Dee Jensen, a recently retired coach and educator, was born April 20, 1944. A lifelong resident of North Dakota, she lives in Wahpeton, N.D., and owns a condo in Steamboat, Colorado. This email interview was conducted by Ken Stone in October 2008:

Masterstrack.com: What qualifications, attributes or perspectives would you bring to the USATF presidency that your opponents would not?

Dee Jensen: My background includes experience serving in positions at our grassroots, national and international level. I served as the first president of the Dakotas Associations and continue to serve as an officer today. Nationally, I have gained a broad base of experience on committees and task forces and, since 1993, I have represented all of USATF — first as a Board of Director and for the last 12 years as a national officer.

Internationally, I have gained valuable experience and contacts on an IAAF Committee as a chef de mission on a worlds and world juniors team, an assistant manager at worlds, and as a chief judge at the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta. At each of these levels, my integrity, listening skills, organization skills, networking abilities, knowledge and diplomacy have been invaluable.

Athletes have always been the focus of my actions. The role of coach or official at the local, regional, national and international level has placed me in the trenches side-by-side with our athletes every step of the way.

My professional career was that of classroom teacher and track coach at the high school level (six years), club level (three years) and junior college level (28 years). Coaching success includes eight national champions, 40 All-Americans and two national record holders. I have developed and presented motivational speeches and customized training for business, industry and education in personal development and enhancement including "Fish Philosophy," "Who Moved My Cheese?" and "Go for the Gold!

Among USATF’s stated missions is "fielding the most competent United States individuals and teams for international competition in Athletics and providing support and conditions for athletes at all levels of the sport which ensure optimal performance." Does this include fielding teams for world masters competitions? If so, how can USATF help?

Yes, with the support from your constituent base that fielding teams for world masters competition is one of your top priorities.

1. Supplying uniforms.
2. Shipment of all implements to the event.
3. Payment of entry fees.

USATF would provide these benefits, one priority at a time.

Despite masters being a large share of USATF, the budget of USATF Masters Track & Field is a relative pittance — $85,000 this year, with USATF’s contribution being just $39,500. Would you commit to at least doubling USATF’s contribution to the budget of USATF Masters track & field?

I would be reluctant to commit to doubling USATF’s financial contribution to masters track and field without a determination of how that can be accomplished. However, I would be very interested in establishing member benefits for masters track and field that would grow the membership and commit the increased revenue to help build your budget and programs. There is no doubt in my mind that in listening to the merits of what this funding could best affect that I would be your advocate in achieving your goals. Efforts to secure a sponsor or sponsors needs to be a top priority.

Under the reorganization of the Board of Directors, USATF Masters T&F is losing a seat on the board. How would you guarantee that masters T&F is assured fair treatment within the federation?

I applaud those constituent-based members who have chosen to support change for the betterment of our organization. The element of trust, so necessary as we take our sport to the next level, is best developed through building relationships and networking within our sport.

My responsibility includes being informed, conscientious, trustworthy and an advocate who makes every effort possible to help each constituent base achieve its goals. This is just one instance where my broad-based experience is invaluable. I have walked side-by-side with masters athletes as an official at your national championships and local events and understand your concerns as I have reached out to your committee as a sounding board and as a member of the Board of Directors.

On the USATF Web site, Board of Director minutes are listed as "coming soon." In fact, board minutes have not been publicly disclosed for years. Will you commit to posting the missing board minutes as well as all future board minutes on usatf.org within two months of the annual meetings?

Like you, I have a similar concern. Recently, as I was planning to attend a sports committee executive meeting, I went to the Web site to review minutes of their recent meetings and found nothing. When I mentioned this fact to the committee, their chairman informed me that our current Web site does not have the capacity to support this service. I support transparency throughout our organization — posting of agendas, minutes, and financial ledgers of the Board of Directors and all our committees. This is a service our membership deserves.

I am confident our current Web site is under review. Once the site has the capacity, I would definitely commit to providing minutes of meetings within one month. It would seem reasonable to archive minutes for a minimum of two years, perhaps an Olympiad, to have an even better sense of committee efforts and concerns.

