This interview was conducted by Ken Stone in November 2004:

1. USATF Masters track is perpetually underfunded, and yet a majority of 
dues-paying USA Track & Field members are masters age. How can Masters T&F 
better tap the various USATF revenue streams for the older athletes it 
represents? 

You are absolutely correct that we are underfunded. But the question presupposes we only tap existing USATF revenue streams. We must indeed get more from USATF for the high proportion of masters athletes who are in USATF – and better negotiations with USATF leadership are key for being part of their existing and their new sponsorships. But we must dramatically increase our own specific MTF fund basis through sponsorships, far beyond the current level, not just as USATF's leftovers which now unfortunately seems the case because they have many other priorities. I worked in the corporate world for many years as Director of Operations Research at Spaulding Sports Worldwide. We've all directed races and we as race directors do a better job of getting sponsors than has national masters track; USATF New England has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars. BenGay is great, but we also want dynamic lifetime fitness sponsors and other corporations. BenGay’s sponsorship of national masters is worth about $10,000; we should be able to increase that from other sponsors by a factor of ten. We need to get sponsors, systematically, on a targeted basis. MTF will have to organize our own work in this area.

We can achieve much through our growing masters demographics and its millions of runners and athletes. The national office is helpful to the masters movement, but we also need dedicated efforts by our masters themselves. When elected, I will lead that effort.

Having focused goals and a vision of the unlimited potential of masters T&F will help our fund raising. This is a cyclical process. More membership and greater media will increase enthusiasm and an increased number of sponsors. Which in turn leads to increased membership, enthusiasm, media so the cycle continues. money, membership, media and mobilizing our programs.

2. One measure of our program’s health is the turnout at national masters championships. But the number of participants in recent years has remained flat, or even decreased. How would you grow the number of entrants at nationals?

This point is well-taken. Our championships should have double their current participation. The world veterans championships and the U.S. Senior Games all have enormous participation.

At our national convention two years ago Craig Masback personally assured me that local associations could have their own media effort to supplement the national office's press. During the Boston masters indoor nationals, we had six TV cameras at the finish line, wire service coverage, national papers, e.g., Christian Science Monitor, Runners World and name competitors like Bill Rodgers and Joan Benoit, all because of the media coverage and excitement. Personally, I have worked with many organizations and achieved similar results.

When I was president of the Sugarloaf Mountain Athletic Club, we hosted the National 10-Mile Championship in Amherst, Massachusetts. We wrote, called and got 16 Olympic Trials Qualifiers including Patty Catalano, Bobby Hodge, Johnny Halberstadt and we had Bill Rodgers do our endorsement. This resulted in 500 more participants in the meet than usual. The good organizational work including media and marketing brought enthusiastic runners to a cold February outdoor 10-mile race.

We can do far better with all that our diverse masters track meets offer. We must use proven organizational strategies of press, articles, phone trees and Internet recruiting.

3. Despite the existence of its own section of www.usatf.org, USATF Masters has done little to leverage the potential of our Web site. How would you improve this online home to USATF Masters? How would you use the Internet to improve communications with masters members of USATF?

In the new era we must maximize our Web access and Internet usage. The first step is to create a list server so as each USATF Master member can have access. They can list their points of view, address questions from others, et cetera. The national masters chair must be responsive to emails – even designate a corresponding secretary, if necessary, to help with the volume of emails we will generate. I know leaders in educational institutions, government and the corporate world answer in brief ways so as not to waste time but assuring responsiveness. That is key to bonding and building our movement, and it’s a part of leadership.

The Web site’s floundering amazes me. Most organizations have a full and accessible Web site to serve its needs in this modern day. There should be a Web site under control and access of the national masters board, accessible to us all. We should negotiate to have additional linkage between USATF’s Web site as well as for our own site.

4. Most masters athletes have never attended the annual meeting of USATF. What would you do to better involve the rank and file in USATF Masters decision-making? Would you consider a secure Web site by which USATF Masters could vote on issues?

Again, press, articles, phone trees and Internet recruiting! Every organization has a problem getting huge numbers to attend its “organizational” meetings rather than just the final-product events (in our case, our meets). I actually don’t think we do badly in the area of Masters Track and Field attendance at the national convention.  I think the attendees and delegates are representative and high quality. I also really like what National Masters News does as a forum for both rank and file and officers. NMN is open and objective, a wonderful voice for free speech so that ideas cannot be shut out. But I wish our leadership were equally open and in an equally listening and responsive mode, and that’s one of the main reasons I’m running. None of us is as smart as all of us.

I do like real participation at our convention. Instead of voting on a secure Web site, I would suggest that questions on the agenda of our board be listed on the list server and in effect, each board member can interpret from the results their actions. Votes could and should be open. Let people debate before and after on the merits of issues and have a healthy conversation. That’s just plain helpful to our cause: openness is a winner.

5. What’s your philosophy on picking host cities for masters nationals? Do you like to “spread it around” – at the risk of low turnouts in certain areas or climates? Or do you prefer to see the “best bidder” win the meet – at the risk of cities like Boston (indoors) and Eugene (outdoors) monopolizing the championships?

