The Second Time Around

Last week, thanks to the Seattle Public Library Foundation, where I am board member, I had the special opportunity to have a brief encounter with Caroline Kennedy.  She was here in Seattle as Chair of National Library Week to talk about the value of libraries and her new anthology of poems called “Poems to learn by Heart.”

 

What a lovely and delightful woman she is.  With three grown children, a wry sense of humor and soft spoken nature, it is easy to see that she has a true sense of her place and stature. Casual is a word that comes to mind regarding her demeanor, but the Radcliffe and Columbia Law School grad has her eyes focused clearly on the horizon and knows where she’s headed…even toward a possible ambassadorship, though she dodged it when I asked her…which I think in political speak means she’ll do it, if it’s offered.

 

Ms. Kennedy was enthralled with the students who came to her gathering at the First Baptist Church to recite their own poetry.  In her brief remarks she talked about her new anthology and how she had asked her children to contribute their favorite poems and one of her sons chose the “shortest poem known to man”.  “Not exactly what I hoped for, “ she said, with a crinkle in her nose, “But that’s what I get for letting him choose.”

 

Afterward, she signed her new book and the line was out the door and around the block…literally. She vowed to sign until the end of the line and it was then that I got my opportunity to talk to her.  Having a brief chat meant a lot to me because this was actually the second time I had met her.  The unusual thing was that the two meetings were 50 years apart.

 

My father took a job at the Pentagon before I finished high school and we made the move to DC in stages while I was finishing up.  Though I was not looking forward to my 12^th move in 12 public school years, there was a carrot out there.  Because of my father’s position in the military and my grandfather’s political connections, there was a White House/Capitol Hill internship being dangled in front of me.

 

I’ll skip the details of that story for Caroline’s sake and just say I took the internship and, in many respects, it changed the direction of my life.  That first summer was an incredible head trip.  I was selected to be on a special task force called the White House Seminar.  A group of us interns organized a weekly meeting with a who’s who of the Kennedy cabinet.  Each week, We got to meet and talk with people who are now indelibly a part of political history.  Bobby Kennedy (of course); Lyndon Johnson; Robert McNamara; Newton Minnow (FCC); Hubert Humphrey; Arthur Schlesinger and the list goes on.

 

Twice President Kennedy cancelled and, as we approached the last meeting of the summer, it appeared again that he wouldn’t be joining us. Vice President Johnson was scheduled for an encore, still pretty cool. But literally the day before, we all got calls from the Secret Service checking our security clearances (White House interns had to have at least “Top Secret”).  A little later the word came down that the buses would be picking us up at prescribed locations around the mall for the trip to the White House.  We were Rose Garden bound!

 

It turned out that I had a meeting there anyway so when I finished early, I checked in for a front row seat…there were actually no seats, we all had to stand.  Here was my chance for a brush with greatness and peek at the destiny of our country.  The President’s remarks were about the importance of government service (I still have a copy of the speech).  It was a sunny, hot day but I would have stood there forever, 20 feet away from the President who made public service real to me.

 

When he concluded the speech, the secret service closed ranks but I stepped up and said I wanted to shake hands.  I guess I was not a threat because they let me by. My 30-seconds with him was answering “Who have you  been working with?”  “Bobby told me about your father.” (a story for another time) “You can be anything you want to be.  Think hard about helping us out here in the government.”

 

As he moved on, I realized I was almost to the portico and suddenly, Jackie appeared with “John John” and Caroline.  They started shaking hands with all the interns.  I shook Jackie’s hand. She said “Thank you for your service” and then “John John” and Caroline each shook my hand as well.  All I could manage to say was “Beautiful children.”

 

That day lives on in my mind and I constantly revisit it in bits and pieces depending on the situation.  I really wanted to tell Caroline the whole story but there was just too much going on and I’m sure her hand was getting tired from signing hundreds of books.  I did get an abbreviated version of the encounter out, though, and she seemed engaged by it.  When I finished, she smiled warmly and said “Sorry, but I don’t remember.” It really didn't matter because I did.

 

What impressed me most about my second encounter with Caroline was that, despite the tragedy in her life, she seems to get her strength and drive from her family.  Caroline is the sole survivor, yet she talks so casually and comfortably about them.  “Uncle Teddy always said…” “Mom did this or that” “John and I were…” “I remember when my father…” It’s just as though they are all still with her. For her sake and ours, I hope they are. Another day to remember.

Our Government in DC got better today...

The restaurant was called Tastevin then.  The lunch was delicious.  As usual, our Seattle weather couldn’t quite decide whether it was spring or winter, but the sun did come out.  I wasn’t sure why these board members from the American Lung Association wanted to take me to lunch but who am I to pass up a great meal?

