Our Board
Ben Lacy
Chief Executive Officer / Founder
Ben Lacy was born in Naples, Italy in 1962 to a US Air Force father and stay-at-home mom. Military life took him around most of the United States early in life, but he lived mostly in the southeast. Ben spent a 10-year stint in the US Navy as a nuclear plant operator, after which he settled in Aiken, SC, where he spent 25 years as a contractor to the Department of Energy, working as a nuclear engineer. Since retiring from engineering, Ben spends much of his time either playing, coaching or refereeing pickleball, performing live music, and traveling around North America with Jill. Ben also enjoys writing and has published one novel (Shattered Diary) and one collection of short stories (Tales Best Consumed In The Light) both on Amazon. As well as being the Founder and CEO of The SPA, Ben is a professional coach certified by the Professional Pickleball Registry and is a qualified Level 2 USAP Referee and Referee Trainer.
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Beth Eberhard
Director - School District Liaison
Beth Eberhard and her husband Brian are lifelong natives of Aiken, S.C. She is a proud product of the public school system and hold a B.A. in Early Childhood Education and a Master’s in Elementary Education from the University of South Carolina. Beth’s two adult daughters have also gone through the Aiken public school system and are now continuing the tradition as high school teachers in S.C. Beth taught third, fourth, and fifth grades at Aiken Elementary for 25 years, specializing in the teaching of Science, Social Studies, and Writing. She was recognized as one of the top five teachers in the Aiken County Public School District for the school year 2010-11. Although retired from public school, she continues to teach part-time through the Ruth Patrick Science Education Center at USC-A. In 2021 she completed the requirements for the two-year Palmetto Environmental Education Certification program to be a certified environmental educator. Beth began playing pickleball at her church, St. John’s United Methodist, about five years ago. Although she had never played organized sports before, pickleball quickly became a passion for Beth due to the sheer fun of the game. She now plays in a variety of venues, indoors and outside, several times a week, and has thoroughly enjoyed meeting so many new friends through the sport. In addition to pickleball, Beth loves to hike. During the first year of the pandemic, she hiked the entire Palmetto Trail, from the coast to the mountains of South Carolina. Weekends will often find her camping with a friend in the mountains of the Carolinas, exploring new trails and testing her limits. Another love is writing and her travels and hiking adventures give her plenty of fodder for her blog, www.betheberblog.wordpress.com . Beth is excited about the possibilities of the Southern Pickleball Academy and all that it has to bring to her native city and beyond.
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Director - School District Representative
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Director - City Liaison
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Director - City Representative
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Director - Legal/HR
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