Board Meeting Minutes, Thursday, December 6, 2018, Room 1, Odell Weeks at 5:00PM
In attendance were Joyce Noland, Nancy Vermilye, Chuck Buchanan, Grace Vance, Diane Voss, Dick Diemar, Linda Blake, Mike Beckner, Gene Thomas, Faith Loeb, Beverly Edwards, Barbara Burns and Nancy Racki.
Volunteers for the Round Robin Slam on January 12th
- A Round Robin Slam has been scheduled at the First Presbyterian Church on January 12, 2019.
- Those wishing to enter should use Sign-Up Genius. Space is limited for Round Robin Slam so Interested players should sign up quickly.
- An eblast will be sent to our members requesting volunteers for the January 12th Round Robin Slam to be played at First Presbyterian. Organizers are seeking three people to keep score for both the morning session and the afternoon session.
Social
- Our Christmas Social will take place following the December 6 Board Meeting. Currently, there is no other socials planned in the near future.
Rules Challenge prize winners
- There were two winners announced that participated in the online Rules Challenge. The winners were Kathie Roberts and Debbie Tam. Each player scored a 95% or better. They will each receive a paddle cover with their initials embroidered onto the cover.
- A second Rules Challenge will be offered in January. A passing score might be lowered to 90%. If a player scores an 85% passing score, that player will receive a pickleball.
Hopeland Gardens information and volunteers
- For those who have volunteered to work on December 19, Nancy Vermilye will be sending out an email with instructions.
- Along with these instructions, a parking pass will be available for the volunteers for pick up at the front desk at Odell Weeks.
2018 Fall League update and request for 2019 social league director volunteer
- Unfortunately, there have been many league games cancelled/postponed due to rain outs. Games are still in the process of being rescheduled in order to complete the season.
- Grace Vance suggested that we consider Gregg Park as an alternative for playing pickleball. There is a gym available that could also be used for the league to complete cancelled/postponed games in the future.
- The Spring League is slated to begin in the month of March in 2019.
- We are still in need of a new Social League Director.
Gym 2 Issues
- There were a number of Gym 2 issues that were discussed. Below is the eblast message (summarizing these issues) sent by Joyce and Nancy:
“In answer to the complaints we've received about the slippery floor in Gym 2,
Odell Weeks is planning to schedule one morning a month to do a deep
cleaning. This will be more time-consuming than the regular morning
cleanings and will require that the gym be closed to pickleball until noon on
those days. For December, that day will be the 31st, and for January it will
be the 14th.
Odell Weeks has given us some extra hours on Friday, December 21st. Please
see the calendar for details.
The policy for court reservations has been changed so that a court may be
reserved by two people ONLY if it is still available on the morning of the
reservation. To reserve a court at any time other than the morning on which
the playing time occurs still requires four people.
There was a question about the request for an access code that sometimes
appears on the sign-up screen. This will only appear if the court times
are being entered (or have been entered before the scheduled time). When
the courts are available to be reserved, the access code will be removed.
Unless a notification is sent stating otherwise, the court reservation slots
for both Odell Weeks and First Presbyterian will be posted on the Thursday
preceding the week of the slots between 7:00 AM and 10:00 AM.
December 14th is staff appreciation day at Odell Weeks. If you get a
chance, please let them know that we are grateful for the things they do for
us. It doesn't necessarily need to be on the 14th - just any time
near that date.
Joyce and Nancy”
Update on Marcia Gable’s husband
- Marcia Gable’s husband has arrived back in Aiken in time for the Christmas holiday.
- It was unanimously voted that we collect monies for a flower arrangement to be sent to the Gables. Hopefully this will lift her spirits and show her that our pickleball community is thinking about her.
Chuck Buchanan – Ambassador’s Report
- Our Local Ambassador, Chuck Buchanan, has been working with Seth Holley, park manager of Gregg Park in Graniteville, hoping to develop a pickleball program there. An email was sent by Joyce and Nancy summarizing his progress.
“Chuck Buchanan, our local ambassador, has been working on new places to play
and has discovered a very under-utilized facility in Graniteville: Gregg
Park Civic Center, 119 Trolley Line Rd, Graniteville. Currently there are 4
outdoor pickleball courts, but they have a very large gym that could easily
hold 6 courts.
We are trying to get a head count of people who would be interested in
getting a membership at the facility to play pickleball. If there is enough
interest, they would be willing to get the gym lined and ready for play. We
understand that there will be a substantial amount of available play time.
Currently the membership is $45.00 lifetime to join the facility (until the
end of the year). We understand there will be a price increase next year
but do not have any further information on the increase at this time.
We know that we are in the midst of the holidays but would appreciate your
simply responding to this email with a “yes” if you would be
interested.
Happy Holidays to you all.
Nancy and Joyce”
Attendance Data for November 2018
- Court Reservation Play - 170
- Drop-in Play - 243
- Grand Total 413
Additional Notes
- Nancy Vermilye stated that Mo Garcia may be attempting to secure a grant for pickleball courts to be constructed at Boyd Pond Lake County Park. These would be covered outdoor courts with as many as 16-20 courts available for play 9 to 10 months out of the year on a “free to use” basis. An eblast survey of ten questions will be sent out to our members to obtain data.
- Joyce Nolan wants our members to know how appreciative First Presbyterian Church that our players continue to “donate to play”. These donations are used toward paying utilities. Also, First Presbyterian Church will receive around $500 or more from the Round Robin Slam in January.
Next Meeting
The meeting adjourned at 6:00PM. The next leadership meeting will be held on Monday, January 7, 2019 at 5:30 at Odell Weeks.