Al Sheahen endorses Margerum for masters chair
Al Sheahen — a former WAVA treasurer and editor/publisher of National Masters News — has unofficially endorsed Joy Upshaw Margerum for USATF masters chair. In an email note to fellow masters pioneer Bob Fine and others, Al wrote: “Joy Upshaw-Margerum has been active for at least 12 years, not only at the national level, but at the world level, as well. She’s an excellent competitor (mostly sprints, hurdles, jumps). Moreover, she has a very big personality. She smiles a lot, says hello to everyone, and, in my opinion, would make an outstanding administrator. I think Masters T&F is fortunate that she’s willing to run.â€
I’ve been in touch with Al and Bob because I suspect Joy would be the first baby boomer as masters T&F chair. Joy was born in 1961 (between the boomer bracket years of 1946 and 1964). I asked Al and Bob for a chronology of the masters chairmanship.
Al’s went like this:
> 2002-2006 George Mathews
> 1997-2001 Ken Weinbel
> 1990-1996 Barbara Kousky
> 1984-1989 Jerry Donley
> 1981-1983 Jim Weed
> 1980 Wendy Miller
> 1977-1979 Bob Fine
> 1972-1976 Dave Pain (I’m not sure about these dates; Fine would know)
Bob added this:
“Originally the Masters were a subcommittee of the Men’s Track & Field Committee. Ken Bernard was the appointed subcomimittee chair. That would be about 1970. I was appointed the subcoommittee chair in 1971. In 1972, the Masters became a separate standing sports committee. I served as the chair from 1972 until 1980.â€
Me again:
It turns out that Wendy Miller is a guy — the Wendy being derived from his given name Wendell. So if Joy were to win the chair election in six weeks, she’d be the second female chair of the Masters T&F Committee — after Oregon’s Barbara Kousky.
I’m still trying to figure out how old the chairs were when they took their seat. At 45, Joy might be the youngest.
6 Responses
Age is not the issue, nor is gender, the issue is who can lead the masters without turning the job into a target for controversy.
The past several years George Mathews became just about as controversial as USATF itself. I do not claim to know the reasons for this, but part of it may have been his rather unfriendly attitude. I am sure he is a very nice fellow but he certainly did a great job of ignoring those outside the inner circle.
As for the difference between the two announced candidates, may the less controversial one win.
Did a quick Google on Wendy Miller – he appears to one of the founders of the Chicago Marathon in 1977 and the one who brought in the first sponsor. Source – LaSalle Chicago Marathon website.
Ken you seem to be “banging the drum” pretty hard for Joy and she sure sounds great..BUT..i think Mark Cleary has been working VERY hard ACTIVLY in Masters athletics for at LEAST 6 years..he seems to have unlimited energy…and i dont think there can be a question to his dedication to Masters track and Field. As YOU well know Mark and I have had differences and thats what makes the world go round. I think Mark was responsive to my comments in the past and this shows that he actually listens and more importantly responds to feedback.I really think it should be noted that Mark Cleary has done a lot of work for WE masters athletes. Joy sounds great as well.. i might add …BUT i sure hope we do not get one and “lose” the other.
I’ve been a masters athlete for the past 5 years. During that time, I’ve run in numerous Masters Invitational Races and Association/Regional Championship meets, all produced without a hitch by Mark Cleary. Mark’s also currently in charge of the So Cal USATF x-country program. He has been active as the leader of one of the top masters clubs in the country (his SoCal Track Club), a leader at the USAFT Association level, and a leader at the USATF National level. His participation runs across the board – from x-country to track to road racing. And I dare say there’s not a top masters athlete in the country who hasn’t had some contact with him!
On the other hand, I don’t know Joy at all. She might be an extremely qualified candidate, but she’s a mystery to a lot of us – or at least to me.