Did you support the awarding of the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Trials to Eugene, Oregon? If so, why did USATF not ask for monetary compensation for these awards? In the case of the 2012 Trials, why weren’t other cities invited to bid?

I did not have a vote regarding the awarding of the Olympic Trials. Men’s Track & Field, Women’s Track & Field, Race Walk, and the Athletes Advisory Committee are responsible for the awarding of their events. I applaud Eugene for putting together a business package. The venue was enhanced, the competition was great, the fans were spirited, and Hayward Field was packed. That’s what we want for our sport. I would not support the awarding of one of our marquee events, the Olympic Trials, prior to the conclusion of the current event.

My understanding is that rights fees were paid and were a substantial increase from previous Olympic Trials.

In the case of the 2012 Trials, apparently Eugene provided an impressive package the committees felt they could not refuse. Hindsight is always 20/20.

The 2008 Trials featured several events where members of the field were allowed entry under controversial conditions, or denied entry despite having "B" standard marks that in past years would have allowed their entry. As well, a nonfinalist in the javelin was allowed to compete in Beijing. Were these decisions fair? If not, what went wrong, and what changes would you support to prevent them from happening again?

Without the facts or rationale, how does one determine fairness? The answer to your question can best be answered by the committees responsible for the event — Men’s Track & Field, Women’s Track & Field, and Race Walk.

Yes, in the case of the javelin thrower. He would have either made the standard during the required qualifying time line, or received a wild card based on a previous performance. There is no doubt in my mind, regulations were followed. Should the underlying concern be the depth of quality in this event?

In late August, board member Lynn Cannon circulated a scathing indictment of the USATF Board of Directors, alleging that certain members of the board mismanaged money, especially travel and hotel expenses. Do you agree with her assessments? If so, what should be done? If not, why do you think Cannon made them?

These are allegations.

We have a Budget & Finance Committee, Audit Committee and Ethics Committee in place. It seems prudent to review, in depth, the information from all parties involved and present detailed findings to the CEO, president and Board of Directors to determine if any action is required. An instance such as this reinforces the need and value of transparency within our organization.

Lynn Cannon and only Lynn Cannon has the answer to this question.

The USATF Web site is a vast resource, but it has no search function. Many visitors to the site become frustrated, unable to find what they are looking for. Would you commit to having the USATF webmaster install a search engine on usatf.org?

This is a must. A user-friendly Web site is a positive reflection on our organization. I am confident our entire Web site is currently under review as we fill the opening for webmaster.

How would you strengthen the grass roots of USATF? How would you fix problems in certain USATF associations, especially those with governance problems and a lack of meets?

Associations provide the grass roots of our sport — youth, open, and masters.

Some thoughts for your consideration…

Bring the Associations Workshop to regions for at least a one-day session. Present leadership tools the first half of the day; the second half of the day is determined by the interests, issues and concerns of the member associations, thus providing ownership of the participants. Small group sessions enable a higher level of participation from everyone. Continue to document best practices at each workshop. Establish regional coordinators, who in essence are the “coach” for these associations all year long.
Encourage Associations Workshop participants to attend the annual meeting as part II of their leadership, education and informational experience.
Survey needs and concerns of the zonal representatives to establish models for zonal activity and enhancement.

Building the depth of our leadership strengthens our federation and can also have far-reaching positive impact in our communities and cities. That’s a strategy I hope we can all embrace.

Currently, our grievance process can get drawn out over too long a period of time. When USATF becomes involved, I support a time line of not more than 12 months to resolve the grievance. All associations were required to submit revised bylaws changes for officer replacements and grievances effective October 15 of this year. I support process, people and performance. The Associations Executive Committee should be commended for implementing these guidelines. The focus should be to resolve grievances at the association level.

One of the concerns of associations is that one size does not fit all. I understand the challenges of a small association’s limited resources in providing events. Although not all athletes come through our grassroots programs, there is an enormous opportunity to grow our sport at this level. A mass education effort at all levels of USATF is necessary to ensure high school coaches, club coaches, college and university coaches, parents and fans know and understand the added value our federation provides. Resource lists, networking skills, best practices and success stories all help to build our story. As a volunteer-driven organization, we want to show appreciation and recognize all efforts, large and small.

