32081 LIVING Magazine Cover Story: Meet the Gainor Family

Brian Gainor and I were honored to have 32081 LIVING Magazine, distributed in Ponte Vedra, Florida, feature our family for their March 2023 issue. We had the opportunity to share our family story, a bit about our journey to get to Florida, how I launched my pickleball marketing agency, Vossberg Gainor, and inspiration behind launching Pickleball in the Sun, sharing the best pickleball destinations and experiences.

The Pickle Garden at The Yards made for the perfect setting for the cover photography and to showcase our passion for this sport. Thanks to my pickleball partner and good friend, Mia Azotea, for nominating us for this opportunity.

Read the full feature story below...

Meet the Gainor Family

By Meeka Cook I Photos by Ohaleo Photography - Olivia Hale

The initial meeting between Laura and Brian Gainor started serendipitously as Brian kicked off the conversation with complaints about spending the holidays in Minnesota, which just happened to be where Laura was from as well.

This common bond was a solid connection, and the relationship proceeded fabulously from there. Laura says, "Eleven months later, we were engaged and married in Charlotte with a memorable reception with friends and family. We then moved to Milwaukee for Brian's job to live closer to family and once again enjoy the frigid winters and beautiful summers the Midwest had to offer."

That fateful meeting in Charlotte came about after they completed their education and started making career choices. Laura says, "Brian moved to Charlotte after completing his master's degree in sports administration at Ohio University and securing a job at GMR Marketing. My move was completely on a whim after graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a dual degree in Fine Arts Photography and Journalism & Mass Communications-Advertising."

While in Milwaukee, both of their children, Clara (11) and Garrett (9), were born. During this time, Laura continued exploring her passions working at marketing agencies and non-profit organizations.

Soon Brian's career blew the family off to the windy city of Chicago, where they stayed for nearly five years and where Laura's third baby was born - a marketing consulting agency she named Vossberg Gainor (derived from her maiden name).

Her very first client was USA Pickleball which decided the trajectory of her career and led her to become an expert in pickleball marketing. She was instrumental in bringing pickleball mainstream after appearing on Good Morning America, NBC Nightly News, and The New York Times.

Pickleball quickly became a main focus of Laura's career, and shortly after the pandemic began, an interesting idea to move to North Florida began to brew.

Laura says, "When the pandemic hit, my sister was given the opportunity to take an incredible job with the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. We recognized that this was an excellent time to join family and move to a beautiful area with a temperate climate. We toured Nocatee, and once we saw the stunning waterparks and 12 pickleball courts, it was an exciting decision to head back to Chicago, sell our house and begin a life in sunny Florida."

In August 2020, the Gainors officially moved to Ponte Vedra and found a home in the Twenty Mile neighborhood just a few minutes down the road from Laura's sister's family. It's a perfect setting as Laura's parents now live in St. Johns, and Brian's parents and brothers are just a short drive over to either St. Petersburg or Atlanta.

Since living in Nocatee, they have been enjoying meeting new friends, getting involved in as many activities as possible, and feeling very lucky to have moved onto the street they did because the neighbors have truly become like family.

Their children have adjusted beautifully to their new surroundings. Laura says, "Clara is in 5th grade at Palm Valley Academy (PVA) and was so excited this year to have made the Grace Conservatory Company Dance (GCDC) team and performed at the Nocatee-a-Glow holiday celebration. The whole family went on a Royal Caribbean International cruise ship to watch her team perform (including her cousin Addisyn). She is also in her second year of Girl Scouts of the USA Troop 52017, which she started for a group of her friends.

Garrett is in 4th grade at PVA and enjoys playing year-round soccer in Florida and this year made tryouts to be on the Jacksonville Football Club (JFC) traveling team. He also has a passion for basketball and loves playing with his friends at the Above Basketball Academy and participating in multiple summer camps.

Brian is still working for the same sports marketing agency he was working for when the pandemic forced their team to work completely virtually. He enjoys having his office set up at home in Ponte Vedra and frequently travels to sporting events to help his clients. He's thankful to be once again living in Florida and being a graduate of the University of Florida, he loves he's within driving distance to take the family to Gator games.

Some of their favorite memories with the family so far in Ponte Vedra have been visiting Mickler's beach for sunrise shark tooth hunts, bringing their kayaks to St. Augustine, where they were in awe to see dolphins swimming nearby, and regularly getting together with neighbors, riding their golf carts up to Publix Greenwise Market to have dinner and participating in all the events where they can enjoy time together.

Their neighbors have become like family as they love that the kids can walk back and forth between their houses, and the second they get home from school, they can be found playing in the backyard or riding their scooters down the street.

Laura is the room mom for Clara and Garrett's classrooms and spends as much time as possible at the school. She has also been volunteering for the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation. The organization is close to their hearts, with one of their neighbors and friends being diagnosed with brain cancer, and they are thankful for the support the organization offers families tackling childhood cancer. Laura was honored this year when they asked her to officially become a Jay Fund Ambassador.

After living the pickleball lifestyle in Nocatee for just a few short months, Laura was thankful to have made many friends in the community by playing pickleball daily. She quickly found herself training with Mia Azotea, who also lives in Twenty Mile, for local pickleball tournaments. After becoming addicted to the game and being able to play at unique places around Florida, they took it on the road and started planning girls' trips to as many pickleball tournaments as they could, which inspired her to launch the Pickleball in the Sun brand.

Now, Laura both runs her pickleball marketing agency, Vossberg Gainor, and features premier pickleball destinations across the world on PickleballintheSun.com, writing destination features letting pickleball fans know where the best resorts are located that allow them to not only play pickleball while on vacation but to explore new areas with their family and friends.

Since launching the brand, the Gainors have enjoyed trips to Naples, Florida, participating in the Minto US Open Pickleball Championships, and have gone on multiple cruises where Brian and Laura visited a resort in the Bahamas on one of their excursions to check out their new pickleball courts.

Brian and Laura are very thankful to have discovered the Nocatee community, thanks to her sister Tera, and look forward to the many years ahead of meeting more people, playing pickleball as much as possible, and watching their kids grow up in Ponte Vedra and enjoy all the opportunities the area provides.

A special thanks to The Pickle Garden at The Yards for allowing the Gainors to use their beautiful new pickleball courts for the cover photography. If you're interested in learning how to play pickleball or want to join the Gainors at the courts for a game, visit PlayTheYards.com to learn about their open play times and lessons they provide for members and non-members.

Thank you to Olivia Hale for capturing our family photos. And to Single Double Pickleball for the paddles.