Minutes for May 4 meeting

MINUTES FOR MAY 4, 2023 MEETING  -  Forums: Leadership Team:

May 4th Leadership Committee Meeting-Members present were:  George Carr, Joyce Noland, Faith Loeb, Linda Blake, Jay Wilson, Lori King, Christina Thompson, Debbie Rossetti, Brian Eberhard, John McCowan, Marcia Stivanson, Jody Madden, Cindy Ogden, Dean Cheatham, Marian Garcia, Mo Garcia, 

Welcome to meeting newcomers:

Welcome Dean Cheatham - He is our  new Treasurer.  

Feedback from player reps:

Brian Eberhard:  Gregg Park-  Brian fixed 6-8 barriers that were broken.  Two of the short divider screens have hooks that are broken, he asked GP to repair them and they agreed.  Brian is also going to try to get a couple new nets from GP.

Linda Blake:  Things are going well with the beginners practice.  There are 21 signed up for the beginner games.  The beginners are starting to form groups and reserve courts for play.

Jody Madden:  The center post on a couple of the nets are frayed and it makes it difficult to fit the pole in the slot to stabilize the net in the center.  George  mentioned there are red cards in the storage room, write the problem with the net, poles, etc on the card and attach the red card to the net bag so Mo can see it for repair.

Gregg Park Summer Smash Round Robin:

Joyce reported that volunteers are signing up for the event but still need more participation.  The total is now 70 players up from 53 at the day of our meeting in response to an eblasts asking for players.  Still need 3.0 and 3.5 men’s doubles as , not many have signed up for these brackets.

Calendar Schedule Update:

Brian reported that OW is prompt in getting schedule info to him so he can keep our calendar updated.  GP is slower and not as prompt.  SH is also very prompt with their info to him.  Some players are still reserving courts and either not cancelling, not showing up or cancelling too late, it was discussed.  Linda Blake suggested taking names & bringing it to the attention of the players at fault. Lately, it hasn’t been a problem, we have a lot of indoor courts that are not being reserved, probably due to nice weather, family visiting or travel.

API Membership:

Joyce stated that API membership drive will be tabled for awhile, due to resistance from some players. Also there are a lot of logistics involved and the Summer Smash,  the Palmetto Tournament, and completing the 501c3 need to take priority.  Once the Palmetto Tournament is past we will re-visit.  A Membership Committee is needed to iron out the details and logistics before it is re-announced to the players. 

Pre-reserving courts:

George commented that they will no longer be able to pre-reserve indoor courts for private Round Robins.  Courts are for everyone - pre-reserving is ok if the event is open to everyone.

Palmetto Tournament:

Jay reported that he and Jody approached The Feed Sack for a tournament sponsorship, Feed Sack has a corporate office that needs to approve any sponsorships.  Jody and Jay will follow up - need to get more local business sponsorships.  George suggested using the API logo on letterhead for thank you notes to have a more professional look when approaching business and thank businesses for their support and consideration.   Jay said he would get the logo added.   Mo suggested going to Ortho & Physical Therapy clinics for sponsorships. Mo also reminded the committee to add Paddletek, Engage, Pickleball Central to our sponsorship list.  The Volunteer sign-up has been added to the website & is up & running.  Mo suggest that “Palmetto Doubles Tournament” be printed on the lanyards.  

Financial Report:

Faith reported that we receiving funds though Stripe directly  into our checking account from t-shirt sales, registration to the Summer Smash and Palmetto tournament.  If we get a strong turn out for the Palmetto,   API should be able to cover all of our upcoming expenses for the tournament and new business expenses as a result for the 2023 incorporating of Aiken Pickleball .  

Ambassador’s report:

Mo said he was lobbying with the city to convert the tennis courts at Eustis Park to pickleball courts.  The tennis courts are not used.  A lot of players play at Eustis and it would give them two additional courts. At OW, converting tennis courts to six new pickleball courts has begun, Completion is expected mid May.  Celebration social is scheduled for Tuesday May 23 with potluck dinner followed by open play. 

There are 4 new courts in Barnwell and also 4 new courts in Blackwell.  

There is a need for an Ambassador for the Aiken area, if there is an interest see Mo.  

Miscellaneous:

An idea was presented to put on a Grand Opening Social to celebrate the additional outdoor courts at OW.  It would be a way to have an open presentation and short discussion about API, the reason behind Aiken Pickleball becoming incorporated & expenses involved annually. Also, it would be an opportunity discuss memberships 

Jay will ask Allison to make us a poster announcing the covered dish social and George/Joyce will post an article on the API website.  The social is scheduled to be held May 23.

Also, we need to avoid posting notices on the glass doors, notices need to be posted on the bulletin board.  

 

Next meetings are scheduled for June 12 & July 10 @ 5:15pm.