SJAC
The Shooting Gallery
Filed: January 14, 2004
Hey…hey…hey…
Never too far away
From having a few things say
About the club that somehow doesn't fade away
There is no sense in crying…
Hey…sometimes it's puns, often it's poetry….yeah, that's it……poetry…….that's what we have been looking for……"Poetry- in- Motion" is the best way to describe the South Jersey Athletic Club in this new year of 2004.
Yes, indeed!
But before we go forward let's go back a bit to pick up the pieces to where we left off.
On a glorious day in November the SJAC once again came out….Ahead! ..as in ….First Place!…On Top! …..In Front! ….. Above the others! …in the USATF Mid-Atlantic series…….Okay, okay, okay we're getting carried away…but, hey…..even if the club had not successfully defended the title it first earned in 2002, we would still be saluting some champions at year's end. That's because we have people who showed us how to win big time in the games that count the most.
First and foremost on that list is Ed Espenshade.
On November 12, just one week after enduring a second operation for a brain tumor, Shade walked into the back room at Franco's as if it was just any other meeting…… which…..of course…..it wasn't.
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Ed Espenshade and Denise Dahlhoff at the November SJAC meeting |
Ed had been in good spirits throughout the previous week, thanks in part to the outpouring of support from his friends and family. Shade, of course, is never one to miss a SJAC meeting. Still, it might have been a bit taxing to come out and socialize just a few days after some tough surgery. But…you know what?…That's the kind of thing that makes a club like the SJAC special. Because much of the support Ed got came for from our very group. So that "Tower of Power" himself, Nick Pomponio, picked up Ed at his house and drove him over to the pizza parlor in Westmont. There were about 30 or so people waiting to greet him. |
| When he came into the room …. well… there were some hugs…….. and some mugs ….and…more hugs…and…..well…. wouldn't you know it?……. Once Ed sat down and relaxed and gave off that impression of "hey, let's get this meeting going" …well… the room started buzzing a little and then it started-a-buzzing a whole lot and what started out as a stuffy gathering became a-hooting and a-hollering grand old time. By evening's end, when we asked Ann Warsing to take the lamp shade off her head and get down off the table, a lot had been done and a lot had been decided and you just got the feeling that for one night in Westmont the world was one grand place to be. |
Rich Wright and his elementary school coach, Dan McAlee at the November club meeting |
Oh yeah, we should point out that some new leaders stepped up and the chorus said, "Hey, go for it!" and ….what do you know?….we got new a new batting order in the starting line up of leadership.
Okay….because it's traditional to have titles we'll "officially" list them here:
President……………Brandon Hamilton
Vice-President…….John McMenamin
Secretary …………. Ed Maher
Treasurer …………Joe Kopacz
Okay….wait a second…there's something a little too staid about these titles. Come on now, this our core group, you know….. our guys…..if you're ever in a tight situation, need some help, you like having Hamilton and McMenamin and Maher and Kopacz around, you know what we mean. So let's think about some titles that better fit this team. You know, this is a pretty tough group here and they deserve some better forms of recognition.
Let's start with this "President" thing.
We have a President. His name is George Bush. That's right …..he's our Commander-in-Chief, duly elected under the guidelines established by the Constitution, which governs our nation. An amazing document, a grand vision….although it's too bad many people don't ever really read it.
Anyway….for some reason every company, school board, ironing bored, labor union, textile workers group, PTA, Home Association, and whatever has a top dog, head honcho or big cheese that loves to be called president.
How un-original is that?
What are we really talking about here? We're talking about Brandon. And what he is? He's our leader! Okay, but, Brandon deserves a little more here. He is our fastest runner--although new member Trevor Orthmann is not that far behind. Brandon is also somebody who recently took what Bruce Springsteen, in one of his songs, likes to call, "A Leap of Faith." He proposed to fellow club member and fine all around person Sue Schwenderman. Sue responded favorably to this suggestion and, boy, along with Ed Espenshade's appearance at the recent meeting has the SJAC ever had at two more inspiring events occur at almost the same time? Of course, just because two people have special feelings toward each other doesn't always mean they are going to try to make their bond a lifelong union. No, a "Leap of Faith" requires a little bit of fearlessness. In the movie "Friends of Ken" there is a story about group of tough men called the Black Lions. We won't get into the big details here but you can read more about it in "They Walked Into Sunlight," a new book by Pulitizer Prize winning author David Maraniss. Anyway…one the men the Black Lions look up to is General (Ret.) Jim Shelton. They like to call him "Fearless Leader." So in honor of Jim Shelton, Tom Hinger and all the others in Dave's magnificent book, we're going to call Brandon our
"Fearless Leader"
Sounds nice doesn't it?
