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June 2002 eNews

Greetings to all!

June kicks off the San Francisco Bay Area's Summer of World Class Sports, showcasing the sports of the Olympic Games! Outlined below are great competitions with great athletes, performing in great venues, with outstanding weather conditions.

Athletes love to come to the Bay Area and also love to compete in front of a friendly and knowledgeable audience. I want to challenge all BASOC friends and supporters to attend these events, cheer loudly for all the competitors, and give all the visiting athletes a huge San Francisco Bay Area welcome!

Finally, check out the write up on the BASOC poster project. We will all be inspired by these outstanding graphic images of the Olympic Games, created by world renowned Bay Area artists.

Speaking of being inspired, I continue to be inspired by our great volunteer family - performing all kinds of important tasks to support the Bid...and I thank you all.

In the Olympic Spirit,
Anne

UPCOMING EVENTS
7th World University Taekwondo Championships
June 12-15, 2002, University of California, Berkeley

The 7th World University Taekwondo Championship of FISU will be held June 12-15, 2002 at the University of California, Berkeley. Thirty-five countries from six continents will participate with teams of eight male contestants and eight female contestants in Haas Pavilion. For more information and how to register your university, check out: http://www.ucmap.org/events/wutc2002

USA Track & Field Outdoor Nationals
June 21-23, 2002, Stanford University, Cobb and Angell Field

The USA Outdoor Championships, the United States' most prestigious track and field meet, will be at Stanford for three exciting days, June 21-23, 2002. The best track and field athletes in the country will compete for spots to represent the United States in international competition. Expect many world and Olympic champions to compete in the first U.S. National Track and Field Championships held at Stanford since 1932.

U.S. Olympic Committee Site Visit
July 14-15, 2002, San Francisco Bay Area

The USOC Bid site inspection team will be back to the San Francisco Bay Area on July 14-15. BASOC will take the USOC on a tour of several sports venues identified in the San Francisco Olympic Bid. BASOC will host the USOC team at a reception that will showcase the commitment of BASOC, the Bay Are, and its Olympians.

World Modern Pentathlon Championships
July 15-21, 2002, Stanford University

Come and watch some of the world? elite athletes compete in one of the most challenging Olympic events ?the modern pentathlon. This five-event competition requires expertise in the fields of athletics, equestrian, fencing, swimming, and shooting. Don? miss this once in a lifetime opportunity! To learn more, please visit the MPWC website at www.penthalon.org

The Winning Bid
August 24 2002, 5:00pm, di Rosa Preserve, Sonoma

The Winning Bid - A Benefit for San Francisco 2012. You're invited to attend a gala in the wine country showcasing Northern California's finest chefs, award-winning wines, art, entertainment, and Olympic spirit! Join our Olympians, businesses, and other supporters of San Francisco 2012 as we help make the vision a reality: San Francisco as the US Olympic Committee? Candidate City in November 2002 and the San Francisco Bay Area as host of the 2012 Olympic Games! The di Rosa Preserve is home to 200 acres of vineyards, rolling meadows, gardens, art galleries, and a lake. For more information on The Winning Bid gala contact: Matt Dockstader, Event Director, Fogcutter Productions, (415) 381-4359, Marsella Macias at 650-856-2234, or visit the www.winingbid2012.org web site!

2nd Annual Celebrity Golf Tournament
Sept. 9, 2002, CordeValle Golf Club, San Martin

This second annual event promises to be even better than last year's inaugural golf tournament that raised $100,000. Many Olympians and other professional athletes will participate to help raise funds for the San Francisco Bay Area's 2012 Olympic Bid. Corporate foursomes are now available for $5,000 per team. Call Helen Mendel, BASOC Director of Marketing, at 925-426-5339 for more information or to reserve your team.

EVENT RECAPS
Golden Gate Games
The Golden Gate Games took place on June 1-2, 2002 in Golden Gate Park. This event celebrates the spirit of sports in the San Francisco Bay Area community and showcases Olympic sports. It provides the opportunity for the Bay Area to take part in this annual summer kick off event, thereby bringing recognition to the San Francisco 2012 Olympic Bid effort and the San Francisco 2003 Youth Games. Visit www.goldengategames.com today!

San Francisco Office Open!
On May 15th, BASOC opened its new, secondary office in the historic Stock Exchange Tower at 155 Sansome Street. Many thanks to the generosity of the Empire Group that has donated this space to BASOC. The City Club of San Francisco, located at the top of the Tower, hosted a fabulous reception to welcome the BASOC team and invited its club membership, BASOC Board members and supporters, and Olympians. Mayor Willie Brown spoke to the group and encouraged everyone to support the San Francisco 2012 Olympic Bid.

