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Current President - Dale Smith
I grew up in Omaha, where I met my wife, Sharon. We've been married for forty-four wonderful years and have three grown children. I received my commission into the U.S. Air Force in 1983 and spent the next 20 years serving in various assignments across the country—including a memorable year stationed in Greenland.
In 2016, we purchased our home near Maysville and made it our full-time residence in 2019. After retiring from the Air Force in 2004, I transitioned into the defense industry, eventually serving as Chief Operating Officer of a defense contracting company before retiring from that role in January 2025.
Since 2019, Sharon and I have owned True Salida Vintage Finds and Home Goods here in Salida, which has become a fulfilling part of our life in the community. I picked up pickleball in 2023 and quickly fell in love with the game. Outside of the store and the court, I stay busy fly fishing and officiating high school football.
My time growing up was split between Sacramento, California, and a small town in eastern Kansas. After high school I studied Music Therapy and Music Education at the University of Kansas, returning to the same university for Masters work in Social Welfare. I worked for years in the mental health setting until my interests took me to North Africa, working with Peace Corps. After my time working there and traveling afterward, I was drawn to holistic health, went back to school and received certification in massage and bodywork. Darrell, my husband, and I have traveled to Colorado for recreation for as long as I can remember. In 2005 he found our place in Salida, and we eventually moved here full time. I have sat on boards as we raised our boys in Lawrence, Kansas, and have run a couple of businesses, responsible for overseeing significant budgets. I have also developed and taught various workshops through the years for peers and community. I have enjoyed pickleball for many years, and while my skill improvement has been slow and steady, I mostly find the recreational and social aspect of it enjoyable. The game has given me a lot of joy and I am grateful for the opportunity to serve on the board. Curt Pederson – Secretary I was born and raised and attended college in North Dakota. My wife and I raised two kids in Central Illinois where I was a “numbers guy” for a very large insurance company for over 30 years. We knew we wanted to move to a low humidity, but not too hot, sunny place that we could live in all year for retirement. My wife has a brother that lives in BV. We had always enjoyed vacations here, so we took the plunge and moved here also. I played tennis in high school and continued in work leagues for several years. In 2023 I discovered pickleball and have been hooked ever since! Outside of pickleball, my wife and I enjoy golf, hiking, and traveling. Cami Jamerson - Board Member I grew up in Maryland playing lots of different sports, mainly tennis, soccer, and horseback riding. I studied Education at Wake Forest University. In high school and college I competed in cross country and track. After school I continued to train and compete in local road races. I taught kindergarten in New Hampshire and Connecticut before having kids. I was a stay-at-home mom for many years coaching Colin and Robiny's soccer teams, volunteering in their school programs, horseback riding and taking care of our farm in Massachusetts. The mountains and the outdoor lifestyle drew me to Buena Vista 9 years ago. I joined Adventure Unlimited Ranches in its HR department and outdoor programming. I enjoy hiking, pottery, reading, growing an indoor succulent garden, and PICKLEBALL. I've loved meeting the awesome Peak to Peak members and supporting the club through learn-to-play, drilling, and guided-play clinics I'm grateful to be involved with such an vibrant, well-run organization that is encouraging the local community to get outside and be active! | Peggy Donovan - Vice President I was born and raised in Somerville, Massachusetts. After vacationing in Lake Winnipasaukee for many years, I became a permanent NH resident and spent 12 wonderful years there. I fell in love with the mountains and everything they offered. I took up skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, running, riding motorcycles and boating. The mountains are definitely my happy place! I’ve had a few careers over the last 43 years, including retail management, health care and high school special education. After making my first trip to Colorado in May 2019, I knew it was where I wanted to live and by August, I accomplished that. I spent my first year in Colorado Springs, but knew I wanted to be closer to the mountains. A year later, I was in Fairplay. I discovered the P2P club via social media in 2022, got my membership and started signing up for events and clinics. I was definitely hooked. I am so grateful for everything this club has brought to my life. The friendships, the drills, the clinics, the volunteer opportunities, the tournaments, have all made a difference in my life. I feel that joining the board is just one way I can