Rainer’s Updates
Court Utilization. We are listening to you and making adjustments in court use in an effort to meet all members’ needs. Sarah Lockett, our Event Manager, monitors daily court use and encourages your feedback to help us make optimal use of our courts. With the coming of cooler weather and thus the use of our outdoor courts, we’ll have much more flexibility to have open and reserved court play as well as instructional classes.
Pictona Fall Vintage Open. Holly cow! We have 500+ players signed up for the October 23-25 tournament. It’s going to be quite an event. April Price is our Tournament Director and Judy Ginn, our General Manager, is the Tournament Site Manager. WE NEED HELP. Mimi Cook is coordinating our recruitment of volunteers. We have many jobs that will need to be done. If you would like to help with our first tournament, please email Mimi at mimicook53@yahoo.com.
More Help Needed. We will build a solid 4-foot high wall on the north side of courts 1 and 2 to prevent rainwater from running on to these courts. Bill Cook has once again agreed to coordinate this project. He needs three volunteers to help us build this wall. Please email me at Rainer@hkusa.com if you are willing to help. We also will be putting up windscreens behind this wall to improve viewing.
More Walls. We will build a backboard wall on court 24 so players can practice hitting balls against a solid surface. Cris Higgins is paying for this wall as a gift to us all. Thank you Cris.
Chairs. We’ve placed chairs and tables outside the Kitchen for your use. If you carry them away from that area, it would be thoughtful to bring them back when you are done. The same in the Loft. It’s fine to move chairs, remembering social distancing, but please return them to their original position.
Award Stand. Ken Laprall is at work again. He’s building our gold, silver, and bronze award stands to be positioned on the south side of Celebration Wall. Ken also built our unique court numbers in the shape of paddles and the tables mounted on the fence in the Loft. Thank you Ken.
Court Repair. Paul Conifey has accepted the role of COURT INSPECTOR to carefully examine all 24 courts for repairs. We know of some repairs to be made but we need to examine all courts and provide NIDY, the court contractor, with a list of repairs to be done before the tournament. Paul will be recruiting an assistant or two to help.
Balls Rolling Under Bleachers. Consensus is that members appreciate being able to view play without looking through fences and screens, but it is a bit annoying to have balls roll under the bleachers. We need a team of 4 Bleacher Ball Stoppers who will cut screens and mount them on the bottom of the bleachers to minimize this annoyance. Send me an email at Rainer@hkusa.com to let me know you will help.
Preservation Palace Restrooms. The “preserved” building next to the Celebration Wall has two restrooms which we have refurbished with the help of Bill Cook and Dick McCabe, who painted all the panels, and Richard Dunn, our custodian/maintenance person. Unfortunately, they are not quite ready to be used because the toilets lack water pressure for flushing. A solution is in the works (no porta-potties) and we hope to have the restrooms ready soon when players begin using the outdoor courts more.
Community Gardens. All 24 garden plots have been rented and some already planted. If you are interested in gardening and missed this season’s sign up, let Rynn Goldstein, our Senior Activity Center Director, know by emailing him at Rynng@Pictona.org that you would like to be on the waiting list and/or join the Pictona Garden Club.
Ospreyland Parking. If you missed our previous notice in this Update section, you can now park in Ospreyland.
Our Thanks. Julie and I are thankful to all of you for helping to make our dream come true. It’s a privilege for us to observe the happiness exuded on the courts and in the clubhouse. Thank you, Edwin Cosio and Ke Yan for the recognition you presented us with last Saturday.