Mayor Brown also became the first member of the BASOC Bridge Builder Club and is now sporting on his lapel the first Bridge Builder pin that highlights BASOC's theme for its Olympic Bid..... The Bridge to the Future. The Mayor challenged everyone to contribute $20 and become a Bridge Builder so that San Francisco can say that it has 25,000 members in the Bridge Builder club.

BASOC President and CEO Anne Cribbs spoke to the more than 200 attendees and gave a brief update about the San Francisco 2012 Olympic Bid. When she invited the approximately 30 Olympians in attendance to introduce themselves, the crowd gave a very loud round of applause and a standing ovation. At the end of the program John Marks, President and CEO of the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau, told the enthusiastic audience that San Francisco offers the best invitation the USOC can offer to the world to host the 2012 Olympic Games.

Poster Program
A group of internationally acclaimed Bay Area artists and designers unveiled the first four of 12 original works celebrating and promoting the San Francisco Bay Area's bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games at a news conference hosted by the Hyatt Regency Hotel in San Francisco on Tuesday, May 8, 2002.

The unique and historic "The Bridge to the Future" series of 12 original posters showcase the renowned talent of the Bay Area's arts and design community and demonstrate the region's enthusiasm for hosting the 2012 Olympic Games. The designers were joined by BASOC officials and Bay Area arts leaders to announce BASOC's multi-million dollar arts and cultural legacy proposals and discuss details of the original poster program, including how the public can obtain prints of each unique work. The second four posters were unveiled at an event to celebrate the opening of the Golden Gate Games on May 31. The final four posters will be showcased at a reception on June 27 at the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco with all 12 of the artists present.

SPECIAL FEATURE
By Chris Argyris, BASOC Volunteer
Oracle U.S. Track & Field Open and Nationals

Playing host to the USATF National Championships and the Oracle U.S. Open, San Francisco reigns as the track and field capital of the U.S. in this Summer of World Class Sports in the Bay Area.

The U.S. Track & Field Foundation hosts the Oracle U.S. Open Track & Field meet at Stanford's Cobb Track & Angell Field on June 8th, 2002, followed by the 2002 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships June 21-23, 2002.
?his is a tremendous opportunity to showcase world class track and field athletes in a world class setting,?said Nancy Ditz, chair of the Track & Field Foundation. ?ith this summer? events, we demonstrate to the world the can-do attitude of the Bay Area in providing the best environment, with our facilities and weather, for the athletes to excel.?

Last year's U.S. Open meet was a tremendous success, highlighted by a world record pole vault by Stacy Dragila before a full house at Stanford. Dragila, Marion Jones, Gail Devers, and Regina Jacobs all return to headline the 2002 edition.

Dragila is ranked as the world's top female track and field athlete, with sprinter Marion Jones the world's number two. Sprinter Gail Devers has two individual Olympic gold medals and is a four-time Olympic team qualifier. Regina Jacobs is the queen of USA middle-distance running.

The four athletes, the biggest names in U.S. women's track and field, will headline the 2002 Oracle U.S. Open Track & Field meet set for 6 p.m. on June 8 at Stanford University.
Dragila, the 2000 Olympic gold medalist in the women's pole vault, highlighted last year's U.S. Open, which featured more than 40 Olympians from more than 20 countries. Dragila set two world records, the second mark a still-standing outdoor world standard of 15-feet-9 inches. Her remarkable season included eight world marks, in and outdoors.

Jones, ranked by Track & Field News as the world? top sprinter in the 100 and 200 meters last season, is the reigning 2000 Olympic champion in the 100, 200, and 4x400 relay and added two more medals to become the first female track and field athlete to win five medals at a single Olympic Games.

Devers will be making her first appearance at Stanford. She ranked No. 1 in the world in the 100 meter hurdles last season and led the USA to a 1-2-3 sweep of the top spots for the first time. She holds the American record of 12.33 seconds.

Jacobs will be making a return visit after winning the women's 1,500 last season in a then world-leading 4:04.85. The 1985 Stanford graduate finished the season ranked No. 1 in the U.S. in the 800, No. 3 in the 1,500, No. 2 in the 3,000, and No. 2 in the 5,000.

