RECS Member Spotlight: Renee & Evan McKechnie
11/5/2024
Welcome to our first "Meet the Members" blog post!
From time to time, we’ll be posting here so we can all get to know a little bit more about each other within our RECS community.
Let's get to know Renee & Evan McKechnie, and their dogs Rune, Lucky & Alba!
Renee is employed with OHSU where she oversees all of the applications people use to track their clinical care known as MyChart. Fortunately, she works from home so in some ways RECS is her # 2 place to be!
Evan handles the finances for a 90-year-old family-run business here in Oregon known as Tice Electric. They are one of the oldest electrical contracting companies. They’ve worked on many large projects throughout the state, including Max light rail. And by the way, Evan won the Spring Flex League…Boooo, yeah!
What are your passions beyond your addiction to pickleball?
Evan coaches JV girls basketball at Jesuit High School. It’s a passion of his and he’s been doing it for many years. He volunteers at the Oregon Donkey Sanctuary in Oregon City. The sanctuary is for donkeys who’ve experienced trauma in some way. There are 100 volunteers for 26 donkeys on 40 acres and while Millie (seen in the picture here) is my favorite, folks should know that despite their reputation donkeys are so good-natured, loving, and kind.
How long have you been playing?
We’ve been playing for about a year and a half. We started playing outside near where we used to live. A friend of ours taught us how to play, hit me in the face with the ball, and from then on I was hooked!
How did you find out about us and what do you appreciate most about our atmosphere here at RECS?
I was out and about with my mom and we drove by. I started to do some research online and we started coming in and playing more and more. We really like the indoor experience vs. outdoor as well as the consistency of play and the ability to schedule within Court Reserve. We especially like the whole positive vibe at RECS from playing with and getting to know so many friendly new people as well as the staff here. Everyone makes it such a welcoming and fun experience.
In what ways has pickleball improved your physical or mental well-being?
We’ve always been active with exercise and running as well as boot camp types of things and CrossFit. We’re glad we’re not doing those things as much because we so look forward to playing pickleball, we love to come here and we don’t want the games to end!
MORE ON THE BLOG: Unplug & Play Pickleball in Portland Oregon
What’s your favorite game here at RECS?
We like to play…like everything! The 6AM crew is always a lot of fun to play with. We’ve enjoyed the up/downs, the Humpty Dumpty, various round robins, and of course playing with friends. Zone Challenges are also fun and we did a 3 & me with John Bartlett. We especially like his instructional presence and his “take no prisoners” style of play, he’s never easy on us. We do like the Team Up/Down, however, we’d love to see RECS try a partner round-robin as well. Check out more other events you can play at RECS!
How about any words of wisdom for newcomers to the game and our club, RECS?
Oh wow, I think you just have to keep coming back, playing, and getting to know people. When new players to the game come to the introduction to pickleball class, they may not realize how sociable the game is and how many new friends they're going to have. And yes it can be somewhat intimidating starting to play, who to play with, what paddles to use, figuring out the Court Reserve App. Just be brave, and keep at it, knowing that almost all members here are friendly and welcoming just like the folks at the desk here at RECS are always willing to help you figure things out.
Written By Recs Team Member: KJ