Minutes from the Leadership Team Meeting held at Odell Weeks on Monday, October 6th, 2025.
Members Present: George Carr, Dean Cheatham, Mo Garcia, Marian Garcia, Brian Eberhard, Jay Wilson, Linda Blake, Jean Villa, Heidi Abele, Marcia Stivanson, Jordyn Balba, Bret Howell, (City representative) and Rochelle Bergren.
A. New member introduction: Rochelle Bergren has agreed to be the interim API Secretary and will be taking the minutes for this meeting.
B. Unfinished Business: -
Freaky Fridays were on hold due to room availability for pizza and OW closures in October. The Leadership Team (LT) agreed that Freaky Fridays will be held on October 10th and 17th from 6:00 to 8:30 PM in gym 2. Free pickleball clinics will run from 6 to 7PM, followed by open play through 8:30 PM. A table will be manned outside of the gym with cookies and candy. Mo will donate a paddle for each date and a gift certificate for one lesson for each date (1 with Mo and 1 with Harve). Raffle tickets will also be available for the free drawings. An update will be posted to the API website and social media site. Normal court reservations may be scheduled from 4-6 PM for all 6 courts.
Room update: Bret confirmed that API can get 1 room but not 2 due to the allotted rooms per year (4) already met. A discrepancy for the allotted rooms per year was discovered and will be looked into further. API should not be required to start paying for rooms needed to support City approved pickleball events when they have been previously provided for free. Bret will send a message to Jessica to look into this further.
C. Donations - Last year API donated $100 of candy for the City’s Halloween event. All members agreed to do the same this year. The candy needed for Freaky Friday will be separate and Marian will purchase both.
D. Feedback from player representatives: Jay reported that players are interested in volunteering but are unsure how to become involved. Note - They just need to send an email to AikenPickleball@gmail.com
Jay reported that some players have inquired on how the voting procedure will happen. Previous information posted on the website has been confusing. Note - A new clarification article has been posted on the website. Any further questions should be submitted by email to AikenPickleball@gmail.com.
Jay reported that the API website needed an update. The software is no longer supported for updates.
E. Gregg Park (Brian): GP is closed today (6th), Thursday (9th), and on the 18th for camps. The next New Player’s Clinic is scheduled for 10/25 (NPP 11/1). The October clinic participation will determine if future clinics are continued monthly or every other month.
F. Smith Hazel/Odell and Virginia Acres (George): This month’s New Player Clinic at Odell was held on Saturday (October 4th) and had 7 participants. Linda’s New Players Practice is scheduled this coming Saturday (10/11).
The November calendar will probably not include Saturday’s due to basketball and there will be no New Players Clinics until Saturday court time is restored (March/April). API will look into holding outdoor New Player Clinics during this period, although the unpredictable weather is a factor.
Indoors at OW will be closed starting October 20th for resurfacing and will remain closed through November 4th. It will re-open for pickleball on November 5th.
G. 2025 Fall League (Mo/Jordyn): Fall league participation is down from spring. 240 participants were registered in the spring and currently fall participation is at 170 players, which is still a great turnout. Better participation is anticipated in the coming spring.
Someone is putting “white lives matter” stickers on the outdoor courts.This has occurred twice and has been reported to the city. It is currently unknown when the stickers are being placed, although most likely at night. This is a second occurrence as it happened one other day last week.
H. Toys for Tots & Golden Harvest Outdoor Event-Nov. 22:
This annual event is scheduled for November 22, and someone is needed to run the event. Mike was suggested and will be invited to the November meeting to discuss this with him.
I. Financial Report (Dean): API currently has about the same amount of money as last month. Dean clarified that API was down approximately $5000 from last year at this same time, which was related to reduced registration fees and sponsorship income of the Palmetto compared to last year. The current balance is closer to $20,000.
J. Elections for Board Members (Dean):
Dean will make up a new statement for the API website with clarifications regarding elections. Once the updated article is released, it will be placed online, on social media, on the bulletin board, etc.…
There are currently two board vacancies (Joyce and Faith), but there is a need for at least 3 as it is felt that the board should be bigger than 5 members. A bigger board ensures that directors and officers are not on both. The board members handle oversight where officers maintain day to day functions.
In anticipation of election, Mo suggested reviewing the organizational chart and updating it before and after the process and that the board members can come from there. Note: This is currently being done.
Another suggestion offered that it might be best to hold an election for the board of directors, then once voted on, let the new board of directors elect the leaders. Note: That is exactly what is going to happen.
Jay asked how the general public gets the information? The website has minutes of all monthly meetings that the public are able to read. Jay stated there are no clarifications of roles, which holds people back from volunteering or involvement in API. Currently, no one has submitted interest or nominations for election. It was suggested to have an open meeting for the public as we get closer to the election process, which could also be a question/answer period. Note: The Leadership roles are listed on the website under the Information tab.
The current AASPL status was clarified that it is run through the city and is considered a city league. In regard to these same people causing league disruptions, USAP was contacted and inquired about the authority of a league director to exclude any player. The response received was that it is completely up to the league director.
K. What else is happening? (Mo):
No current update on outdoor court resurfacing was available. If it doesn’t happen by the end of October, it probably won’t happen until spring due to weather.
There is currently a discussion about bringing a top notch outdoor pickleball event to Aiken. Once the idea is formed, it will be brought to the group and voted on. This would be a large multi-day, 400-600 registered participant tournament.
L. Final comments (around the table)
When a new president is announced, he/she will be introduced to Jessica with the city. It is hopeful that this will happen soon to address MOU and clarify the room issue.
Next Meeting Monday November 10, 2025, 5:30 at OW