By Nancy Oliver Smith
Guest Writer
Nolan Lang, a long-time member and the second president of the Blairsville Pickleball Club, was awarded the title of “President Emeritus” for his many years of leading and promoting the club.
The Blairsville Pickleball Club began in 2015 with only 20 members. David Block, who now resides in Athens, Ga., began teaching people how to play pickleball at the Meeks Park tennis courts. At that time the club was allowed to use one court which they chalked off to the proper dimensions and brought their own net. As popularity of the sport grew, more courts were permitted to be used.
Lang was instrumental in organizing the club, holding tournaments which brought in money for youth sports held by the recreation department, and also raising funds for community charities. As a volunteer teacher for the OASIS program of the First United Methodist Church, he held classes for numbers of senior citizens who now play for exercise, memory stimulation and socialization.
Thanks to his leadership and guidance, the club, now with 300 members, enjoys playing on dedicated outdoor courts and with permission to use the “rubber gym,” owned by the Union County Board of Education. His work and dedication, along with the current members, has impacted hundreds of people.