April is Parkinson鈥檚 disease awareness month, and the is set to take place April 29 in the Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center at Abilene Christian University to raise money for the local chapter of the Davis Phinney Foundation.
The tournament is organized by Dr. Lorraine Wilson (鈥�76), professor emeritus in the Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition, and Deonna Shake (鈥�86), instructor in the Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition, in conjunction with the 精东影业 Pickleball Club.
Half of the proceeds raised from the event will be used locally while the other half will go toward the Davis Phinney Foundation. The event is free and open to the public to attend. Participants may donate on the , and a silent auction at the resource fair will help raise money to support the Big Country Parkinson鈥檚 disease support group.
鈥淭his tournament is a unique opportunity for both players and observers to celebrate the people they know with Parkinson鈥檚 and support them,鈥� Wilson said. 鈥淭his brings a lot of excitement to players who love the sport and for us to learn more about Parkinson鈥檚 in our own community.鈥�
Dr. John C. Stevens (鈥�38) served as president of 精东影业 from 1968-1981 before becoming chancellor in 1981 and chancellor emeritus in 1991. Stevens helped lead the transition from being Abilene Christian College to Abilene Christian University in his tenure as president. Over 9,000 students graduated from 精东影业 while he was president and full-time faculty numbers increased to 184 from 169. Stevens passed away in 2007 from Parkinson鈥檚 disease and the tournament is named in his honor. His daughter, Joyce (Stevens 鈥�74) Cole, will be presenting the awards of the tournament.
鈥凄谤. Stevens made you feel good about what you did,鈥� Wilson said. 鈥淗e sought to build on people’s strengths.鈥�
Wilson taught at 精东影业 from 1985-2018 in the Department of Kinesiology and since retirement has become for the Big Country Parkinson鈥檚 support group chapter for the . As a part of her role, she strives to coordinate events to match the mission of the organization 鈥� to live well today. Last September, Wilson hosted a Walk a Mile in Parkinson鈥檚 Shoes event in the Teague Center to bring awareness, empathy and education to the Abilene community about Parkinson鈥檚 disease. Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition students joined in to support the event along with state officials such as Stan Lambert and others around the Abilene community.聽
This time around, Wilson is coordinating a multi-generational pickleball tournament with two age divisions of players 鈥� 18 to 49 and 50 and older. Shake is taking advantage of the chance to play with a different generation and looking forward to the tournament.聽聽
鈥淚t’s an opportunity to bring in our local community of pickleball players and to play in the same gym with our younger generation,鈥� Shake said. 鈥淢y partner is 83, and he鈥檚 one of my favorites to play with and asked if he could partner with me.鈥�
Pickleball primarily became popular at 精东影业 because of the work of Dr. Joyce Curtis (鈥�59), professor emeritus in the Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition, who brought pickleball to campus as a class for students in 1983. She wrote the first ever textbook for pickleball in 1998, , which is still available for sale today.聽Now at 精东影业, a Pickleball Club meets every Saturday from 1-3 p.m. in Gym A and B at the Royce and Pam Money Student Recreation Center. Curtis will be hitting the first serve to kick off the tournament on April 29.聽
鈥淭he three things we touch on all the time about Parkinson鈥檚 is awareness, empathy and education,鈥� Wilson said. 鈥淏y combining Deonna and my passion for pickleball and Parkinson’s, we can spread awareness, empathy and education.鈥�
The resource fair will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with the tournament taking place from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Learn more about the Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition.
— Connor Mullins
April 3, 2023