Speaking of the word "nice," let's do something about this job title called "Vice-President."
Ever look up the word "vice" in the dictionary? Granny Clampett did. That's right! Don't you remember "The Beverly Hillbillies." Hard as it may be to believe now, this show was once a ratings topper in that crazy barometer of America known as "Neilsons." Anyway, one of the best episodes in the series was the one where Mr. Drysdale gave the Clampett family jobs in his bank. Granny was named a "Vice-President,"……but she didn't like that!
She took out a dictionary, looked up the word "vice" and scowled.
| vice \ 'vis\ n [ME, fr. OF, fr L vitium fault, vice] (14c) 1 a: moral depravity or corruption : WICKEDNESS b: a moral fault or failing c: a habitual and usu. trivial defect or shortcoming: FOIBLE (suffered from the ~ of curiosity) 2: BLEMISH, DEFECT 3: a physical imperfection, deformity, or taint 4 a often cap: a character representing one of the vices in an English morality play b BUFFON, JESTER 5: an abnormal behaviour pattern in a domestic animal detrimental to its health or usefulness 6: sexual immorality; esp PROSTITUTION syn see FAULT, OFFENSE |
Granny didn't want any of that. So what did she do?
She drew a line down the left side of "vice" and made it "nice- president"
"I 'm Granny Clampett… the nice President!"
So now we have a Nice President. It's John McMenamin who, we hope, doesn't mind being called a "nice" guy.
Fearless Leader……..Brandon Hamilton
Nice President……….John McMenamin
Now let's get to the "Secretary."
When we say, "secretary" we think of all those hard working women who do much to organize the unorganized lives of their bosses. This particular job-along with nursing-is made up of mostly women. There is a reason for this. Women happen to be very good at this sort of thing. Maybe it's asking too much for men to own up to this reality. But they can up the ante a little and make these positions more prestigious salary-wise, if you know what we mean. Just a thought….and a tangent to think about …but getting back to the subject…. when we think of Ed Maher we are not thinking of a secretary. What Ed is….is a very good coordinator. His knowledge of the USATF Mid-Atlantic Series and ability to field teams has helped give the club a competitive team goal. And this is a good thing. While we all collectively get together to have fun and stay fit we should never harness the simple human desire to be faster. And accomplishing something also brings with it a sense of pride.
A good example of this was the Radnor Five Mile Run. This was a race in the USATF series that the club was well represented in. Ed Maher put together a good team, some other members in the club came to run, Ken Sheil brought his camera but not his brain or back-up batteries and thanks to a lot good performances, a splendid time was guaranteed for all. In fact, a good friend of Ken Sheil's named Bob Sargent came out to watch the festivities. He was very impressed with the club, especially all the awards they won-individually and collectively-and all the fun they had doing all of this. Since there was no other club visible or vocal that day, Bob thought the SJAC was the premiere running team of the Delaware Valley. Of course, there are other fine clubs and for the moment-for the moment-those Bryn Mawr runners might the best tail-gaters among us, but for one day at least one of the main line's main citizens was mightily impressed. Sometimes in life you need that, someone on the outside giving those on the inside a little perspective of what they're accomplishing. Anyway…Ed Maher is the guy that helps brings all this about. Even when there's a local race that's not part of the USATF series, he's informs the club about it. So Ed's really many things and a good guy doing it so why don't just say that he's the Field Coordinator and leave it at that.
