President’s Message: It’s An Honor To Be Your President

By Pam Calhoun, President, Nevada Youth Soccer Association

It’s hard for me to believe that a girl from North Carolina who played softball and worshipped ACC basketball is now the President of the Nevada Youth Soccer Association. I am already humbled by those who have held this position before me and know that there are great challenges to be faced in the near future.

Let me start by introducing myself. I am married to a project engineer, Tom, who works for GE. We have two sons — TC is 24 and graduated from UNR in biology with a minor in GIS; Chris, who is 23, graduated from Virginia Tech and is now a graduate student at Texas A&M in engineering. As for me, I graduated from Clemson University with a BS in geology, and from the University of Georgia, Athens, with a MS in geology. I came to Nevada as a geologist and later became a teacher — I teach Algebra 1/2 at Traner Middle School in Reno.

I am an active volunteer and was recognized by President George H.W. Bush as the 64th point of light for volunteerism in the field of environmental education. I chair the Reno Youth Sports Foundation and in my spare time assign referees for local tournaments and GBYSL. I know it sounds crazy, but I also crochet, quilt and love to cook.

I do have one huge problem, and that is getting into situation without really knowing how it happened – which brings me to the presidency. I ran for First VP, because as Northern VP I had worked on State Cup and ODP, so it was a natural growth position. I never expected to be President. With that said, let me say that I will do my best and promise to keep things moving forward.

As for the future, all I can say is that I’m a hard worker and we have a great state board. We will keep things moving forward. We will be working on restructuring ODP, developing strong competition opportunities within the state, growing our recreational base and providing the best customer service possible. I believe in youth soccer and know what a positive influence this sport has had on my own family, and even though ethics on and off the field need to be addressed, I still believe that the soccer family is the greatest family to which to belong.

Thanks for your support, and I can promise to work hard, listen and try to do what is best for the youth of Nevada.