We recently spoke with The Economist with USA Pickleball CEO, Stu Upson, to talk about the growth of pickleball as one of the fastest growing sports in America. More and more players are hearing chatter about the sport and want in on the action! With almost 3.5 million players across the nation, we’ll see continuous growth over the next year.

Some key quotes from the article below and visit The Economist’s website to read the full article.

“In the five years to the end of 2019, pickleball participation grew by more than 7%, while Americans’ overall activity level stayed flat, according to the Sport & Fitness Industry Association. Although data from 2020 have not yet been released, the sport has picked up more swing thanks to covid-19. Last March, when quarantines went into effect and gyms closed, portable pickleball nets temporarily sold out. Players set up courts, which are half the size of tennis courts, in driveways. “It’s the new thing,” says Derek Heil, an employee at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Dallas, who has seen a sales spike for pickleball equipment over the last year, including for higher-end paddles which sell for around $100.”

As more people take up the sport, demand for televised matches and sponsorships will increase. – Stu Upson, USA Pickleball CEO 

This past summer Vossberg Gainor got the opportunity to get an inside look at the start of a pickleball craze in Orlando’s NBA Bubble while Scott Foster, crew chief referee, championed the sport by creating a court at their resort. 

While all NBA referees, staff, media personalities and players were quarantined in the Bubble, Scott wanted to create an opportunity to fill some down time in between the games. As the weeks went on, he got more than half of the referees playing every morning and would share rally videos and pictures with us as everyone had a blast on their makeshift court.

It was incredible seeing their dedication and passion for the sport like so many of us experience as we pick up a paddle and play with friends. Thank you for giving us an inside look Scott, Tyler and Josh. We’re excited to watch where your pickleball careers take you outside of The Bubble. 

Check out the full feature in the October/November 2020 issue of Pickleball Magazine on page 38. 

NBA refs Scott Foster, Tyler Ford and Josh Tiven. 

Agency Spotlight: Boelter + Lincoln

Over the past six months, it was an honor to get to work with the team at Boelter + Lincoln as they worked on a brand re-launch for USA Pickleball. From focus groups, to creative ideation and final execution, we enjoyed getting the opportunity to work with their passionate and creative team.
One of the fastest-growing sports in the country partnered with B+L on a website + logo redesign, public relations campaign, and countless creative assets to grow membership and get more people playing the highly-addictive mashup of ping pong, badminton, and tennis.
Take a look at a few of the highlights from the full-scale campaign ↓ and visit the Boelter + Lincoln WEBSITE for more information about their agency!

Graphic Designer Spotlight: Kelly Tidball

Following the launch of the USA Pickleball brand re-launch in July, we also got the opportunity to work with Kelly Tidball, a talented freelance graphic designer as she worked on creating shareable graphics for the brand’s social media channels.

We first met Kelly as she was finishing her degree at Marquette University in Milwaukee and most recently she was a Senior Marketing Graphic Designer for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

During these times of companies needing to remove positions, we see it as a great opportunity to shine a spotlight on these talented individuals, such as Kelly!

Current job title: Freelance Graphic Designer
Last Job: Senior Marketing Graphic Designer, Arizona Diamondbacks
Hometown: Brookfield, WI
Current City: Phoenix, AZ
Alma Mater: Marquette University
Portfolio: KTidball.myportfolio.com

What I did at the D-backs:

• I worked for the Arizona Diamondbacks for 5 years. My role at the D-backs was designing and creating all marketing materials and contributing to the marketing initiatives. I designed web ads, email graphics, social media graphics, logos, event signage, billboards, print advertisements and promotional items. I assisted our advertising coordinator by updating dbacks.com, losdbacks.com and the MLB ballpark app. I was responsible for event signage and advertisements as well as day of coordination for large events.
• 2019 I was promoted to Senior Marketing Graphic Designer and took over the responsibility of planning and implementing the marketing campaigns. marketing team that would include a layout of the organization’s goals and strategies. This allowed me to work on a project from idea to implementation.
• I have a passion for graphic design and marketing and love the ability to come up with a concept and make it come alive.

Skills and areas of expertise:

• Expert in Indesign, Illustrator and Photoshop.
• Some experience with motion graphics.
• Expert in Advertising and Marketing Campaigns

Laura Vossberg Gainor, founder of Vossberg Gainor, is thrilled to announce the addition of Jordan Huber to the team as the PR + Social Media Coordinator through an exclusive mentorship program focused on helping young professionals. As a company that strongly believes in helping individuals grow in their careers and find their next professional opportunity when challenges arise, it is with great honor to have Jordan to not only assist with client projects, but to also take it as an opportunity to provide mentorship to an up-and-coming advertising professional to find their next step in their career.

Jordan brings extensive experience as a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a focus in journalism and held positions at well-known Milwaukee ad agencies; Hanson Dodge and Boelter + Lincoln as a brand engagement intern and Social Media Assistant.

