What Does It Feel Like to Be An Olympian? Ask New County Employee

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Wellness Coordinator William Erese Represented His Native Nigeria in the 96 Atlanta Summer Games 

New County Wellness Coordinator William Erese, a former Olympic hurdler, presented Ivy Hill, an admissions clerk at the San Diego County Psychiatric Hospital, with fruits and vegetables for being a winner of the Employee Wellness Program's 2nd Quarter Fruit & Vegetable Challenge.

William Erese felt a chilly breeze as he walked through an underground tunnel toward the Olympic Stadium and his big race. The temperature that summer morning in Atlanta had dipped to an unusually low 45 degrees. It was rainy and damp to boot.

Still, as Erese, now 35 and the County’s new Wellness Coordinator, neared the enormous venue, he could hear the crowd cheering, clapping and even blowing horns. He finally reached the stadium floor and began to take in the staggering scene: a massive sea of people, 80,000 strong, encircled him. The biggest crowd that ever watched him race before? Maybe 2,000. Adrenaline filled his body as he was about to represent his native Nigeria in the 110 meter hurdles event at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics.

“I was like, ‘wow,’ this many people showed up?” Erese said. “And they didn’t just show up, they were actively involved…It felt really, really good.”

Few expected Erese to even become an athlete. Growing up as the son of a well-respected high school principal, most thought he would follow his father’s career path into academia. His mother was a nurse.

Then Erese discovered Track and Field. Bored one day at age 13, he found himself at a local stadium in his hometown of Benin City, Nigeria, watching runners compete in a big, multi-sport festival. 

“I just fell in love with it, after watching a four by 100 meter relay,” Erese said.

He approached the coaches and they agreed to let him train with the team for next year's competition. Within a few years, Erese had found his calling: the 110 meter hurdles, an all-out sprint that required both power and flexibility. Erese quickly turned into an unstoppable force, racking up state and national titles at a dizzying pace during his teenage years in Nigeria. It became clear to his family and community that sports must be part of his focus, along with school.

“One of my biggest supporters was my Dad,” Erese said. “He taught me that if I took it seriously, it would become something I would gain from…He said, your body will get old, but your brain will never get old.”

So Erese went for it, and in 1995, he shattered the African record in the 110 meter hurdles, which had previously stood for 24 years, with a time of 13.53 seconds. From there, he said his name “blew up.” BBC, the Voice of America and all the major newspapers in Africa interviewed him. He became the first Nigerian to race in the 110 meter hurdles in the World Championships later that year in Sweden and college recruiters started calling from American universities, including USC, Harvard and the University of Indiana. He graduated from USC with a degree in Kinesiology in 2001, winning the 110 meter hurdles at the PAC 10 Championships two years in a row.

And while he did not advance beyond the first round at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Erese described the experience as unforgettable and a source of great pride. Among the most important, vivid moments for him was watching legendary boxer Muhammad Ali light the Olympic flame at the Opening Ceremonies.

“That was probably the most moving moment at the Games,” he said.

Erese came oh-so-close to competing in another Olympics four years later. He qualified for the 2000 Sydney Games as part of the Nigerian Track and Field team again, but a heartbreaking last minute back injury prevented him from going. In all, his extraordinary athletic career took him to more than 30 countries and taught him many life lessons, which he applies to his career now. He retired from running in 2005.

“It plays a major role when you talk about persevering,” he said. “You may have the best plan but things may not go the way they were designed.”

He learned the importance of “staying the course” and not getting flustered when things didn’t go as expected. He said a strong work ethic and not letting success get to his head helped him greatly in athletics.

In his newly created position in the Department of Human Resources, Erese will focus on helping improve the health of others. He will build upon what he calls the County’s already strong foundation of wellness efforts. He will work on the Employee Wellness program and he wants to form new partnerships and innovative health education offerings for employees. Erese also wants to include as many employees as possible, even if they are already doing things the right way in terms of eating right and exercising.

At the same time, “we don’t want people to feel targeted because of the conditions they have,” he said.

