March 2024

Bayside Alumni's Inaugural Pickleball Tournament

Registration and Sponsorships

Registration is by doubles, and the cost is $60 per team.

Sponsorships are $200 and include a team, court sign, and social media recognition. Sponsorships are also available for $150 without a team.



Format and Procedures

Tournament play is round-robin. Each match ends after 20 minutes of play or when a team reaches 11 points. In case of a tie, the team that scores the next point is the winner.

Teams report results to the official scorekeeper; the two teams that have won the most games will play in the finals.

Bayside supplies water, snacks, and Gatorade. Pickleballs are provided.

Check-in begins at 1:00 p.m.; the first games are played at 1:30. Finals begin at 4:00 p.m.

Coming to You, Atlanta!

Keep your eyes open for more information about our first away community alumni get together. Atlanta folks, we will be in touch about a get-together and the inauguration of the Atlanta Chapter of the Bayside Alumni Association in late summer or early fall. Thanks to Mac Randall for offering to organize.

Please help us make sure that every Atlanta Baysider is in the know. If you live in the Atlanta area, please email Alumni Director Mary Dumas at mdumas@baysideacademy.org and share the names of fellow Baysiders you know who live there. And if you don't live in Atlanta but know of someone who does, please let her know as well.

The Alumni Council is working hard to make an alumni directory a reality. They are reaching out to members of each graduating class is search of a someone who will assume the role of class agent. The agent's task is to help update contact information for members of his class. If you are will to serve in that capacity for your class, please email Alumni Director Mary Dumas at mdumas@baysideacademy.org. Chances are you have most of the information in your contacts!

Alumni Children Scour the Bluff

What do you call it when you combine photos with the Easter Bunny, a basketful of live bunnies to hold, face painting and bunny ear-making opportunities, donuts and apple juice to snack on, and hundreds of plastic eggs to find? It's the Annual Alumni Easter Egg Hunt, of course!

Doug Harrell '81

Fairhope, Alabama



In early September 1970, Bayside Academy welcomed 160 new students to campus for the official first day of classes. I was fortunate to have been part of the original second grade class, and I remember the first day very well. Our second-grade class had 27 students. Ten years later, 11 us finished our senior year together. We had 22 graduates in our senior class.

My mother, Ann Harrell, and Josie Pohsl were Bayside’s first librarians. As a result of her years of work in the Bayside Library, my mother was recently given the honor of Faculty Emeritus status.

After graduating Bayside, I attended the University of South Alabama and graduated with a BS in Business Finance in 1985. I entered the workforce and became the Recreation Director at Marriott’s Grand Hotel. I was there for a year and then was offered a job at Bayside Academy as Director of Admissions. Both were fantastic jobs, and while some might consider them jobs of a lifetime, I had another calling.

I left Bayside and returned to the University of South Alabama for an accelerated premed curriculum and then attended the University of Alabama School of Dentistry. I joined my dad in practice in 1992 and have worked in my dream profession in Fairhope for the past 31 years.

My wife, Jo, and I have two children. Courtney, Bayside Class of 2013, is recently married and is now Courtney Terrell. She graduated from the University of Alabama with a BS in Nursing, and she and her husband Jake live and work in Houston, Texas. Our son, Douglas, graduated with a BS in Business Marketing from the University of Alabama in December 2023.

Over the years, Bayside has done an amazing job of reminding me where I came from and who I am. I think I am still the only person who has been a student, alumni, faculty member, parent, and member of the Board of Trustees. Bayside has elected me to its Sport Hall of Fame and its Academic and Professional Society, and I have received the distinguished alumni award, for all of which I feel truly honored.

There are so many things I miss about my time at Bayside. However, the thing I miss most of all is the relationships with the people that make up the Bayside Family. My fellow students, the teachers and coaches, the staff, the parents… ALL were like family to me and truly were the roots of the amazing school that sits there today.

Alexa Bode '10

Houston, Texas

After graduating from Bayside, I attended Ole Miss where I received a degree in Journalism and Public Relations. My first job took me to Birmingham, which I loved, but still found myself itching for a “bigger” change. An opportunity brought me to Houston, Texas, where I knew virtually no one. A huge push out of my comfort zone, my initial thought was to try if for a year and see what happens.

Nearly 10 years later, I’m still in Houston and love it. I’ve built a career in marketing and communications, currently working as a Vice President of Marketing. I’ve met incredible people, am heavily involved with local non-profits, and learned that Texas pride runs deep.

Houston is such a foodie city, and the restaurant scene is next level! But through it all, I’ve come to realize just how lucky I was to grow up on the Alabama Gulf Coast and attend a school as special as Bayside.

The teachers I had in English, Literature, Creative Writing, and Journalism led me to discover my strengths and passions, in turn setting the foundation for my college education, career, and many life lessons.

Many of my friends in Houston attended huge schools with over 1,000 students in each class. When I tell them about Bayside, their response is always, “Do you know how lucky you are?” To me, that is what makes Bayside so unique.

Bayside is family. It’s actually getting to know everyone in your class; all the faculty and staff knowing your name. Bayside is special traditions like Christmas Together and Pine Mountain, and lunch outside on the bluff on a perfect spring day.

My best friends are those I met in high school, and I am forever grateful for the lifelong friendships made at Bayside.



Alabama will always be home, and I will always cherish the memories made at Bayside and the lasting impact it has had on my life.

We are hard at work on Bayside's Off the Bluff magazine, and one of the best sections is the photo collection of alumni weddings and babies.

If you got married in 2022, 2023, or 2024, we ask that you send us your favorite wedding picture. Please include your spouse's name and the date and location of your wedding.

If you added to your family during '22, '23, or '24, please send your favorite picture of your new addition and include the baby's name and date of birth and, if applicable, any siblings.

Pictures should be submitted to Alumni Director Mary Dumas at mdumas@baysideacademy.org