During the awards presentation at the 2018 Pickleball Hall of Fame dinner and presentation, the audience was entertained by Steve Paranto and Wes Gabrielsen as they played creative songs with a pickleball twist. Pickleball Channel is happy to share this video from the event so that more people will learn about the Pickleball Hall of Fame. The Pickleball Hall of Fame was launched in 2017. The second annual dinner for the 2018 class of inductees took place on Tuesday, November 6th during the Margaritaville USA Pickleball National Championships tournament. This video highlights the entertainment portion of the night, including a guest appearance by Grandpa Pickles!
The Pickleball Hall of Fame 2018 nominees were Bill Bell, Bill Booth, Norm Davis, Earl Hill, Bob Lanius, Yvonne Hackenberg, Fran Myer and Steve Wong. And the three inductees, Fran Myer, Bob Lanius, and Earl Hill, were honored for their years of dedication to promoting the sport.
The USAPA Pickleball Hall of Fame was started in 2017 as a way to memorialize the contributions made to the sport of pickleball. Who will be nominated to the Pickleball Hall of Fame next year? Keep working on your game, and, who knows? Maybe one day it could be you!
Robert Lanius is being recognized for his contribution to the sport of pickleball by creating and developing the PickleballTournaments.com software which enabled the growth of tournaments worldwide with online registration and administration. In addition, Robert was the commissioner of the Arizona Senior Olympics and Grand Canyon State Games for many years. He also created one of the first club websites that featured news, places to play, and tournaments with match results from around the country.
Earl Hill is being recognized for his contribution to the sport of pickleball as a charter member of the USAPA board. He founded the Ambassador program, serving for 13 years as the original director and later as assistant director. Earl also served as the Arizona Senior Olympics pickleball commissioner from 2001 – 2008. The tremendous growth of this tournament led to the creation of the national organization in 2005. is a multiple year USAPA National Champion, winning gold in Men’s Doubles in 2009, 2011 and 2014. He is a Huntsman World Senior Games Men’s Doubles Champion (2013) and over the course of his playing history has won many awards since he started playing in 1985.
Fran Myer is being recognized for her contribution to the sport of pickleball by creating Pickleball Stuff in 1999, the first informational and retail website, selling equipment from all manufacturers. During 8 years of service as a charter member of the USAPA board, she was secretary, media director and vice president. She co-directed the first USAPA national tournament with Barney Myer in 2009, then with Dennis Duey in 2010 and 2011. She and Barney were Washington State Senior Games Commissioners for nine years and the Greater Seattle Senior Games for 8 years. Fran Myer won silver medals at the USAPA Nationals in Singles in 2012 and 2016 in her age group. She is a USAPA National Champion in Mixed Doubles 19+ (2009) and a 3 time gold medalist at the National Senior Games Championship Festival. Since she started playing around 1988 and has won around 200 medals and awards playing in tournaments around the country.
To find out more about the Pickleball Hall of Fame, visit PickleballHallOfFame.com
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Watch the video of the Pickleball Hall of Fame 2018 Inductee Ceremony dinner held on Tuesday, November 6th during the Margaritaville USA Pickleball National Championships tournament.
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