Alumni speakers highlight ACL Kickoff Celebration

Flintridge Prep hosted its inaugural Athletic Council On Leadership “Kickoff Dinner” at Brookside Golf Course, Thursday, June 26, 2008. 

  

Attending the banquet were the twenty-one student members of Prep’s first Athletic Council On Leadership (“ACL”), the ACL's faculty mentors, family, friends, distinguished guests including Headmaster Peter Bachmann, past parent Ed Blecksmith - founder of the J.P. Blecksmith Leadership Fund at Prep, Board of Trustees President Jaynie Studenmund, noted alum John Plumb '64, and three special alumni speakers – Jeff Crawford ’86 (also a board of trustee member), Tina Fejtek Pauley ’87, and Brandon Valvo ’84.

Glen Beattie, Jaynie Studenmund, Peter Bachmann, Tina Fejtek Pauley ’87,
Brandon Valvo ’84, Alex Rivera, Jeff Crawford ’86, John Plumb '64  

The ACL evolved from the special interest and work of Prep’s athletic director, Alex Rivera, who has served Prep for 30 years. Joining Alex were Dr. Alan Hedman, Prep’s former campus psychologist whose current practice includes work with athletic teams and athletes, and six faculty mentors who, over the period of a school year, worked out the blueprint for the ACL.

  
  New ACL members enjoying dinner    Mr. Beattie & Mr. Fisher with ACL members

The committee of faculty mentors - Dr. Hedman, Alex Rivera, Glen Beattie, Sara Fischer, Kenny Fisher, Katie Hawkins, Julie Jaime, and Garrett Ohara, established the ACL’s primary goal of advancing athletic leadership as part of Prep’s commitment to human development. The mission of the ACL is to promote school spirit and the positive  influence of sports on campus and in students’ lives, to provide a forum for sharing the life lessons which can be learned from team sports, and to develop and support community service projects.

 

Highlighting the evening were the three alumni speakers who offered personal stories of how team sports at Prep have provided them motivation, strength and instruction in their personal lives and professional careers since their days at Prep.

Particularly moving was the personal story of Brandon Valvo ’84 who lost his brother in the World Trade Center attack in New York on September 11, 2001. Brandon explained that, in part, his ability to gather his family, arrange immediate transportation through Canadian airspace, and coordinate his family’s search for his brother with FBI and local emergency personel, all was assisted by his sports experiences working with teammates, enduring physical and emotional challenges, and persevering in the face of great odds.

The ACL Workshop & Training Session

The following Friday morning, June 27, the ACL reassembled at Brookside to conduct a workshop designed to articulate themes and outline activities for the coming year.  Dr. Hedman moderated the event while the guiding committee members facilitated small groups of ACL members who brainstormed ideas.

   

One of the important themes to emerge was the positive “carry over effect” that aspects of athletics – the need for preparation, the importance of discipline, the ever-present challenges, the cooperative effort, and the likelihood of set-backs and disappointment – have in our lives.

 

The groups examined how the ACL can help promote these ideas and translate them into lessons that can benefit Prep’s entire student body.

  

The ACL students who participated in the workshop and training session are self-described “pioneers” working through uncharted territory, but their efforts on Friday and throughout this inaugural year of the ACL will help map a future at Prep that develops our athletic programs as a whole, and our scholar-athletes in particular, as leaders in the promotion of sport’s life lessons, a more spirited community, and a greater involvement in community service.

Read more about Prep's Athletic Council On Leadership ...

Flintridge Prep’s 2008-2009 Athletic Council On Leadership
Kate Beck '09, volleyball
Joel Bryant '09, football/track
Ashley Cheun '10, cheerleader
Edmund Chow '10, basketball/volleyball
Conor Dubin '10, football/baseball
Lugene El-Harazi '11, tennis/soccer/track
Sam Fishman '09, track
Aaron Fried '09, basketball/baseball
Sydney Golombek '11, soccer/softball
Arash Jafarnia '09, football/basketball
Lydia Kay '09, volleyball/softball
Alina Khodadian '09, basketball/softball
Stephen Leech '09, water polo/swimming
Morgan Marmaro '09, tennis/water polo
Megan Musashi '10, basketball
Alina Okamoto '11, volleyball/soccer/softball
Nick Ostiller '10, basketball/baseball
Kristin Shum '11, basketball
Dot Silverman '10, cross country/track
Sally Suzuki '09, cross country/water polo/swimming
Courtney Takeda '10, volleyball/basketball

2008-2009 ACL Mentors 
Glen Beattie
Sara Fischer
Kenny Fisher
Katie Hawkins
Dr. Alan Hedman
Julie Jaime
Garrett Ohara
Alex Rivera