered one of the best 'leaders' in our Region and one of the most impressive promoters of this game.
Here is an article that Wayne wrote to introduce himself to the Region . I think it was the very first real article posted to the site. Enjoy
Meet Wayne Roswell
Dennis Sarlo
USAPA Ambassador
The Villages, Fl
Dennis Sarlo, our neweset Ambassador from The Villages, Fl, is originally from New York. He relocated to The Villages part time in 2004 and then full time in 2006. As a former New York City school principal, Dennis fully understands the importance of physical activity and exercise for keeping a body healthy and a mind active.
As a member of the Geezers and Gals, pickleball league that plays regularly at the Bacall Rec Center, Dennis does not hesitate to take the lead, or to work with other leaders in the group in bringing the best of training and fun to the whole group.
Pickleball Clinics and Pizza are a regular staple for this group!
"I enjoy a variety of sports here in The Villages; the enormity of the offerings is one of the reasons for moving here,"Dennis says. "However, I would say that my first choice in sports is pickleball. I enjoy the physical activity of running and hitting, the strategy of anticipating a shot, and the friendship of the many pickleball players here in The Villages. Pickleball is probably one of the most popular sports giving each person of every level the opportunity to participate. I’m happy to serve as an Ambassador and encourage more and more people to try the game; I’m confident that they will enjoy it! "
Mary and Mike Selby, Ambassadors USAPA, Ashville, NC.
Welcome to the newest ambassadors to the Atlantic South Region - Mary and Mike Selby
Mary and Mike Selby are pickleball-aholics………..and have been since they were introduced to the game about 8 years ago by Bob and Bev Youngren. They owned an RV and when they visited a park in California and played for the first time……..they were hooked!
Shortly after learning the game, they loved it SO much and wanted to play whenever they wished, they built a court in their yard in Fallbrook, California just outside of San Diego. They put in a concrete court with a small fence at the rear with commercial grade lights so they could play into the wee hours of the morning…..and they often did! They had wonderful neighbors who played with them, so that really helped! They even built a little shed to house a toilet and refrigerator so no one would have to go up to the main house while they were playing. "We played a LOT of pickleball…..and had a LOT of new friends!" says Mary.
Meet Mary and Mike Selby
John Simpson, Ambassador, USAPA, Charlotte, NC
John Simpson is a doctor of psychology in his home town of Charlotte, South Carolina. John plays on a regular basis on the tennis courts of his town house complex with friends.
John has travel to the Huntsman Games in Utah to participate and meet fellow members of the USAPA.
I had the pleasure of playing with John on the streets of Mt Olive, North Carolina during the Pickle Festival last April. In order to promote Pickleball, John encourage the organizers of the festival to hold a Pickleball event as part of the festivities. Five players put on a demonstration of Pickleball for the crowd. This shows the kind of effort John is willing to go to in order to expand Pickleball in his home state.
Tim and Laura Statum,
Joint Ambassadors, Jefferson County, AL
Tim and I live in Graysville, Alabama and are Joint Ambassadors for Jefferson County. We have both always enjoyed sports and enjoy playing all types of games together, from checkers to ping pong to pickleball. My father and step mother have started a yearly tradition of spending a month at The Villages in Florida. We went down to visit them one year and they introduced us to pickleball and we fell in love with it. When we returned to Alabama, we were determined to find somewhere to play, however were quite disappointed to find out there was only one court and that it was located about 2 hours away, which is owned by Lee County, Alabama Ambassador Bob Huskey! Tim began talking to our Mayor about the possibility of painting pickleball court lines on Graysville’s tennis courts. The Mayor agreed that it would be a great idea, so now Graysville has two outdoor pickleball courts.
On May 30, 2009, we held a demonstration and introduced Pickleball to our community, which went very well. Bob Huskey was able to come from Opelika, Alabama and brought with him Pine Hill, Georgia Ambassador Cindy Moore. We enjoyed having them. They provided great assistance and played a very important part in making our demonstration a success.
Tim is a stand-up comedian and travels all over the country. He talks to as many people that will listen about Pickleball. He is also a guest on a local weekly radio show and talks about Pickleball every week. I am a paralegal at a local law firm and while I certainly don’t reach as many people as Tim does, I tell as many people about it as I can. We invite everyone to either play or watch us play on the courts in Graysville. We are hoping everyone will love it as much as we do. We want to promote the game as much as possible and are hoping to spread the word.
Robert G. Taylor
USAPA Ambassador, Anna Maria Island, FL.
Bob Taylor has spent most of his life with one kind of a racquet or another in his hand. It was 65 years ago, at the age of 13 that he started playing Badminton in Stratford, Ontario. He played the game for 30 years. While attending the University of Western Ontario, Bob served as the captain of the University’s Badminton Team for four years. During this same period Bob also enjoyed playing squash and tennis. While residing in Washington DC, he took on the competitive sport of racquetball until he retired in 1994.
Meet Robert "Bob" Taylor
Liz Velazquez
USAPA Ambassador
