Our Mission:
Our mission is to grow community participation and physical education through the sport of pickleball and engage in the development and preservation of infrastructure for the continued growth of the sport and the community.
Who We Are:
The Great Lakes Pickleball Association (GLPA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of pickleball enthusiasts from across Southeast Michigan. In fact, our very name was chosen to demonstrate regional inclusiveness to not just focus on a single town or community.
The GLPA is dedicated to generating and distributing financial and other resources to present community events, protect our community assets, and preserve our historic heritage.
Board Members:
President: David Wilson
Vice President: Wayne Wills
Secretary: Judy Flynn
Treasurer: Jenny Sevigny
Trustee: Susan Pitser
Trustee: Terri Kroll
Trustee: Don Fleming
Contact us at: glpapickleball@gmail.com
Our Story:
In midsummer 2021, Wayne Wills asked Dave Wilson his opinion about the potential to repurpose a vacant concrete slab in the Charles F. Sherman Memorial Park in Ortonville, Michigan and convert it into a pickleball court. Wayne had recently become interested in pickleball, witnessing it being played in Florida the previous winter and he was beginning to regularly play the game himself.
The concrete area in the park was formerly a skate park that had been dismantled and the slab was sitting idle and unused. Wayne approached Dave for his opinion as he knew Dave was an avid pickleball enthusiast. Dave was enthusiastic about the project due to a general lack of places to play pickleball which resulted in crowded courts and limited playing time.
After examining the condition of the concrete and finding it level and free of cracks, it was Dave’s opinion that the site was an excellent candidate for a pickleball court. Dave thought the site offered the potential for not just one, but two future courts and volunteered to draw up plans, make inquiries as to who might do the work, and obtain cost estimates.
This became the genesis of the Great Lakes Pickleball Association (GLPA). Dave and Wayne began to work from that point forward to collaboratively collect other interested parties. Along the way, this loosely formed group began what became a two-year process to transform the concrete slab into two acrylic surface pickleball courts. For further details on the process click here: Charles-F.-Sherman-Memorial-Park skate park conversion to pickleball
During the process of working on the Sherman Park project another opportunity presented itself and then another and it became clear a more formal group needed to be formed where projects could be documented and funds could be raised to implement them. Thus, in the fall of 2023, paperwork was filed to create the Great Lakes Pickleball Association as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Work then began on establishing a bank account and developing a website that was launched in late January 2024.
The GLPA is now in the process of soliciting donations and working with local government on projects we have identified to preserve existing infrastructure, improve our communities, and support and encourage physical fitness for all.
Our Projects to Date:
Our first successful project converting an unused, former skate park in a village park into pickleball courts. For further detail, click on the button below.
A major project where we attempted to repurpose and refurbish old, unused tennis courts and convert them to pickleball. This project involved the public school system as well as local government but was unfortunately unsuccessful due to concerns from the public school. For further details. click on the button below.
An ongoing project to refurbish and dual-purpose existing basketball courts in the Village of Ortonville, Michigan for both basketball and pickleball. For further information, click on the button below.
Our latest project working with the Village of Goodrich, Michigan to refurbish and mult-purpose existing tennis courts and basketball courts into new, reconditioned tennis, basketball, volleyball, and pickleball courts. For further detail, click on the button below.