November 3, 2008  No Comments

Interview with Stephanie Hightower, USATF president candidate

November 3, 2008  Comments Closed

Interview with Bob Bowman, candidate for USATF president

Posted November 3, 2008

Bob Bowman was born April 2, 1940, and lives in Redmond, Washington. He grew up and went to school in Southern California and later lived in Oakland, California, for more than 30 years. This email interview was conducted by Ken Stone in October 2008: Bob Bowman Masterstrack.com: What qualifications, attributes or perspectives would you bring to the USATF presidency that your opponents would not? Bowman: Unique background and experience in the sport as well as my professional qualifications. I have years of executive experience at all levels of the sport (association, national and international). I do not believe my opponents have such an extensive resume of accomplishments at all three levels. I first introduced the strategic planning process to USATF and, if elected president, I will reintroduce this valuable tool to improve every area of our organization, including Masters T&F. I possess leadership skills first developed in graduate school (master’s degrees in both business and engineering), then applied in my professional career with such challenging positions as chair of the design team for the Voyager spacecraft while at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the early 1970s, and serving as chair and facilitator for strategic planning at Intel Corporation, where I helped elevate it from No. 4 to No. 1 in the semiconductor industry. I have been a leader in our sport at seeking fairness for all constituent groups. As a delegate to the IAAF Congress, I introduced legislation to require at least two women on the IAAF Council. That legislation passed, ending an 80-year span when only men served on the council. I introduced a USATF bylaw amendment in 1981 that required an LDR and race walking staff person to be selected for at least one position on the Olympic, Pan American Games or World Championships managerial or coaching staffs in a four-year period. It took me two years to get it passed. Up to that point, LDR and race walking were being overlooked. I have competed as a masters athlete in the Pacific Association — mostly road running and cross country events. I love the fellowship of this category of our sport. Among USATF’s stated missions is “fielding the most competent United States individuals and teams for international competition in Athletics and providing support and conditions for athletes at all levels of the sport which ensure optimal performance.” Does this include fielding teams for world masters competitions? If so, how can USATF help? Absolutely. USATF can better prepare athletic teams for the world veteran championships by strengthening the masters track and field program domestically. High-priority goals for masters T&F should be identified and pursued along with the other constituent groups’ goals within the USATF Strategic Plan. A national masters T&F program that includes regional meets should be developed and promoted. This is a wonderful part of our sport that needs to be elevated in importance. The athletes will then be better prepared for international competition. We also need to attract the world veterans championships to be held in the USA again. When I was president of the Pacific Association, we bid for this competition. Despite masters being a large share of USATF, the budget of USATF Masters Track & Field is a relative pittance — $85,000 this year, with USATF’s contribution being just $39,500. Would you commit to at least doubling USATF’s contribution to the budget of USATF Masters track & field? I am in favor of it if we have the money and masters T&F presents a good case for the use of the money. Even during these tough economic times, we can increase our revenue by increasing our membership, and by also increasing corporate sponsorship. We can increase our membership by demonstrating to our constituents that they receive value for their membership fee. That means our local associations providing more and better opportunities to participate in all disciplines at every level of our sport. Right now, that isn’t happening in many of our 57 associations. Under the proposed reorganization of the Board of Directors, USATF Masters T&F is losing a seat on the board. How would you guarantee that masters T&F is assured fair treatment within the federation? First of all, if I’m elected president, Masters T&F will have at least one advocate for masters T&F programs. Secondly, I will make sure that the high-priority goals of Masters T&F are included in the USATF corporate strategic plan and I will work with Masters T&F in the development and implementation of their part of the plan. Even though Masters T&F is losing a seat on the board, that does not necessarily mean they will have unfair treatment within USATF. On the USATF Web site, Board of Director minutes are listed as “coming soon.” In fact, board minutes have not been publicly disclosed for years. Will you commit to posting the missing board minutes as well as all future board minutes on usatf.org within two months of the annual meetings? Absolutely. This also has been a sore point with me. In fact, as a nonprofit orgaization, this should be required. There is no excuse for not providing the minutes in a timely manner. Did