As it turned out, they were looking for a fundraising idea that would get the business community involved.  I was consumed with mountain climbing expeditions in those days and, although it sounds “old hat” now, I said why don’t we have Lou Whittaker lead some business people on a climb of Mt. Rainier for corporate donation to the association. It really hadn’t been done then and I just knew that Lou would do it.

Lou’s face lit up when I asked him and he said, “You know I had asthma as a kid and that’s one of the main reasons I started going to the mountains…for the clean, fresh air.”  That’s all it took. We were off on what would become a major international fundraiser for the Lung Association that continues in various forms today.
 
 


Once Lou was on-board, we put out a call to the business community for climbers.  The first organizing meeting was at the Sheraton Hotel.  We weren’t quite sure who would come but the first person through the door, early at that, was a young banker named Sally Jewell. We were a long way from Washington, DC and the White House, where today, she became Secretary of the Interior, but her love for and commitment to the outdoors was written all over her face.  She was full of ideas and enthusiasm and became a key member of the climbing party. Since then, she has been a leader in the outdoor sports arena everywhere her career has taken her.

Sally and Lou Whittaker made a formidable team when getting the business community involved with outdoor causes and, even that first year, she helped get almost every major business in Seattle involved in the climb.  When she became president of REI 10 years ago,  her objectives were clearly defined.  We’re used to working with engineers around here and Sally was trained as one.  Things are done logically, methodically and the outcomes are refined until the results are satisfying.  While at REI, she has doubled the size of the company and made amazing inroads from sustainable operations to outdoor stewardship programs. We took many program ideas to her over the years and she listened, evaluated and always seemed to find the best way to accomplish the goal. Impressive.

Sally Jewell is a remarkable person and I have no doubt that she will leave an indelible mark on the Department of the Interior. She brings an understanding of all sides of key environmental issues and a love for the outdoors that knows no boundaries.  She’s smart, transparent, conscientious, deliberate and a good friend. I’ve offered to help her in any way I can. She will make our government better. She’s a great ambassador for our Northwest ethic and I wish her well.

 Posted on Friday, April 12, 2013

Go, Man, Go!

The Final Four college basketball tournament consumes America this time of year.  And last night's title game was no exception.  Kevin Ware, the Louisville player who broke his leg, was truly inspiring. The tournament brings back thoughts of growing up on high school basketball in Indiana.  If you've seen it, the movie "Hoosiers" is not an overstatement of the love for the sport in the Midwest.

Although the format has changed, the state high school tournament was an all-in, winner-take-all affair.  Every high school  with a team could compete against all others. One class, no divisions, everyone gets an equal chance to win. Pretty cool.

High School basketball in Indiana is the ultimate sport. Even James Naismith, who invented the game in Massachusetts, reportedly said, after viewing a state championship game in the Hoosier State, "Basketball really has its origin in Indiana. It is the center of the sport." Like football is to Texas and hockey is to Minnesota. I went to three high schools during my father's whirlwind military career but there was one in Indiana where I went, left and returned. That school was a champion and still is today. In fact, the Carmel Greyhounds just won their third state basketball championship earlier this year.

As one might expect with a sport that is viewed as a religion by die-hards, tradition is revered. Once the year-end holidays were over, it was basketball all the way to spring. Never an open evening or weekend. Constant pep rallies, booster club meetings, bake sales for new uniforms and equipment, finding new songs to sing on the team bus and Sunday pick-up games. And the games were sold out. Some say the reason basketball has its stature in Indiana is because of the rural nature of the state and the small enrollment at many schools (a victim of consolidations today). You only needed five players and a couple of reserves to field a team. But the fans were a different matter. Even at a medium-sized school when I was playing, our gymnasium was like a Fieldhouse and would seat thousands...and getting a ticket was no easy feat if you hadn't been going to games for years or had a kid that was playing. All eyes were on the Butler University Fieldhouse in Indianapolis (shown above and featured in the movie "Hoosiers"), where the finals were played annually to an SRO-crowd of over 15,000 rabid hoops fans. "Hoosier Hysteria" is what they call it.

There is one unique tradition from my playing days that I'm pretty sure has fallen by the wayside. But, in its own way, it was very special. No other professional team has made a more indelible mark on the sport than the famous Harlem Globetrotters. Their story is lore in Indiana and there's hardly a high school player who has not stood in a circle with his teammates, whistling "Sweet Georgia Brown" while trying to pass the ball behind his back or between his legs. That is the Trotters famous pre-game warm-up.

Two Hollywood movies were made about the Globetrotters and their success but one of them was the vanguard. "Go Man Go" starring Dane Clark (ask your parents) and Sidney Poitier (a basketball player?) seemed magical at the time. It was played as a special feature in every movie house in the state during tournament month. I can't count the number of times I saw it but we would sit through some pretty bad movies to see "Got Man Go" again. Good prints of the film don't seem to exist any longer but, recently, through the magic of eBay, I found a DVD copy of the film. The packaging looks great but the DVD is nothing but a screen shot of the film being shown and, although there are some good segments, it generally is a really bad product.

