Raleigh Sports Club leadership team for 2024-25
Ken Updegrave, President
Ken has been a member of the Raleigh Sports Club since 2008 and was our president in 2023-24 and previously served as Vice President during 2014-15 and 2022-23. Ken and his wife, Ginger, live in Wilson and he works professionally for Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp as a Retirement Mortgage Specialist. They have two adult sons in the Raleigh area. They closely follow college sports including baseball, football, men's and women's basketball, and wrestling and can often be found tailgating at events during the spring and fall.
Sally Greaser, First Vice President
Sally Greaser is a native of Raleigh and was our Fist Vice President and Program Chairperson last season. She attended Broughton High School and graduated from NC State in 1978 with a degree in Business Management. Sally is married to Jeff who is a Penn State graduate and also a Raleigh Sports Club member. Sally has been a member of the Raleigh Sports Club ever since she retired from her nearly three-decade career with the NC Department of Revenue. Sally was fortunate enough to be in Albuquerque in 1983 when the men’s Wolfpack basketball team won the National Championship. Sally has been a big help to the club for several years.
Robin Pace, Second Vice President
Robert (Robin) Pace grew up in Charlotte moving to Cary in 1986. He is a former firefighter with the Charlotte Fire Dept, but after relocating, worked for Wake County Public Schools, retiring in 2020 with 32 years of service. Robin is a lifelong sports fan! His Charlotte childhood provided fond memories of the old ABA Carolina Cougars in the early 70s, and later, many short 4 hour drives to Atlanta to watch the Dale Murphy/Bob Horner Braves teams! He is still a Braves fan to this day! Robin is active in the Cary Lions Club, NC MidState Safety Council and works part time as a piano mover, which helps save gym membership fees! Robin has one daughter, Victoria, who lives in Hillsborough.
Rob Turner, Secretary
Rob has been a member of the Raleigh Sports Club since 2020, and will be serving as club secretary for the second consecutive year. Rob lives in Clayton with his wife Nicole and son Henry. Rob has spent his professional career in the Triangle area, working within commercial real estate. The Turner family enjoys following all things Wolfpack athletics, as well as hiking and camping activities.
Bill Whitley, Assistant Secretary
Bill is an avid NC State fan who enjoys the weekly sports talk at our club. His career involved working for 33 years for The Treasurer of the State of North Carolina. In addition to RSC he is currently the President of the Raleigh Host Lions Club. Bill and his wife Mary Lynn celebrated their 50th Anniversary this year. Bill is now happily retired and has more time for his long time interest in horses.
Vince Matal, Treasurer
Member of the club since 2016 and Treasurer since 2020 for the past four years; raised in NYC but has lived in NC much of his adult life (where he learned to love college basketball); career with the Marines, then IBM, then 2 smaller IT companies, and finally as President of Talis Management, a company that managed HOAs; has followed Wake Forest and is now an avid Duke fan|to the dismay of my UNC-loving sons.
Jerry Smith, Sergeant-at-Arms
Jerry returns as Sergeant-at-Arms and RSC Board member. He joined the club in 2020. He was born and raised outside of Pikeville, NC and was greatly influenced by his parents to become an avid sportsman and sports fan. Jerry remembers going to high school basketball games when he was three years of age. He graduated from NCSU and became a CPA working several years in public practice with a large firm. Jerry switched to private industry in1979 settling in Winston-Salem and working for Hanes, Leonard Buildings and Truck Covers, Waste Management and had a "hot time" at Texas Pete. Jerry and his wife Dian of 51 years moved to Raleigh in 2020 to be near family. Dian is also deeply connected to local sports. Her grandfather, was a major supporter of State College back in the early days and her dad, played basketball for Everett Case.
Laura Brohmal, Board of Directors
Laura Brohmal has been a sports fan all her life and joined the Raleigh Sports Club in 2014. She loves hearing colorful and engaging sports stories directly from those who speak to our club. Laura was born in Roanoke Rapids, graduated from Meredith College, and has had a long and successful career in real estate. She is also the mother of two grown children, grandmother of two, and a longtime Wolfpack football season ticket holder.
Kathy Causby, Board of Directors
Kathy has been a member of the Raleigh Sports Club for many years along with her husband Stan. They have been married since 1972 and are long time NC State fans attending football, basketball and baseball games for over 50 years. She currently has season tickets for the women's' basketball games. Kathy retired with 32 years of service from NC State and the Administrative Office of the Courts. She is also currently co-president of the Lake Lynn Senior Club.
John Gladwin, Board of Directors
Member of the RSC since 2013, served as Assistant Secretary for the two years before becoming our secretary in 2020; worked in the HVAC industry for forty-three years prior to retirement; with wife Kendra has two daughters along with a son-in-law and one grandson; enjoys following his Virginia Tech Hokies.
