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President Steve, presiding over the meeting opened by telling us we are celebrating National Cooper Day (yes there is such a thing). Prez Steve was so excited though because one of his best friends in all the world is his dog who is named Cooper!! Newbie Janet Schwartz led the pledge, Sean McMillan was the greeter for the day, newest newbie Christine Clayburg shared the thought of the day in honor of our main speakers by stating, “We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated.” by Maya Angelou and, Maestro PP Ed Gauld led the singing of My Country Tis of Thee.
President Steve then introduced the “pre-speakers” for the day, Houston Rotarians Vicki Brentin and Rhonda Walls of the Rotary Club of Kerby, Texas who were in town to present the Houston Rotary Lombardi Award to Laiatu Latu, a defensive lineman for the UCLA Bruins, who could not be with us as he was in Minnesota interviewing for a job with the Vikings!! The Rotary Lombardi Award is named after Vince Lombardi and is awarded to the best college football lineman or linebacker. When Vince Lombardi passed away his widow authorized the Rotary Club of Houston to establish this award, which is why they were here today to present it.
Today’s main speaker, Dan Guerrero, Former UCLA Athletic Director was introduced by PP Tom Baron.
Dan, a born and raised Californian, graduated from UCLA with a bachelor’s degree in history and obtained a master’s in public administration from California State University at Dominguez Hills. While at UCLA Dan played second base for the Bruin baseball team and was inducted into the UCLA Baseball Hall of fame in 1996. Dan began his Athletic Director (AD) career at California State, Dominguez Hills from 1988 to 1992. He left to become the AD at UC Irvine for 10 years where in 2002 he was named the West Regional NACDA AD of the year. He then left there and started his 18-year career as AD at UCLA. Most ADs on average last 5-6 years at a university so, Dan’s 18 years was remarkable.
While at UCLA Dan solidified the relationship between UCLA and the Rose Bowl resulting in a $152 Million dollar restoration of the stadium which was completed in 2012. As of 2019, UCLA had 118 NCAA team championships, more than any other University except Stanford. At the time of his announced retirement in 2019, Dan had overseen 32 NCAA titles, the most of any school under its current AD.
In retirement, Dan continues to be involved in sports at the NCAA and conference level. He serves on five different Boards and is involved with international sports which allows him to travel. He was the Chairman of the Selection Committee for the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament, as well.
Dan believes “UCLA changed my life’” and, he is incredibly grateful for the opportunities he was given both as an undergraduate and, as the AD.
Dan finished his presentation by answering questions revolving around UCLA’s move from the PAC 12 to the BIG 10 (you need to know sports to understand this lingo), the Transfer Portal and, NILs (name, image, and likeness) where an athlete can now profit off themselves while a student athlete.
It was a wonderful presentation and we appreciated Dan spending time with us today.
We also appreciated DGE Albert Hernandez of the Rotary Club of Burbank, Marsha Day, President Steve’s better half and Frank Smith, Diane Good’s spouse visiting the Club today. -
Meeting adjourned by President Steve after sharing 2 Cooper quotes: Gary Cooper “The only achievement I am really proud of is the friends I have made in this community” and Alice Cooper “Mistakes are part of the game. It’s how well you recover from them, that’s the mark of a great player.”
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