you support the awarding of the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Trials to Eugene, Oregon? If so, why did USATF not ask for monetary compensation for these awards? In the case of the 2012 Trials, why weren’t other cities invited to bid? I had no say in the awarding of the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Trials to Eugene. This decision was made by the two chairs of Men’s and Women’s T&F Committees. The president and CEO as well as the board was aware of the decision and certainly had oversight authority on approving such a decision. The money ($500,000) received for the 2008 Trials was given to an outside organization of professional athletes (PAA), with no accountability as to where the money went from there. The 2012 Trials was awarded to Eugene also, but to my knowledge no money has been received by USATF. With Nike involved in both Trials, these were very poor business decisions for USATF. There is also possible conflicts of interest in awarding the Trials to Eugene in that the chair of Men’s T&F has a contract with Nike and the former CEO left USATF to take a job with Nike after these decisions were made. The current CEO has yet to sign the 2012 Trials contract with Eugene. He is investigating this matter. Other sites were invited to bid and at least one other site (Sacramento) did bid on the 2012 Trials. The 2008 Trials featured several events where members of the field were allowed entry under controversial conditions, or denied entry despite having “B” standard marks that in past years would have allowed their entry. As well, a nonfinalist in the javelin was allowed to compete in Beijing. Were these decisions fair? If not, what went wrong, and what changes would you support to prevent them from happening again? This question is not worded correctly. All athletes with a Trials standard could enter the U.S. Trials. The unfairness occurred in the selection ranking of those athletes that met the Olympic A or B standard. The chair of the High Performance Division and the chairs of the Men’s and Women’s T&F Committees decided that only finishers in events that only had a final or finalists in the other events would be included in the selection rankings per event. This was really unfair to those athletes who had a standard, competed in good faith, but failed to finish their event or be a finalist in their event, either due to injury, illness or any other reason. They should have been ranked at the end of the list accordingly. They aren’t hurting anyone by doing so and we get few people with an A or B standard anyway. USATF has done this in the past. This could have prevented one or more athletes from making the team without displacing anyone else. Then they violated this policy by allowing a field event athlete (men’s javelin) go to Beijing, even though he was not a Trials finalist. I authored legislation several years ago to eliminate just such inconsistencies and unfainesses in the selection policy. It was rejected by the Law & Legislation Committee, which felt it did not belong in our Operating Regulations. I will try to reintroduce this again. In late August, board member Lynn Cannon circulated a scathing indictment of the USATF Board of Directors, alleging that certain members of the board mismanaged money, especially travel and hotel expenses. Do you agree with her assessments? If so, what should be done? If not, why do you think Cannon made them? I agree with Lynn’s report. It has been verified by other board members and the National Office staff. Lynn Cannon was doing the job she was elected to do — looking out for the best interests of the organization and its members. When the CFO also questioned these excessive expenditures, the board, controlled by these same people who were violating accepted business practice, fired him! And the chair of Women’s T&F filed a grievance against Cannon that was eventually dismissed. Such a retaliation grievance is against operating Regulation 11.R and is subject to possible penalties. The best way to prevent such abuses in the future is to not elect these people again to any positions within USATF. The USATF Web site is a vast resource, but it has no search function. Many visitors to the site become frustrated, unable to find what they are looking for. Would you commit to having the USATF webmaster install a search engine on usatf.org? Yes, it is a no-brainer. How would you strengthen the grass roots of USATF? How would you fix problems in certain USATF associations, especially those with governance problems and a lack of meets? The grass-roots side of the sport is really neglected by USATF. Too many of the 57 associations are not providing the support and programs for the athletes in their respective areas. As president, I will form a task force to study the current status of all associations. The Member Services Committee already has much of this data. We then need to identify the key people in those associations, new and existing people, who are willing to help revitalize their association. We should provide some resource help to them, training in all disciplines, office procedures, etc. We should use model associations such as the Pacific Association as guidance to them regarding LDR circuits, track grand prix programs, meet management tools, etc.

November 3, 2008  2 Comments

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