Welcome OPC Members … to our 1st issue of The Gherkin Gazette!
Issue #1 hot off the press! As part of our communication strategies to all OPC Members, there will be two postings to our OPC blog every month with the middle of the month issue being a newsletter from your newly elected President, Keith (that’s me!) … I didn’t have a pickleball picture of me, so this will have to do for now! Now all I have to do is find somebody to take a picture of me … not easy to do!
The other monthly posting of our very own OPC blog will be information on what’s new with our club and information on the coming month and any planned activities and such that may be going on. For this issue, welcome, get your favorite cup of coffee at your side, and read on …
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Picnic in the Park This Monday, May 27th!
Beginning Monday, May 27th, our club will once again hold our “Picnic in the Park” this year on the last Monday of every month. This is an informal event where several of
our members bring themselves a bag lunch, a refreshment of choice, and their lawn chair and we sit and socialize after a hard morning of pickleball. These events were very well attended by our members last year, and it’s rumoured that we may even have some very special guests join us for lunch from time to time as well! Hope to see y’all there on May 27th to greet your old pickleball friends and maybe even make some besties too! To see our new OPC May 2019 Daily Events Calendar … press here!
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OPC Blogsite Upgrades!!! … we interrupt this newscast to bring you the latest news bulletins (please read carefully) …
Now that you have your coffee and are comfortably settled to read the new issue of the Gherkin Gazette, did you notice? We’ve added a BIG ORANGE BUTTON that looks like this
that links you to the current Parksville weather ————————————————————————> If you live in the Oceanside area and are not in Parksville, we hope that you will find this site upgrade helpful in determining “weather or not” it is likely we will be playing that particular day! So, hopefully we all find this helpful, and if you do find it is working for you, leave a comment at the bottom of our blogsite under the “Comments” section and let us know “weather” you find this button useful or not …
Need to check and see which days are the OPC PlayDays? Click the Events Calendar Button on the header image at the top of this page and click the month you want to see or to see the OPC May 2019 Daily Events Calendar … press here! Now how easy was that?
And there’s another upgrade to the site as well! Refresh that coffee, read through the blog, and the be the first person to come to me courtside with the answer to the riddle below:
Reading our blog is fun! 
Reading our blog is great! Reading our blog’s not one of those fads … Especially when you consider there are no more (?)!
Look to the bottom of this post for information on how to claim your big prize shown here —————————->
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“Kool’s Kloset” Came Courtside!
Did any of you see who was courtside this week? Nope, not Santa (sorry, Buzzy), but the next best thing! Joan Kool was courtside with her “Kool’s Kloset” and was displaying some of the OPC wearables that she has available for this year! Joan was only able to show what’s new for a couple of days this past week because of some of the rain we had, but hopefully, she will be able to be there a couple more days this coming week so you all can buy yourself a gift. Isn’t that fantastic? We could all come and play pickleball, get some exercise, visit with our pickleball friends, AND do some shopping for ourselves. And who said us guys couldn’t multitask?
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Our OPC Season Started With A Little Sad News …
As I had mentioned a couple of times during the 10:30 AM time switch where we go to Level Play, our elected Member-At-Large, Rob Livingstone, had to resign from the OPC Executive Committee and told me he needed to take a break from pickleball for a while for personal reasons. This was sad news for all the OPC Executive and for me, as Rob and I worked the OPC Opening Day together and he and I had a successful (although I’ll admit, somewhat stressful) time. All OPC Members wish Rob well and we all hope that he and Doris can join us again very soon courtside at the Community Park to just play pickleball and have fun with the rest of us.
But, there is also some very good news to report as well! When the position became available, I spoke to a couple of people that I felt would fit in very well with the remaining Executive Committee, and after a couple of serious discussions, I am happy to report that we will be appointing a new Member-At-Large effective immediately! All our regular OPC members know Bob Krell, and Bob has accepted my invitation to join our Executive Committee as the OPC Member-At Large. Bob is a long time member of OPC Pickleball Club, and I and the rest of the Executive are thrilled to welcome Bob to our Executive Team. A HUGE welcome to Bob, and thanks for stepping in to help the rest of us “newbies” on the OPC Executive.