The next Chair has to be unbelievably committed to the post, and what I’ve observed of Mark is that his personality fits the bill. I disagree that the next chair should be without controversy. The last thing we need is someone who’s unwilling to shake things up a little. Our sport needs to be dragged into the new millenium, and Mark has been a big supporter of the potential for exploiting the Internet as a tool to do just that (take note of what Dyestat has done for High School Running – it’s no coincidence that high school performances have suddenly exhibited a surge not seen since the ’70’s at the same time that Dyestat is receiving up to a couple million hits a day!).
My point is this: let’s think this election through carefully. Anyone who knows me knows that I’ve had my share of arguments with Mark Cleary. But what I’ve never argued against is his unparalled commitment (some might say obsession 😉 with our sport. This is a guy who cheers every single age-group and event equally, who runs a top club, who runs the Masters National Invitation Program, who puts on our regional track championships, who manages our association cross-country program, and who still has the time and energy to compete (on the track, course, road) like a mad-man himself.
Personally, it will take a lot to convince me that Mark’s dedication and forward-thinking isn’t what our sport needs.
But I remain open to persuasion – just show me a resume that’s better.
Pete,
I understand your concern. Please allow me to share my thoughts.
First, let me state up front that I am a friend of Joy. We have competed together nationally as well as internationally for many years….
Joy has been very active in the Masters Track & Field community as well. She has been the Chair of the Masters Committee for the Pacific Association for many years. Additionally, she is the founder of the JackRabbits Track Club. A club she started simply because she believes in giving back to the community that’s given so much to her.
As a short summary of some of her most recent involvement in Masters track, Joy has served (or is currently working) as:
– Meet director for Pacific Association Masters
– Meet director for the 2006 Bay Area Senior Games
– Local Organizing Committee for the 2007 and 2008 Bay Area Senior Games
– Local Organizing Committee for the 2009 National Senior Games at Stanford
Moreover, she has coached on a variety of levels; from Youth to elite athletes (her sister is an Olympian). Most recently, she just returned from a coaching stint with the U.S. Women Track Team at the DecaNations track meet in Paris, France. Finally, her exploits on the track herself are unparalleled as she is accumulating many American and World records.
Anyone who knows Joy can attest to her commitment to get a job done and the boundless enthusiasm she applies to it! You are correct in saying that Mark Cleary knows all the top Masters athletes. We all know and respect Mark. However, I think even Mark would agree that Joy would make an excellent Chair.
Please understand, a vote for Joy is not a vote against Mark. But one thing is certain in my eyes; Joy possesses the same skills and is extremely qualified. In fact, Joy did not initially think about running for the position until MANY people all across the nation (including myself) contacted her and told her that they thought she run. Why? Well for the reasons stated above, it was a “no-brainer” – The first person who came to mind for everyone was Joy.
It seems to me that we’re all missing an extremely important point. Being National Masters Chair is an extremely time consuming position — one that also frequently calls on the holder of the job to dip into his/her personal funds to cover the costs involved in all the travel that is necessary to do the job right. It is also a very political job — not just within the masters t/f community but even more importantly within the broader world of USATF.
So, to me the relevant questions are:
1. What are the other professional commitments of the candidates?
2. Do they have the time to do the job properly?
3. Do they have the other resources necessary?
4. What is their experience in leading organizations of very disparate groups and balancing out all of those interests?
5. What kind of political skills do they have?
These are the critical questions that should be considered by those who have votes at the Convention in Indianapolis in December. I seem to remember a drum beating very strongly about 6 years ago for a candidate for chair at the time. His name, since he has virtually disappeared from the scene, was Doug Schnellenbach. He was named Mid-America regional coordinator after losing the national vote and had professional responsibilities that kept him from even fulfilling those duties adequately.
So let’s not get caught up in hype about candidates who have directed meets, managed committees, or even chaired local associations. Let’s look more deeply at what is really required to be an effective national chair and measure the candidates against what the job requires, not against whether they have done lesser jobs (with far less serious commitments involved) or a friendly and smile alot.
This is not a popularity contest nor is it a beauty contest. It is a serious vote about the future of masters t/f in the US and should be treated as such.
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