In time for his first day of work July 18, Erese and his family relocated from the Los Angeles area, where he previously worked as Director of Health and Fitness at the Glendale Police Department.

His new department hasn’t wasted any time recruiting him to be on a team for Thrive Across America, the County’s third quarter “Getting Fit and Staying Fit” Challenge. It’s an online physical activity program where participants log exercise time and travel from Maine to Hawaii along a virtual route. Erese works out between two and two and a half hours a day, so he shouldn’t have a problem keeping up.

As for his Olympics experience, he said it doesn’t come up that often in conversation. His focus has mostly shifted to his career, family and other parts of his life. A lot of people don’t even know he is a former Olympian, he said. But it’s never far from his mind.

“It was an amazing experience that I still think about a lot,” he said.


For more information on the Thrive Across America or other wellness programs, visit the Employee Wellness Program’s webpage or email Erese at William.Erese@sdcounty.ca.gov.

 

  Erese takes part in the Opening Ceremonies at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games with his teammates. Erese is pictured in the center, holding the camera.

Off the Hook: Kiss Those Work Cell Phone Reimbursement Bills Goodbye

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Brrrinnnnggg!!! Riinnnnggg!   

(Or, whatever your ring-tone may be …)

If you carry a County-issued cell phone, we have good news!

No more monthly “12-cents-a-minute” reimbursement bills to pay for personal calls!

That’s right; thanks to a long-awaited change in the law and clarification by the Internal Revenue Service, County employees no longer have to pay if they occasionally have to use their work cell-phones to make personal calls. It’s a change that will not only save money, but time and paperwork as well.

In addition, the County will continue to reimburse employees if they have to make business calls on their personal cell phones — but calculated at the rate on their telephone plans.

Here are the basics of the legal changes — and what they mean to us in a nutshell: 

  • Mobile phones are provided for “non-compensatory business purposes” at the appointing authority’s discretion and are excludable from the employee’s income as a working condition fringe benefit.
    What this means: County employees are provided cell phones not as part of their compensation — pay — but because they are necessary part of doing our jobs, to ensure we can be reached by customers when we’re away from our offices, or in emergencies.

 

  • Department managers/supervisors are responsible for ensuring that County telecommunications systems are used cost-effectively in the support of assigned functions.  Department managers/supervisors are responsible for monitoring, limiting and controlling excessive private or personal use of the County desktop telephone and/or mobile phones, and the reimbursement to the County for personal calls made, if necessary.     
    What this means: We still need to watch over our cell phone usage to make sure we’re adhering to the spirit of this change in the rules: that employees don’t regularly use their work-issued cell phones for personal reasons — which is why they’re not considered pay, but rather, a tool we need to do our jobs.

 

  • A manager or supervisor may ask an employee to review for accuracy and highlight any personal calls or texts.
    What this means: Yeah, OK. Pretty self-explanatory. Our managers and supervisors will be the ones to continue to monitor our cell-phone usage.

 

  • Excessive personal calls that incur an additional cost to the County shall require reimbursement to the County.  Reimbursement shall be for actual charges as detailed in the County’s Chargeback Billing System or on the vendor statement.
    What this means. Again, this one is pretty self-explanatory. If you have a County-issued cell phone, you’re supposed to use it for work. While it’s OK to occasionally take or make a personal call, you will have to pay if you use it for personal calls excessively.

 

  • The County will reimburse business calls made on a personal phone based on actual costs of any charges and/or fees incurred.  A copy of the individual’s personal billing statement must be provided with the request for reimbursement with the business calls highlighted.  If calls are within plan minutes, the “per minute cost” is calculated by dividing the monthly calling voice plan charge by the minutes allowed.  Multiply the cost-per-minute by the business minutes used on the mobile phone to determine the total owed.

 

  • The County will not reimburse employees for any portion of the data plans with their personal mobile phone providers.

 

 

Deputy District Attorney By Day, Violinist By Night

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For the past 15 years, Deputy District Attorney Wendy Patrick has been prosecuting grisly crimes across San Diego County including acts committed by sexually violent predators, murderers and other surly types.

