While the purpose of the Sequim Picklers Club (SPC) is “to facilitate the growth of pickleball in Sequim and on the Olympic Peninsula for enjoyment, health, and social engagement among players of all ages,” it’s not all about “fun and games.” Many members of the Picklers volunteer for events and projects benefiting the wider local community, and I am happy to share some of the recent and ongoing ways through which club members serve.

On Saturday, May 10 a number of SPC members participated in the Irrigation Festival Parade: Chris and Sue Barry, Tanya and Ron Baumgardner, Leslie George, Sherri Ghazarian, Tiffaney Isaacson, Heidi Krummen, Kitty Sokkappa, Alex Sprenger, and Tim Williams. These enthusiastic participants followed the beat of the Chimacum High School Band, playing pickleball with a rolling net down the parade route along Washington Street.

Cheers from the crowd inspired some impressive acrobatic play from perhaps the world’s only pickleball drill team. A great video of the parade entry is available on YouTube.

Several days later, about a dozen Picklers volunteers visited Port Angeles Elk’s Pickleball Courts, where we spent the morning to early afternoon with attendees of this year’s Esprit Conference. We taught brand-new pickleball players, coached returnees, and helped all participate in a pickleball round-robin tournament.

The experience (which happens annually) was truly memorable as it brought people together from both the pickleball and Esprit communities.

Also in May a moving ceremony was held at the beginning of the club’s Big Dill tournament (for beginner to early intermediate club members) to remember Bob Sester, one of our founding members who passed away earlier this year. Much thanks to Bob’s family for their donations to prizes for the tournament.

Another important way that the SPC gives back to the community is taking part in Washington’s Adopt a Highway program four times a year. SPC participation began in 2018 and continues today. Pamela Woodruff has been spearheading these efforts since late 2019 with assistance from Richard Cary, Diane Froula, and Janie Dicus.

Volunteers clean up litter along a stretch of U.S. Highway 101 between Dryke Road and Shore Road that is split into four sections with a minimum of two volunteers on each section. Each cleanup takes an average of 2-3 hours per team. Most common items found include candy wrappers, cigarette butts, fast food packaging and, increasingly, vapes.

The most unusual item found was a carved statue of a bear. It was left it by the side of the road and someone had picked it up by the time the cleanup finished.

Please watch out for us! If you appreciate what we do, a honk on the horn is welcome.

Closer to home, when SPC member Cyndi Hueth heard in fall 2024 that a friend had sustained a severe injury playing pickleball, she wondered if that person needed any help with meals, errands, etc. Thus originated her idea for the SPC Care Committee, whose formation was approved by the SPC board for a six-month trial. (In March 2025 the board approved continuing the Care Team program as a regular program that benefits the club’s members.)

While the original charter was to assist fellow SPC members who were injured while playing at either Carrie Blake Park or the Boys and Girls Clubs courts, it now doesn’t matter if an injury was or was not sustained on the courts. Short-term, temporary assistance is limited to providing meals, assisting members in obtaining groceries, providing rides to/from medical appointments, and home visits or telephone reassurance calls.

All assistance is voluntary and provided at no charge to eligible recipients for up to 14 days.

Lastly, let’s not forget one of the most popular programs of the SPC: free pickleball lessons every Sunday afternoon from late spring into autumn. Led by teacher/coach David Goose and a team of dedicated volunteers, scores of folks in our community have learned to play pickleball and many have gone on to become avid players and teachers themselves.

The club provides loaner paddles so that anyone can come by to try out this popular sport. For more information about these lessons and other club activities, please see sequimpickleball.com.