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Oral history interview with Patti Chess conducted by Stefani Evans on March 12, 2025 for the Game On! An Oral History of Sports project. In this interview Patti discusses being one of five children growing up in St. Louis, Missouri, and moving to Las Vegas to live with a local cousin, and attend UNLV on a scholarship. She graduated and spend twenty five years as an investigator with DCFS. During her time at UNLV, she first started playing soccer, then softball. After ten years of playing these sports, she transitioned to tennis, which she played consistently for thirty years. After an injury, she decided to move away from tennis and got involved in pickleball. She eventually became a US Pickleball Ambassador, and taught lessons to those wanting to learn. Pickleball continued to grow, and Patti discusses the tensions that came with this rapid growth between tennis and pickleball. Eventually the tensions lessened and pickleball has become a permanent fixture in Las Vegas. Las Vegas is one of the most rapidly expanding cities for pickleball, and that led Patti to helping grow the pickleball community within CCSD. She trained physical education teachers on how to instruct their students, and it was warmly received. CCSD grew to love pickleball, and eventually expanded to having a teacher league, and yearly tournaments amongst teachers and administrators. Patti has seen pickleball help a variety of people over the years. Those that have struggled with loss and need community, those with mental health issues who need an outlet, and those who want to be more physically active and improve their health. She is confident that pickleball will continue to grow, and Las Vegas will be one of the premiere destinations for pickleball players. Digital audio and transcript available.