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OPC Membership Drive going strong!
OPC membership drive going strong! Wow, that first 10 days of May was BUSY! Phase 1 of our membership drive has now concluded and our Membership Coordinator, Jennifer was a busy girl courtside from the 1st to the 10th of May. The OPC Membership Committee (with help from Sadie!) experienced an extremely high turnout of Picklers who were renewing their memberships, and a large number of new members signing up to join our club. Jennifer and Sadie were at the courts daily from opening day May 1st to May 10th and report that the number of memberships in from the AGM and courtside so far sit at 180, so it was a very busy time!
Now that we have Phase 1 over with, weekday playing days from May 13th to May 31st inclusive renewing members or new members can be directed to see Jennifer on Mondays, Wednesdays or Fridays to renew or open a membership. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Keith (that’s me!) will take memberships from returning or new members.
For past members from last year who have not renewed yet, e-mails were sent out to all of those members (many of which are long distance members) letting them know that they can renew by contacting Jennifer before the end of May and sending her a cheque and any changes they may have to their contact information. Sadie reminds everybody that in order to avoid having a “ruff time” they have till the end of May to guarantee their renewal into the OPC Pickleball Club once again. Whether you’re renewing or joining OPC Pickleball Club, you need to see Jenn or Keith on the courts on their on-duty days as mentioned above. And Sadie hopes to see you there, but don’t forget those treats!
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Volunteers have been stepping out and stepping up to help …
… not exactly in the droves of people I had hoped for, but hey, enough of you have stepped forward that we can keep the lights on and stay open for business! It was never really that dire,
but your Executive was in the position where we were wondering whether we would be able to have any tournaments this year. In the case of tournaments, enough people did come forward that we can now comfortably say that we will be planning one of our favorites, the Wacky Tacky tournament. And just in case you are new to our club, or you need a reminder of how much fun we all have at this fun tournament, here’s one of the pictures from last year to remind you! Look for the Wacky Tacky this year, most likely in July!
And while we are on the subject of our volunteer teams … we could still use a few people to step forward and offer to be on a spares list for both the Set-Up and Take-Down
Teams. Contrary to popular belief, even us volunteers have lives and there are times where we may not be able to fulfill our commitments … we all have families, coming vacations or trips, a doctor’s or dentists appointment that becomes necessary at an inopportune time … I’m sure all of you get the idea. Having a spares list is a necessary part of the teams so that we can find a replacement from the list when it becomes necessary. We know that there are lots of you who are early birds and come down to the courts early to get warmed up, and on those busy days, it’s especially nice
to get well warmed up and get a couple of good games in before the crowds start to show up! And if you’re one of those ones that tend to stay later and get that last game or two in before heading home, then it doesn’t take much to help the Take-Down Team put away the equipment wagon at the end of the day. Speak to any one of the OPC Executive about helping today in one of the areas mentioned above.
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Introducing … OPC Sponsor’s Corner!
I had the pleasure of meeting with three of our long-time sponsors last week, Glen 
McPherson from Royal LePage, and Todd Sjogren and Keith Anderson from BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. This year Glen, Todd, and Keith are sponsoring our club once again, and for that we thank them. But you know, folks, the absolute BEST way to thank them is to work with them for any real estate needs or if you have a need for financial services of any kind.
This year I have invited Glen, Keith, and Todd to participate in some of our events like our monthly “Picnic In The Park” on the last Monday of every month. They will have the opportunity to bring their lawn chair and their bagged lunch and refreshment just like the rest of us and enjoy some OPC social time with us! As well, all of our sponsors this year will have an opportunity to inform of us of what’s new in their particular industry so that we are all the well-informed group that we should be! Watch for the “Sponsor’s Corner” in the next issue of the Gherkin Gazette. And, if you haven’t done so yet, please check out our recently re-designed OPC Sponsors page … press here .
You can also check out more about Glen and the McPherson Group … press here! … Keith Anderson … press here! and Todd Sjogren … press here! Seriously though, I encourage ALL OPC MEMBERS to support these three gentlemen! As longtime supporters of our club, they deserve the opportunity to earn your business. So if you have a need anything of a real estate or financial services nature, please consider them first. Glen, Todd, and Keith support our club every year and the least we can do is reciprocate. We all do have those needs from time to time … so please support them wherever possible.
