South Carolina Welcomes New Ambassadors

Meet Mike and Lorretta Beckner, Joint Ambassadors
Aiken, South Carolina

"Although Mike was born in East Tennessee and Loretta in Kansas, Mike's 25 year career in the Foreign Service afforded them the opportunity to live in Brazil, Laos, Spain, Venezuela, Mexico and South Africa. They have two sons, Michael, who lives and works in Arusha, Tanzania in the Wildlife Conservation component of a safari company, and Brett, who is living in Arlington, VA, but planning to start a Peace Corps assignment in South America in January. Mike and Loretta are avid sports fans and Loretta played tennis for many years. It was only a year and a half ago that they first learned of pickleball, at community centers in Arlington and Vienna, VA, and after giving it a try, they were hooked! Since relocating to Aiken, SC this spring, they learned that no one in the community knows about their now favorite sport. They are committed to introducing pickleball to the Aiken community and are in the early stages of contacting park, school and church authorities to identify possible locations for pickleball courts. Hopefully, through media exposure, they will be able to generate the interest necessary to support their efforts at introducing pickleball to Aiken."