Dealing with criminals, who often devastate the lives of their victims, could weigh down even the most seasoned prosecutor after years on the job. Not true for Patrick, who says working in the Sex Crimes and Stalking Division is the "greatest job in the world."

Two outlets that keep her grounded and positive include concert violin and theology. When she's not on the clock or in the courtroom, Patrick plays first violin in the La Jolla Symphony or rocks out in a band playing the electric violin. She began playing violin as a young girl and has been a member of the La Jolla Symphony for about 10 years.

Playing the violin and law aren't her only areas of expertise. Patrick also holds a Ph.D. in theology and is active in her church, where she leads a bible study group among other spiritual activities.

Without fail, the most memorable moments for Patrick are the looks of relief on victim's faces after a jury convicts their sexual predator.

"To be able to achieve justice for these kind of victims is worth every hour we put in," Patrick said. "Even when I've lost a case, the victim says, 'I saw how hard you worked on this -- no one has ever worked that hard for me in my life.'"

400 Miles, 5 Days, 2 Wheels - One Tough Employee

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Child Welfare Services supervisor Laurie Horton and her husband, Steve, during the 400-mile endurance race.

You might jump at the chance to travel around the county seeing the Juan Bautista DeAnza trail, Penasquitos Canyon, Lake Hodges, San Diego Bay, Torrey Pines and other sites. But what if you had to do it as part of a self-supported endurance bike race that covered 400 miles in 5 days?

Laurie Horton, a Child Welfare Services supervisor for the Health and Human Services Agency, was one of 49 brave souls who set out when the race started in Idyllwild. When the bikers crossed the finish line, Horton was one of just 26 who survived the grueling race.

“Every mile ridden in endurance biking is equal to two miles of biking on the road,” said Horton. “So this race was the equivalent of 800 miles, or eight stages of the Tour de France.”

Endurance biking is done on dirt trails and off-road. There are no first aid stations, no rest stops and no water stations – even during the 60-mile stretch of desert riding.

“You’re completely on your own and you base the distance you travel each day on your water and food supply,” she said.

Bikers are able to stop by convenience stores or even restaurants along the way, but that all eats away at your biking time.

“We never stopped at restaurants – too much time,” Horton said.

You start biking in the dark and end the day the same way. You have to carry everything with you on your bike – 20 pounds of gear in Horton’s case, including a sleeping bag, change of clothes and any food or water she felt was necessary.

Horton did the race with her husband to celebrate her 50th birthday. It was the first multi-day race she’s competed in.

“I never mountain biked until my husband and I were married 11 years ago,” she said. “I never even rode a bike as a kid, but I turned 50 this year and wanted to do something big.”

Her first endurance race was seven years ago in Arizona. It was 25 miles long.

“My husband did it with me and he had to promise me he wouldn’t leave me behind,” Horton said. “We were the last bikers to finish.

“I was so beat up, practically in tears, and I just wanted it to be over.”

You might think that would deter a person from doing it again. Not Horton.

“I never thought I could do it, but it was such a sense of accomplishment, I was addicted.”

Horton enjoys the workout she gets and she rides most Saturdays and Sundays, and she puts in 4-5 hours during the week at spin class. All this exercise helps clear her mind and relax from the stresses of her 17-year career with Child Welfare Services, she said.

“This job is so stressful and this helps you work up a sweat and cleanse your system,” said Horton. “It really forces you to concentrate when you’re riding and to be in the moment”

Horton plans on competing in 4-5 races this year.

CIO Tuck Wins Technology Lifetime Achievement Award

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Days before retiring from the County, Chief Information Officer Harold Tuck received a major award from the National Association of Counties (NACo.)

Tuck accepted NACo’s Technologist Lifetime Achievement Award on Saturday at the organization’s annual conference in Pittsburgh. After 26 years with the County, Tuck is set to retire Wednesday.

He called the award “extremely humbling.”

Often such awards are given posthumously, Tuck said, and at 59 years old, he said he appreciated being able to enjoy it.