Olympic Update
Compiled by Brian Aronstam, BASOC Volunteer

A new name has been added to the list of cities hoping to host the Olympic Games in 2012. The Indian government announced last month that the capital city of New Delhi intends to submit a bid to the IOC, which will select the 2012 site in 2005. Uma Barthi, India, minister of sports, said a local Olympic committee has already started to work on the bid. New Delhi hosted the Asian Games in 1951 and 1982. In addition to San Francisco, cities that have shown interest in hosting the 2012 Olympic Games include Houston, New York, Washington D.C., Rome, Sao Paolo, Rio de Janeiro, Budapest, and Paris. ...

Athens organizers gained another vote of confidence last month for their preparations for the 2004 Olympic Games. NBC executives echoed the praise expressed by IOC officials in April. After an inspection tour of Olympic Games venues in Athens, NBC Executive Vice President David Neal said the Greek organizing committee had made impressive progress over the past few months. "We at NBC have been very encouraged by the planning and execution of the overall Olympic plan that we've seen during this trip,"Neal said. "We are extremely optimistic that the Athens Games will be enormously successful." NBC is the largest single contributor to the budget for the XXVIII Olympiad, paying $793.5 million for the U.S. broadcast rights. ...

The U.S. Olympic Committee has launched a new program to promote sports development in the United States and increase the USOC's involvement in the international Olympic Movement. Modeled after the Peace Corps, the new Olympic Sport Corps aims to create elite sport programs that can become self-sustaining. The Corps' first initiative will be in Guatemala, where a team of American technical experts will identify talented athletes, establish training camps, and provide support for local coaches and sports medicine providers.

Paralympic Update
Compiled by Sharon Clark, BASOC Volunteer

Many exciting events are taking place this spring and summer for U.S. Paralympians. Team USA Wheelchair Rugby, winner of the gold medal at the Sydney 2000 Paralympics, is currently in Gothenburg, Sweden competing at the 3rd IWRF Wheelchair Rugby World Championships. Twelve countries will be represented by their national teams at this elite competition, which begins on Tuesday, May 28th. World Championships are held every four years to determine which countries will advance and compete at the Paralympics held two years later. ...

If the U.S. is successful in defending its world title they will earn the number one seed at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens, Greece. "We can not take any of our opponents lightly," states U.S. Head Coach Kevin Orr. There is plenty of experience, with five Gold medalists from the 2000 U.S. Paralympic team on board. Competition begins on May 28 and will conclude on June 2 with the championship game. Full coverage of the Worlds can be found on the host web site at www.wcrugby2002.com ...

Local wheelchair racer Shirley Reilly of Los Gatos is one of 45 athletes nominated to represent the United States at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) 2002 Athletics World Championships, July 21-28 in Lille, France. Forty-five U.S. athletes were selected based on performances at sanctioned meets since November 2000. The U.S. roster is a preliminary listing, subject to the ratification of qualifying performances, finalization of the World Championships program, and athlete acceptance of this U.S. Paralympics nomination. Reilly is only 16 years old and is predicted to become one of America's future Paralympic superstars. ...

Northern California wheelchair basketball legends Trooper Johnson and Chuck Gill will be competing at the World Championships (World Cup Finals) in Kitakyushu City, Japan from Aug. 21-Sept. 1. The men's team captured silver and the women's team captured the gold, beating the Canadian team, Paralympic gold medalists from Sydney 2000, in the championship game. ...

Olympic Icon - Ken Min, Taekwondo, 1988 and 1992
By Elizabeth Faletti, BASOC Volunteer

The recognition of the sport of taekwondo in the United States has been a very long journey. As an advocate of the sport within the Olympic and university movements, Ken Min has served in a variety of capacities. His Olympic experience includes serving as the U.S. Taekwondo Team Manager at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games where the U.S. team won one gold, one silver for the men's team and one silver, three bronze for women's.

Now retired from the faculty at the University of California, Berkeley, Ken continues to banner the sport of taekwondo within the international community. Forty-five teams will participate in the 7th World University Taekwondo Championships June 12-15 held at U.C. Berkeley, bringing the competition full circle as it celebrates its 16th year. Ken describes the event as, "The best taekwondo event ever hosted in the Bay Area until the 2012 Olympics."

Ken presently resides in El Sobrante with his wife Ann and has two grown children, Sylvia and Kwan .