And this year we welcome the local Tim Hortons franchise to our list of esteemed 
sponsors! We all know and love the Tim Hortons brand all across Canada, and this locally owned and operated franchise location is no exception. The Tim Hortons brand is well known all across Canada as being a vibrant part of all the communities they have operations in. We at OPC Pickleball Club are thrilled to have Tim Hortons as a new financial patron of ours, and we encourage all OPC Members to use the local Parksville franchise as your coffee and lunch stop whenever possible! Thank you, Tim Hortons!
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If There’s One Thing I’ve Learned … It’s That I Still Have A Lot To Learn!
And that is probably true for a lot of us! From a personal perspective, when I started playing this crazy addictive game I was smashing everything across the net and hanging back at the back end of the court like I was playing tennis. And then this past winter I began playing with a bunch of people who were set on doing drills for about 20% of the time for the three days per week that we played indoors. We have such a great atmosphere here at OPC, and especially with volunteers like Mike Davies, Jim Cunningham, and Ernie Pallot who for many years now have given of their time and talents when it comes to providing free lessons to new eager pickleball players like you and me! Third shot drops, dinking, cross-court dinks, lobs … so many things to learn and master, but as they say, practice makes perfect.
Just this past week, Mike started some beginner lessons for some new members who are also new to the sport so they can get up to speed with the rest of us. As our newest club members make their way into our club and onto the courts, please welcome them and remember your court etiquette! We were all new once, and please make sure you take the time to play with our newer members and players – they will be thrilled to have the experience, just as you did when you played at their level. And remember, when playing with any newer players to our sport, especially in the social times, adjust your personal play accordingly. Mike’s 2.0 to 2.5 lessons will be held May 16th, 21st and 23rd (weather permitting) and are FULL!
And when it comes to lessons … repetition is KEY! 3.0 to 3.5 lessons will be held May 28th and 30th and into June on the 4th, 6th, 11th and 13th (weather permitting). Starting times will be 11:30 AM on those dates and will go to approximately 1:00 PM. If you are looking to take Mike’s free lessons, it is important that you can commit to making the lessons on ALL of those dates … very important !!! Mike will take the first 12 people and then add the others to a waitlist for the next set of 3.0 to 3.5 lessons, dependant on demand. Please e-mail Mike at bookguys@shaw.ca if interested and be sure to include your phone number when you email Mike. Mike will phone you and let you know right away if you are in and he would like to talk to you about your pickleball history. See you courtside for lessons! To see the lessons in our OPC May 2019 Daily Events Calendar … press here!
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Are You the Big Prize Winner?
Come on, I bet you got it! If you’re the first person to come to me courtside with the
answer and answer the mandatory skill-testing question, I’ll declare YOU the winner! Imagine that! You’ll be the talk of club! Fame, Fortune, and Celebrity await YOU!
Just think … You can be the only one on your block, in your neighbourhood, in your city, in your province, in the country, in the … you get it! You’ll be the only one anywhere who’ll be the proud owner of an OPC game played Onix II Yellow Pickleball signed by no other than your OPC Executive! Keep it … frame it, show it off, sell it on E-Bay! And remember what I said, fame, fortune, and celebrity await you, all you have to do is come to me with the right answer for the mandatory skill-testing question to win.
Mandatory Skill Testing Question: How many holes does a yellow Onix II pickleball ball have?
Answer to Mandatory Skill Testing Question here!
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Whew, we made it together. Me writing this long dissertation and you reading it! Seriously, from the 5 of us who make up your OPC Executive to all of you, thank you to all OPC Members. Thank you for entrusting us to guide and lead our club into 2019 and beyond. As an Executive Committee, we all promise to do our very best and to provide all of us with the highest quality of play, the highest level of fitness, and the absolute highest fun social atmosphere that we all know and love with our OPC Pickleball Club! And for now, the moment you’ve ALL been waiting for …
THE END
See you courtside!
Keith
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