give back to the community as well as the members. I look forward to being a part of its continued growth in the coming years. Ashlee Cerda, Board Member/Technical Advisor Chair - I was born and raised in Wisconsin, studied in Indiana, and moved to Costa Rica before ultimately making my way to Colorado to receive my Master's in Public Health from the University of Colorado in 2014. I coached high school girls and club lacrosse during my time in Denver. For the last 10 years, I have worked in the healthcare IT space and currently work in External Affairs for a national healthcare information technology I have called Salida and Poncha Springs home since 2021 and love everything about this magical place. I enjoy camping, fishing, archery, backcountry skiing, mountain biking, my dogs, and traveling to Central and South America. Susan Richardson – Board Member I grew up in the front range and attended CU Boulder receiving a business degree. I love being outside and during my college summers I guided rafts down Browns Canyon and multi day backpacking trips in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness. I met my husband, Seth, at a country western dance bar in Denver and continued our relationship working together at Noah’s Ark Adventure Company. We fell in love with each other and this valley and never wanted to leave. I have three adult children and one granddaughter. Most of my time is spent helping run our cattle ranch, selling hay, gardening, running rivers, chasing after cows, our children and playing pickleball. Peak to Peak pickleball club has been such a fun new outlet for me physically, mentally, and socially. I am excited to be a part of its board and help it continue to grow and flourish in the years to come. | Peter Goddard, Treasurer
I grew up in central Illinois and met my wife Katie in college. We have two sons, Sam (15) and Eli (13). Before moving out to Colorado, I served as the Accounting Director for Midwest Food Bank. I call myself a “recovering accountant” and that time provided great purpose, along with accounting and business experience. My in-laws bought a cabin in Buena Vista (2007) and we started coming here every summer. We fell in love with the town and would never want to leave. In 2018, I ventured out into software implementation after helping lead our transition at the food bank. Once the remote life started to sink in, our dream moving to BV became a reality in 2019. I discovered Pickleball about 4 years ago and found it to be a new passion for me. I grew up playing all kinds of sports and always enjoyed tennis and ping pong. My younger son Eli has been getting back into playing pickleball and it’s been fun teaching him! I have assisted with a few club clinics and tech initiatives and would like to expand my support by serving on the Board of Directors. I hope to use my skillset to help grow and maintain our great club! Marijean (MJ) Hamilton – Board Member I was born and raised in Oklahoma as the daughter of a Methodist minister. I am the youngest of three- so I wear the “only, youngest child” crown proudly. And yes, everything you have heard about preachers’ kids is true. I grew up a tom-boy, getting into lots of trouble and playing every sport that would have me. I ended up playing softball in college, which turned out to be one of the best times of my life. I graduated from the University of Oklahoma- both undergraduate and graduate in Educational Psychology. I was raised to believe that your work should mean something, so I spent my twenties in non-profit organizations until I had my son (Charlie) in 1995. I ended up in Colorado to be near my (then) husband’s family and quickly fell in love with everything CO has to offer. I ended up working with universities across the country offering alternative ways for students who could not come to campus to earn degrees. I was fortunate to find my passion and worked at various startup companies doing this exact thing for over 30 years. My job was always to keep the client happy, not always easy but always a challenge. As I matured in my career, I served on several executive committees. My roles were typically serving as the vice president of customer care, always managing large teams and their clients. A lot happened over those 30 years which we can always rehash over a bottle of wine or a thermos of coffee. Suffice it to say, I ended up in Salida with Clay, my (second) husband, and two feisty golden doodles- Stella and Ruby. Charlie is thirty now, living in Denver, and my stepdaughter (Aubra), is thirty-two and living in Austin. We have had our house for five years but just recently moved here full time. Retiring and starting over at 60 in a new community is not easy and I definitely struggled. When I say pickleball changed my life, I really mean it. I went from being very lonely to having many wonderful friends overnight. And of course I love playing pickleball, no matter how much I want to get better FASTER. I know you all get it, but I don’t know where I would be without it. |
Brenda Sampson, Past President-
Peak to Peak Pickleball is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Salida, Colorado 81201