Tell us how you got involved in the sport of taekwondo.
Martial arts in Korea is equivalent to basketball and baseball in America. My martial arts (judo and taekwondo) training began in elementary school. Judo was introduced into the Olympics in 1964 and taekwondo was introduced into the Olympics in 1988. You should know that taekwondo is a form of mind, body, and spiritual training through action philosophy that goes back 1,000 years in Asia and has only recently been structured as a sport in Western concept. I am one of the people who contributed to this transition through the AAU (until 1978) and, later, the USOC until now. I was the founding president of the United States National Governing Body of the sport of taekwondo in 1974 and led taekwondo to become an official medal sport in the 2000 Sydney Olympics (taekwondo was a demonstration sport in both the 1988 Seoul and 1992 Barcelona Olympics).

Who has been the most influential person in your life in regards to taekwondo?
Master instructors and senior ranking black belts in taekwondo and judo influenced my dedicated involvement in martial arts throughout my life.

What aspect of taekwondo is most interesting to you?
Martial arts is a lifelong training and learning experience through self-training, self-discipline, self-confidence building, and self-defense development, and finally, trying to earn self-esteem and self-respect. Martial arts have a ranking system through training and learning which is evaluated by higher ranking masters.

How did you get involved in organizing the 7th World University Taekwondo Championships?
As founding president of the National Collegiate Taekwondo Association in 1970, I was involved extensively in building a taekwondo program in a higher educational setting. In fact, the U.C. Berkeley team has won 21 out of 27 National Collegiate Taekwondo Team championships.

How are you involved in the sport of taekwondo today?
I presently serve as chairman of the University Committee, with the World Taekwondo Federation Technical Commission of Taekwondo, as a FISU (World University Sports Federation) Instructor, and in US Taekwondo Instructor Licensing Seminars.

In what other ways have you been involved in the sport?
Since I was involved with the USOC Judo Committee in 1967, I actively participated in judo as president of the National Collegiate Judo Association (3 times), hosted the National Collegiate Judo Championship as tournament director (3 times), hosted the National Collegiate Taekwondo Championships (4 times), National Senior Taekwondo Championships, and International Taekwondo Championships (4 times). I served the first and second terms as National Chairman of Taekwondo, briefly as President and Technical Director of the Pan Am Taekwondo Union, and two terms as President of the North American Taekwondo Union.

Why do you think that the 2012 Olympic Games should come to the San Francisco Bay Area?
The Bay Area well deserves to show the world, through the best world sports movement, its perfect climate and beauty. However, its most important assets are its diversified population reflected in the information technology industry and higher education institutions. And, California has produced more Olympians than any other state!

What do you do professionally today?
I'm now Faculty Emeritus of Physical Education and Technical Director of the Martial Arts Program at U.C. Berkeley which oversees six different clubs with a membership of more than 1,000.

What is your most memorable Olympic moment?
A few things ?Taekwondo's recognition as an Olympic Demonstration Sport on June 6, 1985 and taekwondo's recognition as an official Olympic Sport on September 7, 1994 at the Centennial Olympic Congress in Paris where I was honored as the speaker for the World Taekwondo Federation. And, of course, marching in during the open ceremonies of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics along with the USA's best athletes in their respective sports, such as the basketball Dream Team!

Thank you, Ken, for sharing your taekwondo story with us. Good luck with the World University Taekwondo Championships!

Venue Spotlight - Moscone Center West
By Steve Woo, BASOC Volunteer

San Francisco has been described as a melting pot, the Gateway to the Pacific, and The Bridge to the Future. The Moscone Center reflects all of these aspects of the city. More than just a convention center, the Moscone Center has played a significant role not only in the development of the San Francisco Bay Area, but also of the world. The Moscone Center represents an international crossroad of sorts, bringing together global leaders in business, politics, medicine, education, and entertainment.

The Moscone Center was the site of the historic 1984 Democratic National Convention, which introduced Americans to their first female candidate for the U.S. vice presidency, Geraldine Ferraro. In 1990, the International AIDS Conference was held at the Moscone Center, and 50 years after the United Nations was founded in San Francisco, world leaders returned to the city in 1995, gathering at the Moscone Center to commemorate the monumental occasion.

The Moscone Center continues to host international events that attract the movers and shakers of the business world, power politicians of the left and right, genomic scientists that are fueling medical revolutions, and educational leaders that provide us food for thought. If you listen closely, you can hear the voices of Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Steve Jobs, General Colin Powell, General Norman Schwartzkopf, U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, and San Francisco Mayor Willie L. Brown, Jr. echo through the halls of the Moscone Center.

