It was a rousing success. The 2024 Spring Tournament registered 167 participants coming from six states. Together with the After Glow Party at the Yacht Club, our Tellico Village Pickleball Club netted $15,387 with $19,399 going to Special Olympics Ft. Loudon Region. The party’s ticket sales amounted to over two-hundred attendees. Second Wind stepped off the evening and kept the party-goers dancing throughout the evening. Gary Sawicki, president of the Club, spoke about the success, “The entire five day event was magical. The passion, enthusiasm, and energy from the Special Olympians, the players and the volunteers was amazing.”
Once again, Bruce Lacour, vice-president of the Club, ran the tournament, handling its promotion, registration, and execution. Kudos to Bruce and his team for their dedication and hard work. An added event for this year’s tournament was hosting twelve Special Olympians at the Telliplex on Thursday before the tournament. The Club provided paddles for the group, and volunteers worked with the athletes teaching them basics of pickleball. In the aftermath, President Sawicki presented the athletes with medals. Two television news stations covered the event, WBIR Channel 10 and WVLT Channel 8.
Meanwhile, Gordon Young, past president, promoted the After Glow Party lining up sponsors for the event and for the tournament. Sponsors included Campbell Financial Group, Knoxville Orthopedic Clinics, Citizens Insurance, Tennessee Orthopedics Alliance, Covenant Health Care, United Healthcare, Viskase, Blue Family Realty, Graham and Cook Insurance.
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