Pickleball, a paddleball sport which is one of the fastest growing sports in the country, had 80 people show up the first night it began in August 2019, according to Dias. She also started a Hanford Pickleball group page, which currently has 513 members.

Dias has attended city council meetings and recreational meetings in hopes of getting Pickleball courts in Hanford.

I feel good about it because fitness is needed and I feel like Hanford has slacked off a little bit in that area and were bringing it back now, Dias said.

Growing up in the agriculture industry, Dias has also taught 4-H and for the last 10 years, shes given school tours on dairy farms to promote the industry to school children. After serving the community for all these years, Dias called it normal because its always been a part of who she is.

My passion comes from being able to work with different people, Dias said. My passion is just being with people and meeting with people and [volunteering is] a good way to meet people.

Shes also made lifelong friends with her volunteer work and grown up with many of them. Dias said that some women she started teaching aerobics to at 19 are now 62 and playing Pickleball with her.

Being a part of a small community, weve all stuck together and grown together in fitness, so I feel like when I started Pickleball, I was with a lot of people that I was with at the age of 19 when I started, Dias said.

Shes also had her children grow up with her friends children and then they coached them in sports together or were involved with 4-H. Living in a small community has afforded them the privilege of staying together as a group.

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Volunteer of the Year: Theresa Dias leads the way in fitness - Hanford Sentinel