The Moscone Center is comprised of two distinct, but connected, areas ?Moscone North and Moscone South ?and has been booked to near-capacity for almost a decade. San Francisco is among the world's leading convention centers, and to respond to the increasing needs of local and international visitors, a project to expand the Moscone Center is currently underway. In Spring 2003, the construction of Moscone West will be completed, resulting in a three-story complex with a convention hall and lobby on each 128,000 square-feet floor.

Moscone Center West's three-story complex would host Olympic competitions in table tennis, taekwando, and handball. The first level will be dedicated to table tennis and later, taekwando. The third level will host the handball competitions and the second floor will be reserved for training and other competition facilities for the athletes. For each competition, a customized bowl configuration with 8,000-seating capacity has been designed to create a dramatic, yet intimate, experience for both athletes and spectators.

Moscone Center is located in San Francisco's South of Market Area (SOMA), which would naturally become an Olympic village for athletes and spectators. One block from the site of Moscone West is the San Francisco Marriott, which is the proposed hotel for members of the International Olympic Committee. "What sets the Moscone Center apart from other convention centers in the world is that it is situated in a very vibrant part of the city,"states Julie Burford, Assistant General Manager at the Moscone Center. While convention centers in most cities are located in the isolated periphery of town, the Moscone Center is, "truly in the heart of San Francisco, and at the art & cultural center of the city." SOMA is located near other popular San Francisco destinations, including Chinatown, North Beach, and PacBell Park, which will also be to host to Olympic competitions.

While SOMA is already an exciting center of business and entertainment, fast forward to 2012 and imagine the athletes and spectators of the world elevating the spirit and energy of SOMA to Olympic proportions. The mix of peoples and cultures that cross paths in SOMA reflect the diversity of San Francisco. To take a walk through SOMA is to take a walk through the world, and for two weeks in 2012, the heart of that world will be the Moscone Center.

Paralympic Paragon - Ellen Bertellotti, Swimming, 2000
By Randy Haberl, BASOC Volunteer

Ellen Bertellotti is a BASOC Volunteer, Olympian and all-around motivator for the disabled movement. Ellen has competed successfully in swimming all her life.

Ellen, what is your background in swimming?
I?e been competing in able-body swimming all my life. I was a member of the Santa Clara Swim Club when, in 1986, I developed Dystonia, a muscular disorder. After that, I started my physical therapy, which included swimming and working out with other disabled people. This is when I found out about the disabled sports organizations.

What led you to get back into competitive swimming?
While I was going through physical therapy, I changed my goals from able-bodied swimming to disabled competitive swimming. I started training for competition and in 1999, I went to the National Games where I made the 2000 National Team. I have been working out ever since then.

What sporting events have you participated in?
After making the national team, we went to the World Wheelchair Games held in New Zealand. I loved it and getting back into major competition was wonderful. I trained for three months when I went to the Pan-Am Games in 2000 and the Paralympics Games in Sydney, Australia.

Tell us about your Olympic experience.
Sydney was wonderful. The people there are great and appreciate all athletes, both able bodied and disabled. The finals for the Paralympics were all sold out events. Other countries have embraced the Paralympics as a major sport. Im looking forward to the 2012 Olympic Games as a showplace for the Paralympics. I think Salt Lake did a great job this last winter and I see the future as very promising.

Note: We have to mention that Ellen met her husband in Sydney and was married last year. He was a member of the South African Track & Field team.

What accomplishments have you made in the sporting arena?
My competitiveness has made it possible for me to meet my goals as a competitor. I placed first five times in the Pan-Am Games and seven places in the Paralympics. I currently hold the national record in six events.

How did you become part of BASOC?
I was contacted to see if I would be interested in helping with the Olympic movement. I love to speak to other disabled groups, especially kids, to let them know what is available to them and have them make their own goals to better themselves.

What are you doing these days?
Im still training and will be going to the World Games this December in Argentina. I am also starting to coach other disabled individuals and groups to help further their goals and get involved in competitive events. I am part of the Far West Wheelchair Sports group and our team is named "Wheels on Fire."

Do you have any advice for others?
I tell others to follow your dreams, just being out there is achieving your goals. It shows you how you rate and work with other people. It helps keep us all motivated and working hard for the future.

We wish Ellen the best and good luck in the World Games later this year.

Company Focus -Gauge Design
By Kim Strenk, BASOC Volunteer

Nick Cawthon founded Gauge Design straight out of graduate school in 2000. Gauge Design was created in the midst of a recession and was formed out of a desire to offer emerging and talented new artists an opportunity to understand and express effective design.

