Article/Photos courtesy of Comox Valley Pickleball
Jenny Kennedy is one of our club’s founders and key organizers.
It’s just past 6 AM on a soon-to-be scorching July day. Jenny is up, and the coffee is brewing. Pepper, her seven-year-old four-legged companion, is not so patiently waiting at the door, eager to begin her early morning walk. Soon, Jenny will be off to the Highland Courts, where she will find players waiting to register for the day’s pickleball session.
Now, let’s roll back the calendar to the spring of 2010. Upon returning from the South, several local “Snowbirds” were enthusiastic about a virtually unknown sport called “Pickleball.” What? A sport named ”PICKLEBALL” – are you serious? Yup! And it did not take long for Jenny Kennedy to step onto the soon-to-be fast-moving pickleball bandwagon.
Jenny had recently retired from the Comox Community Center. Although she had never played a racquet sport, she could see that pickleball would provide just the right amount of exercise for her. True to form, as a dedicated “Organizer Supremo”, Jenny’s enthusiasm and perseverance were critical in opening the doors of our community for this unlikely-named sport. Now, 15 years later, Jenny’s commitment to pickleball continues to bloom.
Jenny has instilled her love for the game in hundreds of players. Of course, this has not come without dedication and tremendous effort. With the support of many other volunteers who have worked tirelessly to promote the sport, we now have a vibrant pickleball community.
Photo credit: Comox Valley Pickleball
Jenny has worn many hats along her journey, including a crown, as our club’s “ Pickleball Queen”. She is an original member of our club’s Board of Directors. In the club’s early days, she organized refreshments for social events and tournaments, sold memberships and t-shirts, and even instructed new players at beginners’ clinics.
Jenny admits, “The pickleball community is an important part of my life— along with Pepper, it’s what gets me up in the morning.” Above all, she treasures both the play and, more importantly, the social relationships made through pickleball.
So – who is Jenny Kennedy? A native of the Comox Valley, Jenny met and married Norton Kennedy soon after completing high school. Nort’s armed services career took them to Germany, to Cold Lake, Alberta and back to the best place on earth, the Comox Valley. After 52 years of marriage, Nort passed in 2020. Their daughter, Theresa, lives with Jenny. Daughter Dawn and her family are in Victoria. Throughout her life, Jenny has exemplified selflessness, which is partially defined as “the quality of caring more about what other people need and want than about what you need and want.”
Our hats are off to you, Jenny, and to all the dedicated club builders and volunteers who have worked hard and effectively to make our club what it is today.
Excerpt from an article on Jenny by Mike Davis
Background: I first met Jenny about 10 years ago, when she and Carol were teaching an “Introduction to Pickleball” session at the Rec Center. A few days after that initial session, I met Jenny, my pickleball instructor, just around the corner from our home…a neighbour I had never met! She and her husband, Nort, become immediate friends with my wife and I. Her husband has since passed away from prostate cancer and my wife and I, along with Jenny and her daughter, share regular dinner outings, backyard bbq, etc. Jenny and I, after our evening dinners, have been walking together most evenings for close to seven years. So I know Jenny the ‘pickleball player’ and….Jenny “the neighbour and friend”.
Jenny: Baker for the Masses
Those of us who remember when pickleball was only played at the Rec Center, will remember the large container of sliced oranges she would provide during play. Many other treats make their way from her home to hungry pickleball players including sea salt caramels, endless variations of ‘protein balls’ along with a huge list of other chocolate covered goodness. If all commercial bakeries in the Comox Valley were to cease to exist, Jenny’s freezer could feed the hungry masses for an extended period of time! Close to Christmas time, Jenny gets to work on making huge containers of chocolatey sweet treats, which she piles up and stores in her cool garage.
If you happen to be visiting her home close to Christmas and her garage door opens, you will feel like you have entered a Willy Wonka zone and……….expect to sample A LOT of goodies. Did I forget to mention the hot chocolate she sometimes makes in the winter time for her outdoor pickleball group? And during the Comox Valley pickleball tourney, you can expect Jenny, along with a crew of hard workers, providing a spread of food which has been described as “the best food” at any tournament on Vancouver Island!
Jenny: CEO for her pickleball group
Jenny is fondly known by many as ‘Mamma Jenny, Miss Jenny’ and privately she sometimes laughs when she calls herself ‘Boss Bitch’. Her dedication to pickleball through the years includes head of the Social Committee and she still is, years later, an active volunteer assisting in this same committee. For the CVPA Christmas Party, her house is one of several homes where the social committee meets to plan the Christmas event. Of course, her freezer provides ‘snacks’ for the hungry planners.
Outside of the pickleball group, Jenny volunteers in other events such as supervising dances and special events at the Rec Centre. Jenny was born and raised in the Comox Valley and she knows many people. If you ever go with her to something like the Rotary Book Sale, plan to build in extra time there as she will need time to ‘catch up’ with people from her past. Almost everyone knows Jenny……..and they all think she is the amazing woman we have all come to admire!