It's Time to Say Goodbye
The original gang of pickleball players in Evergreen.
I have been putting off this last email ‘til the time felt right. Today is that day. These last few months at home I have experienced such peace of mind, that I came to a few life-changing decisions.
In April I resigned as the Evergreen USAPA Ambassador. Pickleball has brought so much joy into my life, and I have so many of you to thank for that! I have enjoyed friendships, and had opportunities of growth and challenges beyond my wildest dreams.
I became an ambassador in May 2016. We had about 50 players at the time, and boy did we grow! So much fun back in those early days where we could all play together. My email list grew to more than 250 players (many coming and going.) It was obvious times were changing.
No longer a small group; far too many players for me to comfortably do whatever it was I used to do. I prided myself on knowing all of our players by name, and advocated for fairness for players of all levels. Back in those days I was often the voice of “Hey let’s meet for happy hour,” or “Picnic at Andy’s’” “Party for Good Larry!” or “Please come to the EPRD Board meeting to support pickleball,” or best of all, “Come play at Marshdale”… and so many of you stepped up and showed up, making Evergreen pickleball the fun and successful program it is today.
So what happens, now that I have resigned? I have good news: Kathy Fasold has agreed (and it’s official she will be the new Evergreen USAPA Ambassador. Kathy, as a long time player, has put so much of her time and support into Evergreen pickleball. She and I have worked together with EPRD and EPC board members. She was one of the original five that Tom Karas put together back in 2016 to address the growth of pickleball, as well as one of the founders of our Evergreen Pickleball Club. Kathy has had great success with her Ladders program, and is now starting a new mentor program to be launched soon.
Kathy will make a great ambassador as she strives to make our Evergreen pickleball program one of the best in the state, if not the country. With your help I know she will succeed.
To those of you (and you know who you are,) I will be forever grateful for your friendship and all the encouragement, your kind and loving words of support for me these last four years.
My future will be full of pickleball. I continue on staff at EPRD as Pickleball Instructor, classes at Marshdale starting in July. Skills and Drills will return with Dr Tom Hornberger and Andy Clark on board with me once Covid-19 is no longer an issue. I am still a Paddletek rep, if anyone is looking for a new paddle. And of course I will see you all out playing pickleball which is what brought us together in the first place.
The Evergreen Pickleball Club is in good hands with a great board who will continue to address our growth and continue to advocate for our players. Bob Taber’s creation of our website has been such a success and he will continue his good work. Where once my name was on all the emails generated from the website now Bonnie Lee is who you will be responding to with regards to news articles.
If you wish to reach me please feel free to contact me at sarahgerman@mac.com.
As always, see you at pickleball!
Sarah