Gauge Design's road to BASOC was guided by Nick's lifelong fascination with anything on a global scale. As a student of design, Nick created Olympic illustrations and posters and was influenced in his work by Primo Angeli, an early Bay Area pioneer of Olympic art. As Nick followed the grass roots progress of San Francisco's Olympic bid, and national media attention brought San Francisco's bid closer to reality, he felt strongly that the face of San Francisco's bid via the web site must truly reflect the superior technological and artistic abilities that the City has to offer. According to Nick, "As I watched the progress of San Francisco's Olympic bid become more than just a dream, I began to think about how BASOC could show the rest of the world how truly unique our city is and, more importantly, how the Bay Area has fostered the growth of technological innovation and creativity."

Gauge Design, by Nick Cawthon, created a visually stunning and technologically superior digital tour of the best of the Bay Area landmarks and city scenes. The digital show went live in April 2002. The tour gives the rest of the world a glimpse of what the 2012 Olympic Games in San Francisco would be like.

In order to create the digital tour, Nick produced a sequence of images compiled from BASOC archives of locations where actual Olympic events would be taking place throughout the Bay Area. The next step was to edit and compress the images for delivery over the World Wide Web. The finished piece of sequenced animation was used as the base to build the soundtrack and match the tempo. The final product conveys a mood that is both optimistic and upbeat, which certainly reflects the BASOC spirit.

For Nick Cawthon and Gauge Design, the road to the Olympic Games (at its most basic level) is about community and volunteerism. The ideals that BASOC exemplifies are best seen in the efforts of many. The contribution of Gauge Design's digital artistry as seen at www.basoc2012.org gives all of us a glimpse into what the 2012 San Francisco Olympic Games can be.

BASOC Superstar - George Broder
By Lauren Brock, BASOC Volunteer

In 1987, George Broder was designated a special assistant to then Mayor Dianne Feinstein. George helped orchestrate the efforts of that bid for the 1996 Olympic Games - which was awarded to Atlanta - including establishing the committee as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Ever since the 1996 bid, George has remained on the Board of Directors for the committee and has been instrumental in organizing the bid effort for 2012.

Born in Illinois and raised in Virginia, George majored in political science at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He gained press-related experience in the Governor's Office during election campaigns for the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the U.S. Presidential candidates before moving to California in 1981 to work for the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee. Following his work in Los Angeles, and at Feinstein's office in San Francisco, George returned to the private sector and spent 10 years with Patrick Media Group/Eller Media, the largest outdoor advertising company in the nation. His success with Eller Media eventually led him to form his own consulting firm, George Broder Group, LLC, which specializes in political strategy, public affairs, and government relations for Bay Area businesses.

What volunteer roles have you taken on for BASOC this time around?
Besides retaining my position on the Board, I am a member of the Executive Committee and am Chair of the Nominating Committee. During the writing of the bid, I chaired the Theme 1 team, which described the governmental characteristics of the Bay Area region and I investigated community demographics. Private polls revealed that 84 percent of the Bay Area community support the Olympic Games being held here.

What has changed in the Bay Area since you worked on the 1996 bid?
We had regional support for that bid as well, but the Bay Area has had more experience in hosting international sporting events since then. The 1994 Men's World Cup and 1999 Women's World Cup soccer (at Stanford Stadium and in San Jose) really showcased Northern California to the sporting world. The community supported those events not just through ticket sales, but also with tremendous volunteer support. Being involved in the process 10 years ahead of time is challenging because people need to be convinced that the bid is worth being excited about now, and I think we are succeeding in that!

Can you tell us about your experience with the Olympic Games in Los Angeles?
As Deputy Press Secretary for the LA Organizing Committee, I was the official spokesman for the organization and helped to develop and implement international and local media strategies for the Olympic Games. We were the first privately financed Olympic Games in history and received a lot of premature criticism, so I was happy when the event went smoothly and the absence of traffic turned out to be our greatest success story. The highlight of my time there was serving as the Press Secretary for the Torch Relay. While driving with the flame across the country required long hours, I could feel the excitement of each city and the uniting spirit of the Olympic Games.

What sports are you looking forward to watching in 2012?
Besides track and field, which is my favorite, I will hopefully get to see men's and women's basketball and volleyball. I also love to watch the Torch come to town during the Torch Relay. My daughter, who plays soccer, was an escort runner for the Salt Lake relay when it passed through San Francisco this January and I had a wonderful time watching her.

Thanks for talking with us George and good luck in your upcoming BASOC endeavors.