Sometimes all it takes is one person: one person with a passion, an idea, and the drive to make things happen. Ben Lacy was that person behind the founding of Southern Pickleball Academy. Without Ben, the Southern Pickleball Academy would not be where it is today, having provided pickleball equipment to 20 schools in the Aiken area, developing the youth program called First Paddle, and involving our community in pickleball gatherings such as Pickleball and Pizza. One person...that's all it takes.
Abby Sullivan is another One. I first met Abby on the pickleball courts at Pickleball and Pizza. Abby has a demanding job as a Foster Care and Adoption Specialist with Bethany Christian Services of Georgia. She also has two teenage kids who take up bandwidth in her life. Yet pickleball has become an important part of her life, providing a social outlet, a stress reliever, and a fun way to achieve physical fitness.
This past Thursday, I had the chance to see Abby in action. Abby has been on fire to start a pickleball club at her son's Silver Bluff High School. With our support, Abby arranged for a school sponsor for a club and set up a sign-up table during the school's lunch hours. I watched Abby meet and greet these students with her infectious warm smile, her enthusiasm contagious as she signed up some 46 students and staff members for an organizational meeting of their pickleball club. I have no doubt that this club will soon be playing pickleball and these students will soon be filled with the same passion for the sport that Abby and so many of us already have. The power of One!
You can listen to more of Abby's pickleball story in a podcast that was just released:
But Abby is not the only One. Within our Southern Pickleball Academy community we have other Ones who share their talents and abilities as we all work together to bring pickleball to our communities and especially to our youth. A photographer. A screenplay writer. A communicator. A people person. A business person. A fundraiser. All these and more have supported our efforts, each One adding their part toward our mission of "Healthy Youth and Communities Through Pickleball."
Each One contributes what they can with the time and resources that they have. A little bit of time here or there, helping with a group or solo, in front of a computer or out on the courts, working with kids or adults: there's room for each One in the Southern Pickleball Academy. Could you be that One?
Do you want to know more about pickleball in Aiken and what the Academy is doing? We're holding an Academy Meetup on March 11 at a local Mexican restaurant to do just that. No pressure: just a fun social gathering with folks who have a passion for pickleball and who like to eat! Hope you can join us! (Sign-ups are appreciated so we know how many to expect.)
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