Ed Moore, Board of Directors
Ed has been a Sports Club member since 1977, a board member since 2013, and was Assistant Secretary (2005-06). He retired as a Senior Engineer with CP&L and then a Consultant with ELB & Associates. He has lived in Cary and has played organized basketball since 1976. Ed is an engineering graduate of Virginia Tech and a lifelong fan and longtime Hokie football and basketball season ticket holder.
Rick Ulasewich, Board of Directors
Rick has been a club member since 2002 and has been on our board since 2014. He takes responsibility for hosting our weekly student-athlete. Rick retired from an engineering career at Bristol-Meyers and with wife Jeri has raised two children and now has 4 grandchildren. He played baseball and now attends NCSU football as a long time season ticket holder. Read more!
John Watkins, Board — Director of High School Relations
An active board member who jumped in early to provide guidance to the important job of selecting and honoring student-athletes. John is now semi- retired (working one day a week) from Crossroads Infiniti; originally from Hampton, VA; married to Kristin and proud grandfather of twin girls; a self-avowed sports junkie who readily admits that his alma mater, Virginia Tech, remains his favorite in all sports.
Robert Hinson, past President
Robert joined our club in 2009 and served as our Secretary and then President for three years. He is a retired Landscape Architect with over 40 years' experience in park planning, design and construction management. With his wife, Jan, Robert has a son and daughter. His son was recognized as a RSC student athlete in 2003 and his daughter was a varsity cheerleader at NCSU. Robert and Jan now enjoy five grandchildren.
John Robinson, Chaplain
John has been a club member since 2011 and where he has served as our Club chaplain. We all know John Robinson as the Raleigh Sports Club Chaplain who leads us each week in the pledge of allegiance to our flag and then blesses our meal and our time together. He earned the position because he once filled in so admirably for the pastor of this church. John has been a long time member of Highland United Methodist church and has been a regular Sports Club attendee for more than 10 years. When I asked what John's qualifications were for serving as our chaplain, he answered simply, "I know how to pray." Read more!
Pat Holcomb, Bookkeeper
Pat has served as bookkeeper for RSC since 2015. She is a lifetime resident of Wake Forest who retired from the State of North Carolina as a 34 year IT specialist. Pat has loved sports since childhood watching football and basketball games with her father. She is a lifelong NCSU fan who also loves to travel both in and outside of the US. Pat is married to Ken, also a club member, with a daughter, Morgan.
Tom Lamb, Liaison with Highland Methodist Church
Tom Lamb has worked at Highland UMC since 2000 as the Facility Manager. Highland works with 50 different community organizations who meet at the church over any given year. Tom is the father of Kirsten Lamb, a proud TCU (Horned Frog) graduate who is a Social Worker for Orange County in the Department of Child Protective Services. Tom’s wife is the Senior Pastor at Horne Memorial United Methodist Church in Clayton, NC. The Lamb’s have season tickets for NCSU baseball, pull for Duke Basketball, and for TCU! Tom loves gardening and kayaking and walking the dogs.
David Greenwell, Caterer and Owner of the Forks Cafeteria
David Greenwell bought the Forks Cafeteria and catering service in 2016 from Don and Karen Winstead, themselves Club members. The Forks was established in the 1960s and by 2016 had already been providing the catering of wonderful lunches for the Raleigh Sports Club for several years. David and his wife, Tammy, have two teenage children and live in Wake Forest where the Forks has its restaurant location. David is also a sports fan and a 1990 graduate of NC State. He reports that the restaurant is still the lion’s share of his business and invites club members to drop in anytime they are in Wake Forest to sample more of the same variety of delicious dishes they enjoy on Wednesdays.
Other Members of Note
Nicholas Hulsey, 2023
Nick joined the Sports Club in 2018 and planned our speaker programs as Vice President for the 2019-22 seasons. He is a graduate of NCSU in 2006; works as a Financial Advisor with Edward Jones in Raleigh. Nick and his wife Brittney have 2 children; Eliza Katherine and James and are loyal supporters of Wolfpack athletics.
Carol Pope, 2023
Carol served as our Club president for two years following a year as VP and program chair. She is retired as Professor Emerita from NCSU after a long and distinguished career in education. Carol is married to Andy with two sons and four grandchildren and is a lifetime sports fan who enjoys attending NCSU basketball on a regular basis. Carol Pope has been a sports fan as long as she can remember. Growing up in High Point she played basketball, baseball and touch football with the neighborhood boys. She turned her energies to cheering for them when she got to high school. Cheerleading was the perfect activity for an encourager like Carol who "strives to always help others make their dreams come true." Read more!
Robert Birch, 2024
Native of Raleigh; member of RSC for more than 30 years and president in 1995; ECU '74 grad; Real Estate Appraiser since 1979; now famous as a Bernie Sanders impersonator; married with two kids and four grands.
