California Track & Running News July-Aug 2013, VOLUME 39 NUMBER 3 | Page 8

pacific assn

Election Results, Updates

Irene Herman

[e-mail]

VP’s
Message

8 ct&rn • July–August 2013

Me and Max

Going, going, and still here … Guess you can’t get
rid of me that easily, so here’s one more article
for our members. I’d like to introduce you to your
new executive board: David Shrock, president;
Irene Herman, vice president; J. R. Heberle, secretary; Fred Baer, treasurer; and George Kleeman, past president. John Mansoor remains our
CEO. Just a reminder that our Board of Athletics
meetings are open to all members. The September meeting is usually the most heavily attended
because it’s when the committees find out if their
budget requests have been approved. For instance, the Youth Committee may be requesting
funds for equipment repair and maintenance
costs, clinic expenses, and facility rental fees; the
LDR might request $25,000 for the Grand Prix circuit; and officials could request expenses for
clinic costs and rulebooks.
The majority of our income derives from
sanction fees. Our income has increased over the
past few years because there have been new
races on the roads. If you know of any new races
that haven’t been sanctioned, please direct the
event
managers
to
our
website
(www.pausatf.org) to learn about sanctions and
insurance. We have about the most competitive
insurance policy on the market. Sanctioned races
directly benefit our athletes because a sanctioned race with a certified course is eligible for
national recognition.
Community Steps Up: This year, the Bay to
Breakers almost didn’t happen because it lost its
sponsor. Fortunately, a local San Francisco company—craigslist.org—stepped up to the plate as
primary sponsor. The bombings at the BAA
Boston Marathon had occurred just a month previous, so security at B2B was tighter than usual
this year. B2B is famous for its many costumed
runners, and this year a
number of them ran as
unicorns, the BAA’s
logo.
Thanks
to
craigslist.org for being
the major sponsor of
B2B, one of the top
five most popular
races in the U.S. And
it’s particularly fitting
this year to note that
the craigslist logo is
the peace sign.
Where There’s a
Will, There’s a Way: In
the last several issues
of CTRN, I’ve written

about the long-deferred maintenance of San
Francisco’s Kezar Stadium’s track facility. A few
months ago, at least 22 San Francisco schools, the
SF Track Club, and PA clubs signed a petition to
the San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors, Rec and
Park, and Mayor Ed Lee, and the petition was covered by the San Francisco Chronicle. The upshot is
that the Kezar Advisory Board renewed its push
on this project, which has been on its “to–do” list
since 2007. S.F. Rec and Park submitted a $2M
renovation plan to the Capital Planning Committee and it was approved in May. It was next on its
way to the Budget Committee for the final approval, so listen for the buzz. As you read this, the
project should be in the planning stages. Look for
a new track at Kezar in the middle of 2014. Thank
you to all the coaches, PA members, and officials
who helped champion this project!
On the topic of will, have you been following
the Academy of Arts, SF? It’s an NCAA Division II
university that doesn’t have its own sports facilities and still they took the NCAA D-II women’s
track & field championship title. Read the article
here: www.ncaa.com/sports/trackfield-outdoorwomen/d2
Our association is collecting data on area
track & field facilities. Bob Thompson, one of our
at-large officials, has taken on the responsibility
of forming a chart of various facilities used and
those that are available for our youth clubs and
adults. It will have information on safety, parking
access, rental use, etc.
The 2015 Club National Cross Country in
Golden Gate Park will be upon us soon. A suggestion from a club is that they want to buy a mile on
the cross country course. This will certainly help
our sponsorship. The biggest challenge is finding
a place that can hold 800+ runners for the awards
ceremony. And if you know of a beer sponsor,
please let me know. We plan to reserve the Holiday Inn at Fisherman’s Wharf for lodging. Doyle
Drive will be opening in 2015 so that the trip from
the Fisherman’s Wharf to GGP should be very
fast. We want to make this the best-ever National
Club cross country experience. We have plans to
have food trucks at the south parking lot of the
Polo fields so that all the athletes and spectators
can purchase food during the races. In all of the
previous XC Club national races, there has been
minimal, if any, food for purchase.
Again, I welcome your ideas and questions.
Even though I’m now your vice president instead
of president, I remain your membership chair,
and I want to hear from you. Please email me at
[e-mail]
continued on page 25