Fearless Leader…………. Brandon Hamilton
Nice President ………….. John McMenamin
Field Coordinator ……… Ed Maher
Now we come to Joe Kopacz, elected as "Treasurer." Well, we have someone with the same title at a cabinet level in our national government. But, considering the way that particular club spends money, like spending what they don't have and racking up deficits, we're not really sure anyone there deserves the title of "treasurer." Banks have treasurers and that makes sense considering that money is their business, so maybe it's best to leave that title in the vaults. On the other hand, the club does have a treasury, albeit a small one. Let's say there's 100 club members. At an annual dues rate of $15 per person we'll really only talking about a $1500 treasury. Which is not a lot of money. And the club does a responsible job of looking for ways to utilize this, never spending any money without first discussing the topic at the monthly meeting. But you need someone to handle the paperwork and that's what Joe Kopacz will be doing. But calling Joe a "treasurer" doesn't do justice to some of things he brings to club. Joe joined the SJAC last year but is no newcomer to the local running circuit. A warrior as a competitor he also a funny guy and boy, are people like that ever so valuable to groups like us. No, Joe is, quite simply, a very valued member…….a treasured person! There you go!
Fearless Leader ……. Brandon Hamilton
Nice President ……… John McMenamin
Field Coordinator….. Ed Maher
Treasured Person…. Joe Kopacz
So this is the fine group our members have elected to lead us in the new year. But you know, these guys-talented as they are-can't do everything that's needed to the keep the club running in a reasonably, orderly fashion. Remember, this is a volunteer organization and the time everyone finds for it only comes after they've expanded considerable energy towards things like family, job or exotic vacations, if you happen to be Ann Warsing. As it happens the club has a few people who already fulfill some unique, un-elected roles. And it's important to note that most of these roles are not elected positions but, instead, positions of responsibility manned by people who do it because they enjoy it. Take, for example, Ed Espenshade, who coordinates the Summer Speed Series. As previously noted, this event is really the SJAC's most visible extension into the community and most useful activity when it comes to bringing new people into the fold. Since we've already used up the title of "coordinator" why we don't just say that Ed's the "Summer Series Director" and list him as that.
Another important role player is Jim Flanagan. Of course if he did nothing else other than just be a 66 year old guy who's out there acting liking a kid he'd be more than fulfilling a vital part of leadership. But, no, Jim goes beyond that. He's likes to chat a little which always helps to loosen up things during a group run. And, of course, he never stops talking up the virtues of joining a club like the SJAC. That makes him our foremost recruiter, a vital and important position in any social organization. And he does this very well…..although some club members have never forgiven him for being the person responsible for bringing Ken Sheil into the SJAC. So Jim is not just a recruiter. And since you'd be hardpressed to find anyone with his enthusiasm and energy will simply call him the "Grand Recruiter".
Now, it's important to remember that when it comes to bringing new people into the fold, recruiting is only half of it. No, at some point a respective potential new member is going to come to a Wednesday meeting or come out for a group run. Better yet, they might wander into Starbucks on a Sunday morning at say, 9:30 or so. And if that's the case, well, they might meet Kopacz and Flanagan and Maher and Hamilton and some of the others but the person that's going to get their attention is the dazzling Denise Dahlhoff.
| Because she lives close by Denise utilizes the advantage of luxury and scraps the sweatpants look in favor of something more sophisticated before she joins everybody at Starbucks. In doing so she's not only redefined how a runner can look after a long workout but has added a whole lot of class to the SJAC brunch bunch. We wrote about Denise before, how she was new to the area and found her way into the club. Since then, she's not only been a key addition to the USATF Team. She's a pleasant, all-around fun person that makes friends easily and, given her background-she hails from Germany-that makes her our foremost ambassador of goodwill. Hey….there you go….there's a role (model) if you will. Denise can be our "Ambassador of Goodwill." Okay…okay..okay..she might say something like, "Hey, what do I have to do?" Actually, she doesn't have to do anything but be her wondrous self and just let good things happen. |
The SJAC crew relaxes and "re-caffinates" at the Haddonfield Starbucks after a long Sunday morning run (left to right; RIch Garner, Rich Wright, Jim Flanagan, Ken Sheil, Joe Kopacz, Denise Dahlhoff and Jim Harris) |
So there you have it. As far as the new titles go…well…..you can take them or leave them or think about it or mull it over but….hey….you know…maybe you can just a lot of fun with it all…if you will.
Anyway…..That it's!…..for now.