“I told my staff, it’s nice to smell the roses while you’re still alive,” he said.

Tuck said NACo told him they wanted to recognize the assistance he had given not only NACo but counties all over the country on technology policy issues “without question and whenever anyone calls.”

Tuck said the organization also noted that he is “always there to respond and that (he) is known throughout the country as someone who is there to respond.”

Tuck said he has always accepted invitations to speak about technology at regional and national NACo events and events put on by industry partners.

Internally, Tuck is also being recognized for his strong body of work.

A recent County Technology Office report describes Tuck as having been “a driver for IT innovation in the public sector” since his earliest days at the County.

“Harold’s vision and leadership (have) been pivotal in growing IT to its current position within County government and making it a model of excellence for other government agencies nationwide,” the report states.

After joining the County in 1986 as an Electronic Data Processing coordinator, Tuck rose through the ranks and became regional General Manager for the HHSA’s Central Region. He also served as Director of Housing and Community Development, then became General Manager for the Public Safety Group in 2002. In 2008, Tuck was named Chief Information Officer, a position where all information technology functions for the County were his responsibility.

Tuck has no immediate plans for his retirement, though he hasn’t ruled anything out. He doesn’t plan to work again full-time, but says he’s “too young not to do anything.”

His most pressing plans are to celebrate his birthday (July 23) with all five of his siblings and their families. They’re all flying in from around the country.

Juvenile Justice Commission Recognizes Extraordinary Efforts to Help Youth

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Sheriff's Det. Randy Avila accepts an award in the Law Enforcement category from the Juvenile Justice Commission.

Leslie Smith’s math students have to come to class each day. They don’t have a choice.

They are incarcerated at Camp Barrett, a County juvenile detention facility for young men near Alpine.

Still, “they don’t have to pay attention,” he said. “You can’t make them learn.” Their minds are focused on such basics as survival, he said.

Smith has found a way to reach them for the past seven years.

For that he was honored Thursday by the San Diego County Juvenile Justice Commission, a 15-member volunteer commission charged with monitoring juvenile justice in the county. In all, the commission presented 2012 Awards in 10 categories at a lunch ceremony at University of San Diego’s Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice.

The awards honor people going to extraordinary lengths to help youth struggling in the community. Recipients ranged from law enforcement and probation officers, judges and volunteers to attorneys.

While encouragement, monitoring and mentoring are enough to turn some youth’s lives around, others need a lot more assistance, Commission Chair Kimberly Allan told attendees.

“Many are in gangs, and some have been involved even in serious crimes,” she said. “Some face lengthy periods of detention and some even go on to adult prison.”

The odds are stacked against many, who deal with family problems or no families at all, gangs, drugs or violence.

That’s where the award recipients come in.

Smith, who has taught at the San Diego County Office of Education’s Barrett High School for the past seven years, won in the “Educator/Court Schools” category. He said he looks for those “a-ha moments” in his interactions with students. 

“You have to pounce on that and realize, ‘I turned a key to reaching that student and hopefully the whole class,” he said.

In his nomination form, colleague Elmer Vigilia wrote that Smith was “one of the most inspiring and enthusiastic math teachers I have ever met in my 30 years of working in public education.” Smith said he also uses projects that team up students and allow them to compete with each other. He emphasizes that the best part of the students lives is ahead of them.

In the At-Large Category, the Commission recognized the Juvenile Forensic Assistance for Stabilization and Treatment Program Staff (JFAST). The program, started just two years ago, focuses on helping mentally ill youth in the juvenile justice system. Recipients included Jorge Aguilar, Celia Engelman, Judith Goldberg, Marc Gotbaum, John Laidlaw, Michele Linley, Marcella McLaughlin, Samantha Meadows, Andres Negron, Jo Pastore, Hon. Polly Shamoon and Christine Thompson.

