FSA’s Turn to Serve

The Family Service Agency of Santa Barbara County got into quite a pickle at the Montecito Club at the weekend.

The popular charity, founded in 1899, hosted its inaugural pickleball tournament with 68 players organized by local realtor Natalie Collins-Smith, raising $20,000 for senior service programs and youth mental health with sponsorship from Farmers & Merchants Bank and Mission Wealth.

“It couldn’t have been a nicer day,” says director of advancement Jan Campbell. “It was a lot of camaraderie and competition for a good cause.”

After each division was played, winners received medals for the first three places and then quaffed mimosas and devoured a heaving selection of canapés to celebrate.

Pickleball, which started as a children’s backyard game in Bainbridge, Washington, in 1965, now has more than 50 million participants nationwide.

Quite the racket…