Donna Henry
In the spirit of cancer awareness during October, the Robson Ranch Pickleball Club held a special evening shootout on Oct. 11. The theme was “Smashing Sarcoma” in honor of their celebrity guest Jamie Bunch Elliott, a survivor herself and current para-pickleball instructor and player. There were drawings for opportunities to play with Jamie as well as amazingly cute pickleball prizes, thanks to the event coordinator Georgia Brown. In total, the event raised $1,000 to support the Chondrosarcoma Foundation, a cancer research organization.
It was also a reunion for many players who had played with Jamie prior to her surgery that left her playing in a special wheelchair built for pickleball. Bob and Irene Romogosa, Sherrill Kerr, Char Thompson, and Chris Mershon were only a few of the competitors who played against her and came to see her that evening.
What makes Jamie a “celebrity”? Where to start? She was one of the early female stunt car drivers in Hollywood movies (seen Robocop?), the first Texan stunt car driver to join the Screen Actors Guild, and in addition to being a nationally ranked champion long before most of us knew pickleball existed, she is a pickleball ambassador wherever she goes. Chicken N Pickle (who donated a $100 gift card for the event) sponsors her, as well as Paddletek. She has worked tirelessly over the years to ensure the game is viewed as accessible to anyone in a wheelchair, teaching children and adults, veterans, and people suffering from major accidents and injuries how to play the game. Her sense of humor, robust positive spirit, and infectious smile were on constant display during the evening. Her saying, “Where there’s a wheel, there’s a way,” left attendees inspired and glad they had the evening to share with her.
The Pickleball Club received a very nice note of appreciation from Jim Kramer, president of the foundation: “On behalf of the board of the Chondrosarcoma Foundation, thank you for your generous donation to the Chondrosarcoma Foundation from last Saturday’s Pickleball Shootout fundraiser with Jamie Elliott. Your donation will be used to enhance research and clinical trials for chondrosarcoma in our efforts to find effective treatment, prevention of recurrence, and one day a cure. Your donation will help us advance our ongoing educational programs to help CS patients and their families gain a greater understanding of chondrosarcoma so they can become part of their medical team to make decisions for their care. It will help those who need support getting their insurance claims authorized, and it will help us establish new programs, including a Chondrosarcoma Tumor Board, to bring medical experts together to find effective care for aggressive subtypes.”
Players of our Pickleball Club make a difference!