Winners also included:

  • Deputy Probation Officer Linda Rodriguez in the Juvenile Probation/Probation Department category
  • Protective Services Supervisor Mary Sharkey in the Child Welfare Services/HHSA category
  • Det. Randy Avila of the Sheriff’s San Marcos Substation and San Diego Police Officer Ryan Welch in the Law Enforcement category
  • Hon. Cynthia Bashant, Juvenile Court Presiding Judge, in the Judge category
  • Attorney Tanya Starkweather in the Juvenile Court category
  • Erica Marina-Alicia Ward of SAY San Diego’s Reflections Program in the Volunteer category
  • Juan Carlos Barraza and Crystal Del Valle in the Former Youth in Care or Probation Category
  • Tim Shelton, San Diego State University graduate and former SDSU Basketball player who is now leading the “26 Seconds” campaign at SDSU for youth volunteerism, mentorship and keynote speaking

 

An Out of This World Hobby

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 County Employee to Take Stage Again Friday at Comic-Con

It’s not easy to find a good Klingon or Romulan costume – or at least one as authentic as Lynda Woerner would like.

So the County employee makes them herself.

She’ll don her latest creation at Comic-Con Friday night as she performs with her Star Trek Fan Club, called Stranglehold. The original play will explore the adventures of Klingon and other fictional alien cultures created and popularized by Star Trek.

Woerner will play “Commander Ra’erdos,” a Romulan, who, for the uninitiated, is a rival alien species to the Klingons. This will be Woerner’s third year dressing up and acting with the group at Comic-Con, the pop culture extravaganza set to begin Wednesday night at the San Diego Convention Center. Woerner, who works as an Administrative Analyst for HHSA’s Behavioral Health Services, is one of about 50 members of the non-profit Stranglehold. Since the group was founded in 1990, it’s become known as a go-to source for all things Klingon, she said.

“If it’s Klingon-related in San Diego, it’s probably our group,” Woerner said.

The group has been performing at Comic-Con for decades, since before the event got so “big,” she said.

Woerner spent a few months preparing her costume and character alone. She started researching her character online and even re-watched her Star Trek movies and TV episodes with Romulan characters. Some of the more unusual items she needed, like the prosthetic forehead piece weren’t available in stores, so she turned to the Web. Once she assembled all the pieces, Woerner spent a few weeks putting together the actual costume. She worked for the equivalent of “four Star Trek movies” or eight hours, hand-stamping a special pattern onto some of the costume material. And she cut a black wig that she already had into a “more Romulan shape.”

It’s not only the costumes that Woerner and her fellow Star Trek devotees went all out on. The group started writing the script for the play in January. They spent weeks readying props and practicing battle scenes. The presentation will take place in Room 6A (one of the larger rooms) at the Convention Center at 8:30 p.m. Friday. Hundreds of people are expected to watch.

So, how does one land in a group like this? For starters, Woerner has always been interested in science fiction. She’s read Tolkien’s classic fantasy novel, The Lord of the Rings, each year for the last two decades. And she was already into costuming when she heard of Stranglehold while attending a Renaissance Fair in Escondido a few years ago. A friend joined the group so she did too, and she quickly bonded with other members.  Her husband is also a member and they meet with the group monthly, alternating between business and workshop-style get-togethers in Mira Mesa and East County. Group members work on perfecting their stagecraft, talking over how to do certain accents and create characters and practicing improvisation skills. The group also performs as pirates and characters from Steampunk, another science fiction and fantasy genre.

A big draw, she said, is the fun of just playing a character. Woerner doesn’t do a lot of ad libbing, but she said some in her group do and are fabulous at it.

“We play with the crowd,” she said.

She’s come a long way since joining four years ago. Back then, Woerner said she would have been too scared to get up on stage in front of all of those people. But the acceptance and encouragement she got from the group have helped her shed her fears.

“I’ve grown and changed a lot,” she said. 

 

And the Volunteer of the Month Certificate Goes To….

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Out of nearly 30,000 volunteers at the County, only one was singled out as the Volunteer of the Month at the Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday. That one volunteer is David Katzenmaier, a park host volunteer at Rancho Los Peñasquitos Open Space Preserve. 

