Roger BelAir
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Roger BelAir | |
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| Nationality | American |
| Citizenship | United state |
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Roger BelAir is an investor, author, and professional speaker. He is best known for being the first person to introduce the game of pickleball into jails and prisons around the country.
Career
In the 1980s Roger was a Vice President of Seattle-First National Bank, at that time the largest bank in the Pacific Northwest.[1] He was also an entrepreneur. While maintaining his banking career, with Nick Briney he founded BelAIr & Briney, an investment company. In 1984 the firm was profiled in the cover story of Money magazine.[2]
Publicity of his financial success resulted in book offers. In 1987 Doubleday published his book titled Make a Fortune Buying Discount Mortgages.[3] This was followed by How to Borrow Money from a Banker, published by the American Management Association.[4] The success of the banking book led to Roger being a popular presenter at business conventions around the country on the topics of finance and dealing with financial institutions.
Pickleball in correctional facilities
In 2017 CBS's 60 Minutes aired a segment on Sheriff Tom Dart who runs Chicago's Cook Country Jail.While watching the program, Roger observed many of the inmates were simply playing cards or watching TV. Being an avid pickleball player, he commented to his wife, “They should be playing pickleball. They’d not only get exercise but learn valuable "life skills" like learning from mistakes and how to be a good teammate."
He contacted Sheriff Dart and offered his services which were accepted. The introduction of the game at the jail proved to be a huge success. Disciplinary problems were reduced and gang members who previously wouldn’t talk to each other played pickleball together. His introduction of the game in Chicago was featured in a front-page story in USA Today.[5]
The success of his program in Chicago led Roger to prisons from coast to coast, from Rikers Island in New York to San Quentin in California.[6] His efforts have been applauded by the Washington Post,<ref>Maese, Rick (February 22, 2023). "Pickleball's latest court? The prison yard". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2024-03-19. and others.
Pickleball is currently the fastest-growing sport in the country. Others now are replicating Roger’s efforts by teaching the game at prisons in their communities. With 95 percent of all inmates eventually being released, the game helps inmates become better people, resulting in a safer society for everyone.
Personal life
In 1985 Roger was featured in Cosmopolitan Magazine as “Bachelor of the Month."
In 1994 he married Candace Kovner. At the time both were in their 40s. It was the first marriage for both.
References
- ↑ "The Seattle Times". The Seattle Times. August 16, 2015.
- ↑ "Money Magazine". Money Magazine. September 1984.
- ↑ Make a Fortune Buying Discounted Mortgages. Doubleday Publishing. 1987.
- ↑ How to Borrow Money from a Banker. Amacon. 1988.
- ↑ Gleeson, Scott (June 27, 2018). "Pickleball, the country's fastest growing sport, is also popular in this jail". USA Today. pp. A1. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
- ↑ "San Quentin". San Quentin News. July 5, 2023.
External links
This article "Roger BelAir" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical. Articles taken from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be accessed on Wikipedia's Draft Namespace.