An anonymous donor has agreed to fund a bi-annual award in the names of Smashers members who have passed away. The award will recognize and reward a Smashers person or group who voluntarily contributes their time and effort to the Club.
The inaugural award is in honor of Peter Mercado and Ken Ryan, but the award is designed to honor all those Smashers members who have passed away. Smashers will recognize those members on our website in a special section dedicated to this award.
In Memoriam
Peter Mercado (2024)
Margaret (Peggy) Price (2024)
Ken Ryan (2024)
(Family or friends of any deceased Smashers member can request that member’s name be added to this page by emailing the Web Administrator.
March 2026
The Board of Directors is pleased to announce that the bi-annual Smashers Memorial Award for Spring 2026 has been awarded jointly to Wayne & Carol Fullerton and Gene & Kathy Burch.
Wayne Fullerton first served as a Board Advisor. In 2022, he became Board President, serving until July 2025. Under his tenure, the Board focused on giving more voice to all members, updated the club website, initiated the Sponsorship program and online registration and voting. He was also instrumental in re-establishing the Club’s status as a non-profit
organization.
Carol Fullerton has served as a Board Advisor since 2022. She oversees the Sponsorship program, assists with Membership records and most recently was the Event Manager for the 2026 Polk County Senior Games.
Gene Burch has been a Newbies instructor since 2012. He is also a Skills Clinic instructor. A Board Advisor for 5 years, Gene assisted with numerous Smashers events. In 2025, he served briefly as Vice President. Gene was the
Polk County Senior Games Event Manager for 2024 and 2025, and assisted Carol Fullerton at the recent 2026 event.
Kathy Burch was a Smashers Board member for 4 years and continues to serve as a Board Advisor today. The Halloween Games, New Year’s Eve Court Party and the Spring Picnic are a few of the events that Kathy has managed over the years. Kathy was responsible for communications for several years and now oversees the club membership.
Congratulations Wayne, Carol, Gene and Kathy! Thank you for your continued dedication to the Smashers
September 2025
We are pleased to announce the recipients of the second, bi-annual Smashers Memorial Award, J. R. Gray, Matthew Lytthouse, and Keith Wells.’
J. R. joined the Board in 2024 as Secretary and also served as Web Admin and Communications Chair. He was instrumental in developing the Solivita Smashers website and the online membership enrollment and renewal process as well as the team roster renewal process
Matthew has supported the club as Scheduler as well as a Ladders Admin. He launched the club website program in 2023 and designed the team roster renewal process to streamline and automate team roster renewals as well as designing the membership database.
Keith has been supporting Smashers for many years on the Board as the Maintenance chair, responsible for numerous court maintenance items that were deemed outside Taylor Morrison scope and works with TM on court maintenance issues.
April 2025
The inaugural Smashers Memorial Award, in honor of Peter Mercado and Ken Ryan, was presented by Club Treasurer Jim Balas to Patti Greenberg (right) and her dedicated volunteer Newbies instructor group.