Bob Kennel, 2024
Bob is a many year member with service on our club Board of Directors. He is a retired Utility Exec with multiple careers in defense, law enforcement, and alternate energy. Bob is also a Christian Minister and has a family of 4 children, 6 grandkids (3 granddaughters attended NCt State). As a distinguished athlete, Bob played 3 sports at NCSU under 3 Hall Of Fame coaches. He loves writing and sports.
Don Ledford II, 2023
Don has been a Club member since 2002 and has served as a Club board member. He has run basketball camps in the Raleigh area since 1995 and directed camps in Moldova, Israel, Egypt, Lithuania, China, and Czech Republic. He has a BS in Physical education from Appalachian State University and Master's in Education from UNC-Pembroke. Don has taught PE for many years in North and South Carolina. He is married to Elizabeth with two children Grace and Luke. Their daughter Grace was recognized as Raleigh Sports Club Student Athlete of the month in May, 2021.
Bob Poole, died at age 90 on Jan 18, 2022
Bob was a long time member of the Raleigh Sports Club and he served for several years as our chaplain. What most of us never knew about Bob was that he set a HS basketball record for the state of NC in 1950 which still stands today. Read more!
Gary O'Neill, 2019
We've all gotten to enjoy the friendly smile and warm greeting we receive each week from our Treasurer, Gary O'Neill, as he hands us our plate and pick sheet. I'll bet you may have already figured out that our most international board member was born in Canada, eh? Read more!
Pete and Judy Benda, 2018
It is my pleasure to introduce the "Featured Couple" of the week - Pete and Judy Benda. They have been happily married for 54 years, and they are a fascinating couple! Pete currently serves on our Board of Directors and is a long-time member, since 1992. Judy, has attended frequently with Pete over the years, and she has been a member herself for the past five years. Read more!
The Brannock Family: Ed, Cyndi, Bud, Mike, 2018
It has been a part of our weekly programs to often feature a Raleigh Sports Club member of the week, but I don't think we've ever before done a Featured Family of the week. Well, today we are recognizing the Brannock family, who regularly attend and sit together at a rear table near the buffet line. Pictured from left to right are Mike, Ed and Cyndi. Bud was not available for the photo. Read more!
Bob Jones, 2018, deceased 2021
Most of us have known Bob Jones by the eloquent and oft times witty introductions he has provided for our weekly speakers. Bob was our Vice President and Program Chairman for three years and has continued setting up our weekly programs this year from his new home in Charlotte. That means that he has does much more than provide introductions for our speakers – he also identifies candidates, contacts, invites and schedules them, and would then hosts them at our luncheons until turning that responsibility over to Carol Pope this season. Bob has done a magnificent job of keeping the quality, diversity and entertainment of our meetings at a high level. His position has allowed him to know personally many of the outstanding sports figures from our area. Now, it's time for us to know a bit more about Bob, our Featured Member for this week. Read more!
Greg Pierce, 2017
Greg Pierce is a lifelong sports fan who had been an active leader of the Raleigh Sports Club since 1999. He served as club president and treasurer for four years after previously gaining experience on the Board of Directors where he significantly upgraded our website, produced an introductory video, and helped improve the administration of our club records. Read more!
John Reid, 2013
Our Featured Member this week is a fan of Western Carolina and UNC Chapel Hill. John grew up in the small community of Pilot Mountain, North Carolina. He tells his grandchildren that he is so old that the Mountain was a lot smaller when he was growing up. Read more!
A. J. Carr, 2012
AJ Carr was raised in Wallace, NC, and played football, basketball and baseball in high school. He was a P.E. major at Guilford College but did not play varsity sports. While in school he got a start in his sports writing career by helping the Athletic Department in their sports information division and also working part time at the Greensboro Daily Record. Read more!
Bill Clarke, 2012
Our Featured Member this week is a Wake Forest fan. He enrolled there at age 17, and upon graduation began his career in the Air Force. Bill became a fighter pilot, flying F-86 Sabrejets in places like Michigan, England, Germany, Denmark and Italy. Read more!
Darrell Dennis, 2012
Darrell Dennis was reared in and around Asheville, NC, and loves to tell stories about his grandfather – a moonshiner, a Baptist Preacher, a railroader, and evidently a darn good carpenter. When a new highway came through Asheville, grandpa's house was in the right of way. He made a deal with the city, took the house apart one piece at a time, and then reassembled it a few miles away! Read more!
Larry Smith, 2011
Our Featured Member of the week grew up an avid NC State fan, following in the footsteps of his father and uncle. Raised in Currituck County, Larry came by his "high tider" accent naturally. He was active in all types of sports, playing basketball and football along with all the usual water sport activities that Currituck Sound had to offer. Read more!
*Attendance fees are: $20 for Members and $25 for Non-Members.
Raleigh Sports Club PO Box 10275 Raleigh, NC 27605
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