Two weeks ago, Annapolis lost a special volunteer, organizer, advocate, coach, and friend. If you’ve tried your hand at pickleball in the Annapolis area, there’s a good chance you interacted with Rick Benton.
Not only was Rick dedicated to promoting this popular rec activity — he was a loyal supporter of anyone who wanted to be involved.
“Rick had a wonderful way of making people feel welcome,” says Peter Gaviorno, president of the Annapolis Pickleball Club (APC). “Whether you were picking up a paddle for the first time or had been playing for years, he offered encouragement, shared his knowledge generously, and made you feel you belonged. We will miss his friendship and kindness as much as his contributions on the court.”
As a member of the APC, Rick helped establish the Pickleball Under the Stars weekly games every Wednesday night during the summer, a program that Peter describes as bringing people together from all across Annapolis.
“He put countless hours into making it happen because he cared about the game and the people who played it,” Peter says. “His legacy lives on in the players he encouraged and the friendships he helped build.”
Rick had an impressive athletic background—he was a speedskater for the U.S 1980 Lake Placid Olympic Games. But even though he was gifted, accomplished, and even inclined to be competitive, he was always an inclusive community member first.
“Rick's greatest strength was bringing people together. He wouldn't have been Rick if he couldn't,” says his friend and colleague Lisa Billings, who collaborated with Rick on endeavors at Life Time Fitness Annapolis. Rick was instrumental in building the pickleball culture at the fitness center when it opened its 11 courts, and he recruited Lisa to help him.
Even before that, it had been pickleball that bonded Lisa and Rick together. Lisa recalls she met Rick when she was new in town, grieving the loss of her husband, and questioned whether she was right to relocate. “He took me under his wing and reassured me that I was exactly where I was meant to be, and that I belonged here,” she says.
That’s a consistent theme in all of Rick’s relationships: He made people feel loved, and he often did it over a game of pickleball.
The APC plans to honor Rick with a bench and a plaque dedicated to him at the Truxton Park pickleball courts, so any players using the city park’s amenities will be reminded of Rick and the legacy he leaves behind.