But "Go Man Go" does bring back the spirit of those days. It has some of the original Globetrotters playing themselves. It's got a lame love story between Dane Clark, the coach, and the woman he married. And it has a true Hollywood ending which, ironically for the 1950's when it was made, is way ahead of its time promoting racial equality in the big championship tournament between all-white and all-black teams.

The film still evokes the emotion of young lives being shaped. It engenders the impact of sport. It brings to life a time when almost everything was new and undiscovered. Basketball may not be America's sport but it is Indiana's sport and "Go Man Go" touches a nerve. The only thing missing is the unexpected late-winter blizzard roaring outside and the concern about whether the team bus will make it to the next game on time. We'll get there, though. "Go Man Go"!


Posted on Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Pro Wrestling is real...entertainment

This weekend is the Super Bowl of professional wrestling.  I know, I know. There's the Final Four but that big game is next week. WrestleMania is the biggest show on earth each year where all the grudges, fights, verbal confrontations and name calling come together for retribution in the pro wrestling arena.

When it hit Seattle and I was asked to help promote it, I have to admit I scratched my head a bit. When I was a kid, pro wrestling was a Saturday afternoon TV staple. Widely assumed to be completely "rigged" and contested by a group of vacant-headed ex-semi-pro athletes with very loud voices.

Then came Vince McMahon.  The World Wrestling Federation (WWF), that lost in the showdown with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and became World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), is a true entertainment phenomena.  It's Las Vegas on-wheels and the events reach 13 million viewers each week on television and 15 million a month on their website and mobile app.

Seattle was the first stop after the name change and the "branding" machine was hard at work. So I decided I would "take a breakfast meeting" with my now-good-friend, Mr. WrestleMania, Bob Collins. Formerly a big-time circus guy, Bob made WrestleMania all that it has become over the years. It turns out we had quite a bit in common in our work histories and he had me at the ham-and-cheese omelet. I signed up for the ride on the spot and what a ride it was.

To say that I was impressed with every aspect of the show is a huge understatement.  the organization was tight as a drum.  No room for error.  It was a dream to work with Bob and the marketing team. They attack a market like my friends at Cirque du Soleil. Head-on, all the way and they don't let go until they leave town.

News conferences and special events are more fun than the White House but no less orchestrated.  No shortcuts and first class all the way. The on-the-ground team spent weeks in Seattle prepping.  We had a sponsor-summit that closed the deal for several prominent local businesses on the spot.  It was easy for them to see the benefit of the audience for this amazing event.

And then...the superstars showed up. Two good weeks for promotion took them everywhere. The Rock was in town, along with Stone Cold Steve Austin and Vince McMahon himself. All of the athletes were just that...trained, polished, college-educated, courteous, well-spoken and engaging.  The love affair with their fan base is amazing.  It's everywhere.  Even my doctor knew the standings going into WrestleMania weekend. And I think the Space Needle actually swayed when the Rock and McMahon came in and sat down for lunch in Sky City restaurant. They were deluged.

I took local favorites Bradshaw and Ivory (Seattle's own Lisa Moretti) across the border to Vancouver for a couple of days of interviews.  the border guards asked them both for their autographs and Canucks were shouting their names across Georgia Street in downtown Van.

And kids, these wrestlers love them.  We brought them to the Space Needle to talk.  They went to schools and hospitals. community is never overlooked.  Last year, WWE raised $1 million on its own for Susan G. Komen to fight breast cancer.

The event itself was frankly a blur. WWE takes pride in selling out any stadium they go to, no matter what the size.  The commemorative plaque on my wall says 54,097 in Safeco. A record.  They were pushing to reach 50,000.

Of course, the outcomes are pre-arranged. It's a story they are telling and the season is long and all the pieces must be in place along the way. But what I learned was that how the wrestlers get to the outcomes is pretty much up to them. And there is nothing fake about the action. Slapping, smacking, punching, kicking, gouging and slamming are all real. And though the blood isn't intentional, it does appear every once in a while. I rode the stadium truck back to the dressing rooms with Hulk Hogan and he had a very real cut under his eye that would have made Rocky Balboa proud.

The success of WrestleMania is astounding. The live gate exceeds $3million.  The pay-per-view income is about $20 million for each single WrestleMania event. The mechandise sales bring in over $20 million annually.

And don't think for a minute that they wouldn't use social media to its fullest. They currently have 90 million Facebook friends, 40 million Twitter followers and they received 1.5 billion views from their You Tube posts last year.

This is sports entertainment at its best.  Last year, WWE  produced 248 live events in North America, reaching 1.5 million fans at an average ticket price of $45. And that's before television and all their other revenue streams. What an amazing business.  Was I impressed to get a look inside?  You bet, I was. Thanks,Bob Collins.  You're a master.



Posted on Friday, April 5, 2013