Minutes for September Leadership Team Meeting September 18, 2023.
Members Present: - Ben Stevens, Marian Garcia, Brian Eberhard, Lori King, Cheryl Breidenbach, George Carr, Dean Cheatham, Joyce Noland, Faith Loeb, Mo Garcia, Lisa Barrett-Johnson, Linda Blake, Kiss Gunther, Heidi Abele, and guest Hany Roman.
1. Feedback from player Reps:
Kiss-Kiss generally plays outdoors and some of those she plays with thought $35 was too expensive for an outdoor tourney which will be held in late October. Other members at the meeting stated that $35 was very reasonable for this type of tourney. We all realize that Kiss is just the messenger! Kiss will relay messages back to the players and encourage them to sign up. Most players don’t realize we have to pay the City a fee to use the outdoor courts for an event.
Linda-There has been decent turnout for new players practice. All going well with positive comments from the participants.
Lori- Brought up the closure of the gym on Wednesdays for dog training. The canines are scratching floors, yet we aren’t allowed to drag dividers. This was puzzling to her and others. Joyce stated that we don’t have a say of what activities go on or when. Note: Dog training was observed and they are not scratching the floors.
Lori stated that some players are questioning why we don’t have other divisions at the RR tournament. Joyce responded that the RR is only one day which limits the number of events.
Faith had another question concerning dog training. She wondered if the training could be moved to gym 1, since in the past Gym 1 is where they had it. Again Joyce reiterated that we have no control over the gym usage and stated that we have lost more gym time since we became incorporated. Note: Checked with the front desk - there are other sporting events scheduled for Gym 1.
Mo stated that Smith Hazel will be shutting down in the near future for renovations too. Renovations now schedule to start in November.
Marian stated people are mad about gym time being shut down on Wednesdays. She also said the outdoor courts may be shut down for an upcoming tennis tournament. She suggested in communicating the reason courts are unavailable on the website. People are more understanding if the reason behind closures are known. She also stated that the outdoor tourney is a good reason to show off the new courts. Note: the reason is usually on the calendar. It would be a duplication of effort to post it on the website. A copy of the Odell calendar of monthly events is now posted on our bulletin board.
Brian-GP will have all current court time in October.
2. Outdoor tournament on October 21. Mixed Doubles and Singles will be held on one day. There will be a separate Youth tournament in the evening. The age limit is to those under 18 with the cost being $10.
LBJ-Has heard that local tournaments are difficult to play in because players say we play the same people all the time. People are also concerned about the rain. It was stated that there will always be naysayers and we will still hold events for those who want to participate. Also, this tournament is for a good cause, Parkinson Disease, in Memory of Nelson.
Ben and Kiss are co-tourney directors. Ben stated that the gate is not in yet. Benches will be moved for the tourney so players have places to put items. Mo stated that gates should be put in this week as well as the footpath along Two Notch Rd.
Mo stated that outdoor handball courts will be torn down next month.
Medals will be given.
Ben wondered if volunteers have the issue/risk of being background checked. Mo did not think so.
Faith wanted to know if we could get more benches from the city. Mo will check into this. Ben wondered if benches could be donated.
Lori brought up that one of the sanction rules is that there is a 10 minute break between matches. We might have to factor this in with the outdoor tourney since it will be hotter and bathroom facilities are further away.
Cheryl brought up not setting precedent about giving a large sum of money in memory of a player who has passed away. She suggested having a plaque on a bench with names of previous players. Joyce stated that the profits from this outdoor RR will be used for Parkinson’s related pickleball projects, approximately $500 - $1000, but the exact amount contributed to Parkinson’s will be discussed again after the tournament, after we know what the profit will be from the RR. Cheryl thought that was a lot and there would be nothing wrong with building up the AP reserves. Discussion was tabled for the time being. We have sufficient reserves set aside to cover our reoccurring expenses for next year.
3. The Palmetto Doubles Tournament will be the first weekend in August, 2024, honoring the Beckners. This is also the 10th year anniversary. Save the date!
4. League-Kiss
The league will be finished next week. One team dropped out. There will be a small party after the league is done. Pins will be given instead of medals. Most members appreciated the giving of pins.
5. LBJ Little corner of the court. There is an article on inclusiveness on the website. She encouraged all to read and let her know what we think. During Drop in play some people are being rude. We want to prevent this from happening. George stated that it's good that our program works; individuals contacting representatives who can mention these happenings at the meeting.
6. Ongoing/upcoming-George
A. Drills with LBJ. Great response . All dates will be filled.
B. New Player Clinic. All full. Mo suggests we maintain 1 instructor to 8 participant ratio. Sign ups are limited to 8 players.
C. New Player Practice. Faith/Linda….great job.
D. Rating session. Only one person signed up. Once we get three, Mo will schedule.
7. Update on 501c3-Faith - She received a letter from the IRS. There was a new form that needed to be filled out. It was filled out and returned. She has a name of a contact person who she will continue to communicate with to get this all worked out. We have now heard back that our request has been forwarded with a recommendation for approval. Confirmation pending. No idea when we will receive final notification but hopefully within the next month or two.
8. Ambassador Update-Mo had stated all his activity during the meeting so there was nothing new to report.
9. Closing Comments: Joyce introduced Hany Roman who wants to be involved with the committee.
The meeting ended at 6:30. The next meeting will be Nov. 13 at 4:00 PM.