Local Business Spotlight: Eastport Pickleball

Eye On Annapolis Daily News Brief

This LBS was a long time coming. Ambassador* Sara Aiken and I tried to connect in the spring. It took nearly six months, but I am glad we both waited it out. So, what does a tech exec do for an encore? In the case of Sara, she torments her husband by producing pickleball paddles in their dining room. Well, that is only half-true, but this entrepreneur discovered the sport many years ago at Green Turtle Cay in the Bahamas and was hooked. She brought the passion back to Eastport, started a company, and is pretty much single-handedly responsible for the rocketing popularity of the sport in the area. We now have pickleball courts at Truxtun Park, the Pip Moyer Rec Center, occasionally on West Street and City Dock, and at Safe Harbor (formerly Mears) in Eastport!

As for Eastport Pickleball, Sara has been designing award-winning paddles with a distinct Eastport flair (and a green turtle as a nod to the origins), and when she claims they are locally made--she means it. I was shocked to learn that nothing is outsourced to someplace that can make it cheaper! Kudos. This was a ton of fun out at a picnic table adjacent to the new pickleball courts at Truxtun Park--complete with the Annapolis Fire Department whizzing by with sirens blaring!

*Ambassador---she was named Pickleball Ambassador by the City of Annapolis. We learned the pay stinks, there is no security detail, nor is there an official residence or parking immunity! Have a listen! LINKS:

• Eastport Pickleball (Website)
• Eastport Pickleball (Facebook)
• Eastport Pickleball (Twitter)
• Eastport Pickleball (Pinterest)