Jerry Santy with Pat Owens and Vanette and Bob Pinto
Donna Gillen
One of PebbleCreek Tennis Club’s (PCTC) most notable members is Jerry Santy. He was, and still is, very active and also has the honor of being a past president. His warm, endearing, and funny personality led to many improvements for the tennis club.
Jerry and his wife, Jill, came here from Palm Springs in 2010 after playing competitively for 10 years there. Jerry joined the 3.0 Men’s Team with Ron Lord, Aqi Jackson, Drew Smith, Dennis Daniel, and others. He also played with the Amigos. He is now 87 years old and still playing three times per week! He may be the oldest player and member of the club. Yes, it is a sport for a lifetime.
Here are some of Jerry’s accomplishments as president and as an active member of PCTC. Let’s start with bocce ball. How did bocce get their current courts? As president, Jerry Santy suggested a swap occur and that the tournament court (number 7) on Eagle’s Nest side be replaced (flooding issue) and court 7 be filled and repurposed for bocce courts. Through these negotiations, new courts were built on the Tuscany side, thus a need for renumbering the courts. As the players were not happy with the clay courts, he arranged for them to be converted to hard courts. As the tennis club grew, he also was very instrumental in adopting our new court reservation system. Through that, he established the PCTC website with a webmaster. To ensure that the board was properly organized, he initiated a change in the by-laws that added a seventh board member. He enhanced the monthly socials by adding more fun activities to the event. He worked with the HOA to ensure that the courts would not go into disrepair. One of his most outstanding accomplishments was coordinating tennis tournaments for Goodyear youth through the city of Goodyear’s recreation department. Currently, he and his wife coordinate and host the monthly Date Nights, which are very popular.
Jerry has been an instrumental part of PCTC. His warmth and sometimes over-the-top humor (pseudo striptease at one of our holiday parties) has led to many wonderful memories for all of us. His energy today is still awe-inspiring. Thank you, Jerry!