“Our parks and libraries have been recognized on a national level,” said Board Chairman Ron Roberts. “I can tell you the secret behind it is volunteers who assist us.”

David Katzenmaier has given his time to the Parks department for the last eight years. During that time, he seems to have done it all. He’s helped with park maintenance, safety, special events, opening and closing the park and even animal care. He’s even built community garden boxes.

As a master craftsman, he’s also used his skills to showcase what life was like at the historic ranch in the early 1800s. He constructed animal pens, worked on the interior framework of the barn and created display cases that give visitors a glimpse of the past.

While the Board honored Katzenmaier’s dedication and outstanding service at the award presentation, he in turn thanked the County. “Thank you for this award. I really appreciate being able to work for the county,” said Katzenmaier. “It’s a good place to work.”

Katzenmaier and the other 30,000 volunteers truly make a difference. All told, they’ve contributed  more than $33 million worth of service to the County in just one year.  

Boxing is in Her Blood

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Jesus "Chuy" Vega (right) is seen here during the Olympic Trials, prior to competing in the 1968 Games in Mexico City. He is the father of ARCC's Gaby Pugh.

She knows all about upper cuts, jabs and champion boxer Manny Pacquiao.

When County employee Norma “Gaby” Pugh talks boxing with her husband, she jokingly says it’s like a “man to man” discussion.

Pugh learned the sport from a pretty good source. Her father, Jesus “Chuy” Vega competed in boxing in the 1968 Olympic Summer Games in Mexico City.

Both will be closely following the boxing competition at the London 2012 Summer Olympics, which start July 27. While Pugh’s father, now 66, will watch from their hometown of Culiacán, Mexico, Pugh, 42, will watch from her home in Chula Vista.

Pugh, who works as a departmental technology systems technician at the Assessor/Recorder/County Clerk’s office, didn’t follow her father’s path into athletics. Neither did her three siblings. But her father’s success in the sport inspired in her a love of boxing—she never misses a big fight on TV—and taught her many other life lessons.  

“Our Dad is like our hero,” Pugh said. “He’s had a huge, huge influence on my life. A lot of what I am now is because of him.”

Growing up in Mexico in the 1960s, Pugh’s father found in boxing an escape from a dysfunctional, hardscrabble upbringing. One of 11 siblings, Vega was always competing for attention and support, she said. In his late teens, he competed in a neighborhood boxing tournament in Culiacán, the capital of Mexico’s Sinaloa state, and discovered he was pretty good at throwing punches. He kept getting better and better, Pugh said, and eventually ended up leaving home to train hours away in Mexico City.

As Vega rose to higher and higher levels of competition, he got the chance to travel to Cuba, Europe, the US and other international spots. Despite what Pugh described as a climate of social and political upheaval in Mexico City in 1968, Vega made the Mexican National Boxing team and got to compete in the Mexico City Olympic Summer Games. He was eliminated in the first round, she said, but continued to compete internationally. In 1972, he retired from boxing to start a construction business, which he continues to operate. Pugh’s mother, Josefina, retired as a teacher after selling the private school she founded.

Pugh credits her father’s discipline, competitive streak, tall, lean physique, healthy diet and other lifestyle habits with his success in the ring.

That focus has rubbed off on her, Pugh said. She moved to San Diego from Mexico 12 years ago to study a semester at the University of San Diego as part of a Masters program in Business Administration at the Instituto Technológico de Monterrey. Previously, she had also earned a bachelor’s degree in Information Technology from the Instituto.  Today she is fluent in English, has a successful career here in San Diego, and is married with a nine year old daughter. Pugh is in the final stages of becoming a U.S. Citizen.

Her father’s Olympic run doesn’t come up very often in conversation—in fact, her coworkers at the County didn’t even know about it until last week. But the experience has certainly left a lasting impression. The most important lesson she learned from her father? If you want to achieve success, expect to make sacrifices.

“If you don’t sacrifice before, don’t expect it to happen later,” Pugh said.

Have an Olympic tale to share? Send it to Communications@sdcounty.ca.gov.