The Pickleball Club is now holding elections for three open positions on the 2025 pickleball club board during the week of November 8 -15, 2024. There are 3 candidates. Their bios and pictures are below the ballot.
YOU ARE VOTING FOR 3 CANDIDATES.
If you want to add a write-in name, please ensure that they are willing to serve on the PB Club Board this coming year.
YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE AN EMAIL CONFIRMATION THAT YOU VOTED. ONCE YOU VOTE, YOU SHOULD SEE A MESSAGE AT THE TOP OF THE BALLOT THAT THANKS YOU FOR VOTING.
[yop_poll id=”14″]
Phil Rose
Hello fellow SCOV Pickleball Club members. My name is Phil Rose and I am running for a position on the pickleball club board of directors.
In my previous life I was a radiologist in Oregon as well as the USAF, once stationed at Davis-Monthan AFB in that capacity. I have an extensive coaching background in a variety of sports and have served on many community Board of Directors prior to retirement. Now fully retired we live mostly in SCOV but summer in Oregon. I have played pickleball since 2020, primarily playing with the 4.0+ group and competitive group. My biggest passion in this club is the opportunity to instruct, advance enthusiasm for the game and just enjoy the great friendships and personalities that are replete throughout the organization.
I have been a regular instructor for multiple seasons when clinics are offered and am a big fan of providing instructional access to club members on a regular basis. If elected this will continue to a focus of mine. I know many of you in this capacity.
Last season I was asked to take over the club mentorship program. I was able to start a weekly scheduled drop in meet up for instructional purposes. It proved greatly successful and very well attended. Many of you were invaluable volunteers and will be counted on to continue to build on the past success.
I also coached the ladies 3.5 APPL team last winter, which won its division! Numerous cross city friendships were made during then season. For this reason I see great value in the APPL league for those members desiring friendly competition outside of SCOV.
That said, I recognize we are a club composed of participants looking for fun, community, and healthy court based exercise to share with local SCOV friends. Adequate access for casual and competitive court usage, both scheduled and unscheduled must be maintained.
With my wife, Suzy Rose, I revamped the Suzy Foster Memorial Pickleball Poker Run and Community Food Drive in 2022 and 2023, which proved hugely popular. This tournament has the strength of numerous volunteers working for a common goal of serving the community in the spirit of Suzy Foster’s memory. Many of you have participated and been a crucial volunteer. Thank you once again!
I have worked personally with all of the current board members with good collaborative results. If elected, I expect good working relationships to continue. My other community involvements include the SCOV Ambassador and Posse programs as well as prior membership on the Hard Court Task Force. I realize this is a thumbnail sketch of my candidacy and am available for conversation/clarification of my club positions before the election as needed.
I respectfully ask for your vote to the SCOV Pickleball Board of Directors.
Nelson Brown
Before moving here, my aviation career started in the Air Force flying fighters. Having met my wife in the Air Force, we decided that nine years was enough, so we moved to Saudi Arabia where, for three years, I was an F-15 simulator instructor. When the new contract came due, we decided that I should go back to flying, beginning with the Goodyear Tire & Rubber flight department. The next 30 years or more were spent in corporate aviation. I retired from the Mylan Pharmaceutical flight department as chief pilot in Pittsburgh, PA in May of 2014.
My addiction to pickleball began in 2015 when my SCOV neighbor asked if I wanted to learn how to play. My wife and I had moved into our renovated home in mid-May that year. The game was so much fun that I began playing twice a day, seven days a week. I rapidly became a “slammer” that many of the Casuals did not want to play against. So, they highly suggested that I move up to the Competitives. Now, after the past nine years, the legs can only support playing once daily, six days per week.
In those past nine years, I served two years as Club Secretary and one year as President. I am now serving as interim President since late August. The new courts committee was my first job within our Club, and in the years since I also served as the Chair of the first Hard Courts Task Force. I have been active ever since in doing orientations and helping in training. For about 3 years me and one or two others cleaned the courts each day. The HOA in those times did not clean any of our courts. Today I am still on the courts maintenance committee and help almost every morning. I like to think that I have a wealth of Club knowledge being so active within our Club for the past nine years.
Why did I accept the challenge to be on the Board again? Good question considering our Club has several committees and many tasks to perform. Our membership is about 530 today, and that means even more work to keep things rolling, training, scheduling, socials, meetings, court maintenance, etc. Even at our current growth rate, the HOA doesn’t plan to build more courts until 5-6 years from now. So, our Pickleball Board will continue to look for alternatives to meet the demand for court times to play. I would like to continue to help in supplying our current and future needs.
Ann Wolfinger
I started playing pickleball in 2018 in Helena, MT by showing up at the local courts and asking for instruction. Coming from a competitive tennis background helped me learn the basic game quickly. The following year I competed in my first tournaments, was appointed a USA Pickleball ambassador, earned my coaching certification with the Professional Pickleball Registry (PPR), and started introducing the game to beginners. In following years, I gave pickleball clinics for the city parks and rec department in the summers. During the winter months, I worked for the local YMCA giving lessons for beginners and experienced players. One summer day at the outdoor courts, I looked around and realized that more than half the players were former students.
In 2020, I was promoted to regional USA Pickleball ambassador for Montana and started training as a referee. In 2022, I edited the USA Pickleball Rule Book, earning a commendation from the Rules Committee.
I continued competing in tournaments locally and in the region, always learning that there was more to learn.
Pickleball brought me to SCOV. I had so much fun in January 2023 when I was renting my brother’s house that I bought my own the following month and moved here full-time. Last winter I drew on my 12 years of experience captaining tennis league teams to captain the SCOV Dinkbats 3.0 ladies APPL team. This summer I was asked to serve out the board term of our dear friend Jim Steinmetz.
In my prior life, I was a publisher, life coach, program manager, and project manager. I served on the boards of the Helena Regional Airport and the public library.
The world of pickleball has changed dramatically even in the relatively short time I’ve been playing, with a plethora of paddles, balls, shoes, clothing, and products, not to mention professional leagues. Yet it remains a sport where you can have fun no matter what your level or ambition. Keeping it that way and working to support a safe, friendly, welcoming environment will be my goal if elected.