Pickleballers Roy Carroll, Bill Lee, and Kathy Smith present Clarke Middle principal, Tad Macmillion, a check for $1000 from contributions of summer players.
 Thanks to the money made at the Pickled Peach Valentine Classic these past two years, the Association wanted to help a few local charities with gifts of $800 each. Pictured above from left to right is Nelda VanShoick presenting to Joan Prittie of Project safe, Roy Carroll presenting to Rory Mathisen of Mercy Health Center, and Larry King presenting to Stacey Purdue of Interfaith Hospitality Network. Once again your hard work has helped make a difference in our community.
 The first annual FUNraiser Round Robin Tournament is on the calender for May 19 at Lay Park. This year’s proceeds will benefit the Dolly Parton's Imagination Library program in our area. A suggested donation is $31 which is tax deductable and will give one child an age-appropriate book each month for a year. 60 players means 60 children get book a book each month over the next 12 months.
There will be 5-6 people in each group so get your friends and sign up with you. Click here for a pdf application form to join this event and let Nelda know that you’ll be playing. Can’t play but still want to donate? Contact Nelda VanSchoick 705-201-3313. Or mail a check made out to DPIL to Nelda at 1001 Hammond Creek Trail, Watkinsville, GA 30677. EDIT: Photos of the event on the Gallery Page. EDIT 2: $2551 HAS BEEN RAISED TO DATE!! CONGRATULATIONS AND THANK YOU.   For the second year, we've teamed up with the UGA Athletic Association to promote and play pickleball with the UGA women's tennis team. We hope you can come to play pickleball and watch the final home match against Mizzou on Saturday, April 14th. We'll start playing at 9:30 am, stop to cheer on the tennis team at 11 am, and play even more pickleball after the match ends. The Athletic Association will provide free pizza and t-shirts during the tennis match. Before and after watching tennis, we'll play on at least eight pickleball courts. Please reply here (jamiecalkin@gmail.com or schmidtm@uga.edu) if you are interested in coming and/or have any questions.  One of our goals for the tournament was to donate to local charities that aid those living in the greater ACC area. We asked the AAPA board and the tournament steering committee to come up with a list to chose from. Not wanting to spread the donations too thin, we deciced to divide it among three organizations that do great work in our community. Project Safe, Interfaith Hospitality Network of Athens, and Mercy Health Center will each recieve $800. Once again, thank you to all who worked so hard on the tournament which made this possible.
Update - April, 27, 2018: Dear Pickleball Friends, I work at the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Athens (IHNA) and want to express our sincere thanks for your generous $800 donation! Our organization supports homeless families, housing them in faith congregation buildings and providing wrap around support services. 80-85% of our families find jobs and permanent housing and get back on their feet. There are many working poor who provided a three month cushion of support can regain stable lives. Did you know that Athens Clarke County is one of the poorest in the country? IHN is a national organization. It is not a religious organization but has faith congregation partners. In Athens we have 38 congregations in our network and over 1000 volunteers. This includes Islamic, Christian, Jewish, Mormon, Unitarian, Christian Science, Quaker and other traditions. It’s a beautiful example of a diverse group of people serving together to make a difference! Thank you again for your contribution to support homeless families in Athens. Stacy Pardue  AAPA members Larry King and Bill Lee present Lay Park representative Melody a check for $250 to help with kids programs.
 AAPA members Tom Senyitko, Larry King, Craig Rudow, and Bill Lee present East Side Community Center representative Desmond Watkins a check for $250 to help with kids programs.
36 Athens area players participated which made up 18% of all players. 43 of the medals (20%) went to Athens area players. Congratulations too all. 
 If you're new to pickleball and buying your first paddle, or have been playing with a beginner's paddle for a while and are ready to step up to a paddle that fits your style of play, then we recommend you go to Pickleball Central and read through their extensive paddle guide. It will point you in the right direction on making a wise purchasing decision. Also you can call Pickleball Central (or any paddle manufacturer) and tell them what you're looking for. Their knowledgeable staff will point you in the right direction.
But do know that not all paddles with the same specs will feel the same. Even two of the identical paddle at different weights will feel different, so we suggest coming out to play and try as many member's paddles as possible before investing in your own. When you're ready to buy a paddle go to our links & discounts page to get a 5% discount at Pickelball Central or go directly to the manufacturer's website. Pickleball Central and most manufacturers will let you try a paddle (or multiple paddles) for up to 30 days and return it/them for a full refund or exchange. You just pay the shipping. This also allows you to try a number of paddles and just keep the one you like best. (Photo by Dr. J) |
Athens PickleballRoy Carroll 
“Two years ago at an annual physical, my physician asked me what I was doing differently. I told him I could only think of one thing… |
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