As the freelance PR + Social Media Coordinator for Vossberg Gainor, Jordan will have the opportunity to work directly with Laura Vossberg Gainor on client projects with the USA Pickleball Association (USAPA).

Welcome to the team Jordan and we are thrilled to see where you land next and to have the opportunity to provide the mentorship to showcase your incredible talents to other organizations.

Connect with Jordan on LinkedIn. 

It was an honor to be featured in the December issue of “Park Ridge Neighbors”, a local publication where we live in Park Ridge. Thank you to Anne Scallon of Best Version Media for asking to be a part of the magazine. And to the talented Heidi Clifton of Cecily George Photography for taking the photos.

Even though the cover makes it look like we’re the perfect family, this article was exciting to write with them knowing how much we’ve moved around to get where we are in Park Ridge, worried about where we should move to, different jobs we’ve had, so many great friends in multiple states, the kids loving elementary school, Brian celebrating 4 years at 4Front and now the proud honor to have Vossberg Gainor. The last two months starting up the business I’ve been very fortunate with clients right from the start, a supportive fam and friends, and many brainstorm sessions of how to keep evolving the company and launch new ideas. We are feeling very happy having Park Ridge as our home mostly because of the community that comes with it. And enjoying the challenges along the way. Most of them ? Happy Holidays! Enjoy the full article below.

The Gainor Family: Quickly Making Park Ridge A Home 

By Laura Gainor • Edited by Marilyn Metz

Park Ridge is one of those communities that quickly becomes a home. The Gainor family has lived here for four years, but because of the close-knit community it feels as though it has been a lifetime. 

Laura and Brian Gainor met in Charlotte, North Carolina (the city their dog is named after) a couple of years after college. Brian attended undergrad at the University of Florida and studied sports administration during grad school at Ohio University. Laura studied fine arts photography and journalism-advertising at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. From there, she decided to pick up and move to Charlotte on a whim. Laura met Brian a couple of years later, got engaged after 11 months and married in 2009.

Shortly after getting married, the couple moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin where their children Clara (8) and Garrett (6) were born. 

Both Brian and Laura’s careers have involved working in advertising and marketing. At one point, both of them led marketing teams at the same agency in Milwaukee! For years they were traveling and engaging with fans from the brands they worked for at events like NASCAR races, cocktail challenges, NBA basketball games, and more.

It was Brian’s job that led them to the Chicagoland area as the VP of Innovation at 4Front, a sports marketing agency. At the time, Laura was running Milwaukee’s advertising club and shortly after moving to Park Ridge took on the Executive Director role for a nonprofit advertising agency. Laura spent her time traveling to Milwaukee from Park Ridge for more than three years while also becoming very involved with the PTA at Franklin Elementary, where she now serves as the PTA Co-President. 

As the Gainors have fallen in love with Park Ridge, Laura recently launched Vossberg Gainor, a company specializing in helping brands and businesses with marketing and social media strategies, special events, photography, and more. Through Vossberg Gainor, Laura is excited to have an opportunity to get to know and help more Park Ridge businesses and community leaders. 

The whole Gainor family loves to stay active with Park Ridge activities! Clara is in 2^nd grade and enjoys dance at Lynette’s School of Dance, frequently takes art classes through the Brickton Art Center, played softball in the spring with Laura coaching the team, is a rookie at School of Rock and just finished her first season of Spirit Cheer. Garrett is in 1^st grade and rarely sits still while participating in soccer, flag football, basketball and baseball. You can usually find him playing floor hockey in the basement with Dad many nights. Clara and Garrett are very fortunate to have made incredible friends at Franklin Elementary to enjoy all of these activities.  

When the weather is nice, the Gainor family makes themselves some to-go lunches and head straight for Busse Lake with their kayaks in hand. They spend their summer days floating around while taking in the great nature scenery.

Friendships and community mean so much to the family and their Park Ridge neighborhood even created a name for themselves –  Bentonside (Burton + Fenton + Parkside streets). Bentonsiders organize weekend activities, play bunco, ride bikes outside, and host holiday get-togethers. Coming soon is an Official Mom Fest group that Laura is starting, after organizing the first annual event last year for more than 20 moms! “Organizing events and bringing a community of people together is my biggest passion! Having the opportunity to do this through my company, with friends and volunteering with the Franklin PTA and other organizations is very rewarding,” said Laura.

The Gainor family is very passionate about giving back. Since all of their family relatives are all in different cities and not able to be together for Christmas day, they have turned it into a Christmas tradition for the four of them to visit Summit of Uptown Senior Living Center to deliver holiday treats while the residents are eating their meal. It’s heartwarming to see the kids enjoy giving to others and especially sweet to see the joy on the people’s faces. 

The family looks forward to spending another holiday in Park Ridge! You can usually find the whole family at their favorite restaurant, Holt’s, or Laura working remotely at Beer on the Wall, and now Off the Wall, if you’re interested in meeting up to chat. “Thank you from all of the Gainors for the welcoming community we have in Park Ridge and how supportive each family is for one another. Many more great times ahead. Happy New Year!”  -The Gainor Family.