Geography is part of the “best bid.” Delegates should consider diversity as one factor. I have no doubt that Boston and Eugene have won because they offer the most for the entrants as bids are considered, and we want the best meets possible. People have enormous fun in Boston and Eugene, as I’m sure they will in Boise and Honolulu and beyond. I have a serious problem with leadership pushing a favorite of their own, however, and then having ballot counts closed that leave great doubt of how it occurred. The process just needs to be more open, and then everyone will accept the result. We’ve paid the price in attendance and complaints and people leaving the program with nonsensical “best bids” holding summer meets in oppressively hot locations and winter meets in hard-to-access locations. So we all try hard at this, but we need to do better.

6. Would you support a rule change to allow timed finals for running events over 400 meters at masters national championships?

This works both ways and there are good arguments for both sides. Personally, I’d like to see the meets more rather than less inclusive. This is not the Olympics, after all, but an all-comers program where we want more people – so timed finals allows more people to feel they’ve experienced the championship.

7. The Masters T&F chair is also a member of USATF’s governing Board of Directors, one of whose roles is evaluating the chief executive director, currently Craig Masback. Do you think Masback has done all he can to advance the interests of masters track?

I have served as president, vice president or chair of four professional associations and nine community associations, where it was necessary to evaluate the work of the CEO. I have also been appointed to three different boards whose sole function was to evaluate university chancellors/presidents.

Craig has done an amazing job of raising money, negotiating TV contracts for USATF, putting on the major open championships, and building the structure for an incredibly successful Olympic team. Also, on the controversial issue of drugs, he’s done a terrific service to USATF and sport by his aggressive posture on sanctions and by turning over enforcement to an independent United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). I personally believe Craig Masback has a great persona and should be on at least one national TV show a week touting the value of USATF and its mission. He is our spokesperson. Perhaps the media committee could help him with this.

Masters remains the weak sister in USATF’s scheme. When elected, I will be attending regular board meetings and use the arguments of our demographics, our potential and the success of our programs to strengthen our position within USATF.

8. The masters chair also represents the United States at the World Masters Athletics General Assembly every two years. How would you use your role as chief U.S. delegate to advance USATF Masters’ interests? What would you do to help return the World Masters Athletic Championships to continental U.S. soil for the first time since 1995?

Considering the circumstances and trouble in the world today, it is vitally important that our representative to the General Assembly gain respect of the other leaders from around the world. Similarly, the USATF Masters chair must put forward our interests persuasively, using diplomacy to assure delegates in the General Assembly that we can get the job done.

I will work to return the World Masters Athletic Championships to the United States by building strong relationships with other General Assembly delegates. We need to develop a best bid, including competition facilities, hotel caliber and price, major famous cultural opportunities, transportation, et cetera. I would monitor and guide this effort closely. This will require personal contacts, phone conversations and continuous use of email communication.

9. As a candidate four years ago, George Mathews identified three top goals for his tenure in a November 2000 interview. (See Question 12 at: http://www.masterstrack.com/news2000/USATFgeorge.html) Has he made satisfactory progress on these goals?

I have great praise for anyone who is an officer and works hard in that capacity, or for anyone who wants to be an officer. But I do offer some unique proven skills. I want and offer action, not bureaucracy; vision with proven accomplishments, not limited objectives with reasons why more can't be done right now. Spalding Sports Worldwide, where I was Director of Operations Research, would never accept such limiting parameters, and USATF Masters Track and Field need not either. In view of our limitless potential, we want to expand our vision in terms of money, membership, media, and mobilizing our programs.

We need to build our masters track and field movement. The time is ripe, if we get to work.

In the three areas Chairman George stated -- volunteers, participants, and communications -- we need to do better – a lot better.

We cannot downsize opportunities when there is enormous potential for our mission. I enjoy delegating and watching great people have successes in organizations. I weigh in as a catalyst with questions to encourage their meeting their own and our objectives and maximizing what they can do. I always express a strong sense of appreciation, with deeply felt thanks, since that is really all we can give in some situations. Even though it is free and useful, leaders too seldom take this critical step. For existing committees and appointments as well as new ones we would generate, I will be a motivator and encouragement catalyst for maximizing people's achievements on all our behalf. When I achieve that, in each case, I derive enormous satisfaction.

10. Aside from what you can do for USATF Masters, what do you personally get out of being involved in USATF Masters leadership?

I want to give back to the sport and the program I love. I have an Ed.D. and was Spalding Sports Worldwide Director of Operations Research. I consider myself corporate professionally (see resume) with a sports bent. I was a 4:20s miler in high school and have completed 86 marathons since I was 43 years old. In addition to USATF-NE vice president, I've gone to our national convention for the last eight years. I’ve been designated the chief field official at the National Masters Indoor meets in Boston. I'm active in local track duties as president of Western Massachusetts track officials and was president of Sugarloaf Mt. A.C. Helping to make National Masters Track and Field successful, helping it reach its national and world potential, would be immensely gratifying. As I stated in the previous question, helping our highly talented team of officers, committee chairs, members, volunteers and all others achieve their objectives – “be all that they can be" will give me personally great satisfaction but, more importantly, will accomplish the missions of USATF Masters Track and Field.

When I see our championships on "Wide World of Sports" and the CBS/ABC/NBC Nightly News, and when I see 3,000 at our championships and over $200,000 in sponsor money in our treasury, I will quietly take deep pride in the work of our colleagues that perhaps I had a little part of helping; and I’ll know that masters track and field has come of age.