CONTACTS 
0201 - Fitness Motivation Institute         831 439 9898
020101 - Mr. Ronald Useldinger; President

SUBJECTS
Sam Lawson
Ron Useldinger
Leadership Helps People Take Paths they are
Education
Cupertino HS

0807 -    ..
0808 - Summary/Objective
0809 -
080901 - Follow up ref SDS 14 0000, ref SDS 13 0000.
080902 -
080903 - Discussed Sam's life and contribution in education and the community,
080904 - and how Richard has followed the path Sam set.  We will try to visit
080905 - next weekend at Sam's funeral.  Ron is sending me some audio tapes
080906 - that offer ideas for successful living.
080907 -
080908 - Ron, if you get this far, look at the explanation of how to use care
080909 - in clicking on links in this environment. ref SDS 12 2320
080910 -
080911 - Sent ref DIT 1 linked to this record, and the the New World Order
080912 - paper, ref OF 1, per our discussion. ref SDS 0 1332
080913 -
080914 -      [On 990521 called Richard on Sam's funeral. ref SDS 16 0001]
080915 -
080916 -      [On 990524 sent another letter to Ron. ref SDS 17 0001]
080917 -
080918 -  ..
0810 -
0811 -
0812 - Discussion
0813 -
081301 -  ..
081302 - Sam Set Strong Example of Community Service; Richard Has Followed
081303 -
081304 - Ron has talked to Richard, but did not know the Lawson family is
081305 - thinking of having a funeral next Saturday. ref SDS 14 0864  He
081306 - visited Sam in the hospital last week, and seemed to indicate that
081307 - Fenton Hill and Ken Stanger, who were long-time friends and part of
081308 - the Cupertino High School community, also visited Sam.
081309 -
081310 - I mentioned notifying Rob last night. ref SDS 15 7159
081311 -
081312 - We discussed Sam's contribution to the community, and as an educator
081313 - and leader.  Ron mentioned that Richard has followed a similar
081314 - life-path, and was honored as man-of-the year for all of his community
081315 - work.  This was likely a source of the bond and affection between
081316 - Richard and Sam.
081317 -
081318 - It is also a strong legacy for the life that Sam led.  He showed the
081319 - way, and people like Richard now carry the torch to the light way for
081320 - another generation.  Sam touched many lives who struggle to add more
081321 - than take from the community.
081322 -
081323 - We talked about the opportunity Ron and others had in coming to a new
081324 - school in the late 50s.  Ron felt fortunate to get a wrestling program
081325 - to build, and discussed his interest in the football team.  I
081326 - mentioned Dale DeSelms made a similar observation when we met with
081327 - Sam, and Dick Campbell at the 1997 State Wrestling finals.  That
081328 - period in the late 50s for Cupertino, was a new beginning, a fresh
081329 - slate for young educators to make their mark. ref SDS 9 2958
081330 -
081331 -
081332 -
081333 -  ..
081334 - Ron's Leadership Helped Young People Build Productive Lives
081335 -
081336 - Ron is concerned about politics in education today.
081337 -
081338 - This led him to opt for a new direction, despite being offered high
081339 - appointments to remain at Homestead HS in the late 60s.
081340 -
081341 - We talked about character.
081342 -
081343 - I thanked Ron for the many lessons his leadership brought to the
081344 - Cupertino wrestling program.  Richard mentioned in our discussion the
081345 - other day the incident with Dave Cowell having to leave the team under
081346 - troubled circumstances, essentially for not following the rules. This
081347 - came up remembering our visit at the State Finals wrestling tournament
081348 - in 1997. ref SDS 13 0482
081349 -
081350 - Ron remembered, today, how difficult that decision was, weighing the
081351 - chances for the team to win without Dave, against the impact on young
081352 - lives to bend the rules in order to win, so he did not hesitate to
081353 - make the correct decision.  These are the really critical things a
081354 - coach can do that helps young people throughout their lives.  Ron
081355 - mentioned the reward and sense of accomplishment for a coach in
081356 - helping people perform to their full potential.  He cited Abel
081357 - Guterieze, who placed third in the State finals on our 1962 team, much
081358 - higher than everyone expected.  All of us were moved by Ron's tough
081359 - decision, showing leadership begins with integrity and purpose.
081360 -
081361 - Ron mentioned his practice of using the best practices observed from
081362 - others, as a key to successful coaching.  Of course Ron's will to win
081363 - and communication skills set him apart in establishing a record of
081364 - building winning programs over many years at different schools. Like,
081365 - Sam, Ron was fortunate to have a gift of leadership.
081366 -
081367 -
081368 -
081369 -  ..
081370 - Politics Requires Persistence, Skill to Use Power Constructively
081371 -
081372 - Unfortunately, politics vitiates integrity and undermines opportunity
081373 - in big organizations.  Ron was denied the head coaching job for the
081374 - football program at Cupertino because of jealousy by the "old guard"
081375 - about his success in wrestling.  Even after his great success in
081376 - football at Homestead, politics was a big reason why Ron left
081377 - education for a new career in business.
081378 -
081379 - We considered briefly that "politics" are inevitable in big
081380 - organizations, which are essential to tackle big projects.  This came
081381 - up recently with the Department of Transportation, Caltrans (see my
081382 - letter on 990421, ref DIP 2).  Our challenge is to find a way to make
081383 - politics constructive.  Sam Lawson must have suffered a lot of
081384 - disappointments in his career in education, yet maintained his strong
081385 - sense of purpose and energy to the very end.
081386 -
081387 -
081388 -  ..
081389 - Education Can be Improved by Vouchers and a "Religion"
081390 -
081391 - Ron is concerned about better education for his grandchildren.
081392 -
081393 - Ron is now 66.  I am half-a-generation behind.  So, we share an
081394 - interest in shaping a better future.  He cited a bill passed recently
081395 - in Florida that supports a voucher system, so parents can choose the
081396 - school for their children and the school receives an allocated sum for
081397 - each child they enroll. Ron feels this will inject some of the
081398 - benefits of free markets by allowing competition to improve the
081399 - quality of education.
081400 -
081401 - Ron is sending me some tapes that present important lessons for living
081402 - a productive life.  I think he indicated these tapes are for a
081403 - presentation developed over 50 years ago, showing that the keys to
081404 - lasting success in human endeavors, as Ron has archived, are fairly
081405 - constant.
081406 -
081407 - He may appreciate analysis on 921205, of Stephen Covey's work, who
081408 - offers inspirational leadership. ref SDS 2 0969
081409 -
081410 - I will send him some stuff that may have a chance to enhance education
081411 - by improving the use of the alphabet.  Sounds crazy, but it offers a
081412 - path for using technology with religion, ref OF 1 4723, to improve the
081413 - ability to think, remember and communicate.  These tools help educate
081414 - young people to be better citizens and leaders of our tomorrows.
081415 -
081416 - We may have a chance to visit next Saturday at Sam's funeral.
081417 -
081418 -
081419 -
081420 -
081421 -
081422 -
081423 -
081424 -
081425 -