I will be on the ballot again in November, this time running for Jay Obernolte‘s Big Bear Lake City Council seat as a result of his moving forward in the Primary Election for State Assembly.

Why I want to serve on City Council:

I love our Valley and want to help the City of Big Bear Lake be even better. I want to insure the best parts of Big Bear remain the same. The reasons we live here, and the reasons why so many guests visit each year, must be preserved. At the same time, the existing Big Bear qualities we cherish must be balanced with evolving economic, environmental, and cultural realities to insure a viable and vibrant future. I will build on the good work already done so that we can continue to benefit from the promise Big Bear holds, so that our families and our visitors can safely enjoy a peaceful, enriching, and beautiful Big Bear Lake. It would be an honor to continue to represent you. I hope you will help me deliver on that Big Bear promise.

Randy’s Big Bear Equation:

Maintain the Big Bear we love + Continue to update & innovate = Viable & Vibrant Community

The Experience Randy Brings to City Council:

I have helped lead and initiate meaningful change in our Valley, most recently serving as a twice-elected Bear Valley Unified School Board Member, with 6 years of experience in public service, lobbying on behalf of Big Bear at the County and State levels. I have deep roots in our Valley as a longtime resident and local businessman, and raised my children here. I was also a founding Board Member of both the Big Bear Valley Trails Foundation and the Bear Valley Education Trust. My love of our Valley, combined with my experience, positions me to hit the ground running as a City Councilman.

The California Recreation and Park Society awarded our community’s Move A Million Miles for Ryan Hall campaign its Champion of the Community Award, which is given to organizations for outstanding public service in the support of “Creating Community through People, Parks and Programs.” Recipients are chosen based upon their significant effort to influence and improve the quality of their community through parks, recreation and community service. At the local presentation ceremony (pictured) we were told that hundreds state-wide compete annually for this distinction and that it is a big deal in the Park and Rec world. Cool. It was a great experience to help out made even better with this nice recognition.

I blame my son. His enthusiasm for reaching the heavens has been contagious. At his urging, we have recently attended several high-powered rocketry launches at the nearby Lucerne Dry Lake Bed with the Rocketry Organization of California (ROC). And if you have even a trace of testosterone in your body, you can’t help but get excited each time one of the large rockets launches skyward with a thunderous roar.

So we started building some smaller rocket kits and have worked our way up to our Tripoli Level 1 Certification, which we achieved at this month’s launch. We had to successfully build, load, launch, and recover our rocket with an “H” size engine. With this certification, we can now fly bigger engines in bigger rockets. This kind of amateur rocketry can eventually lead to scratch-built, cutting edge missiles like we saw at the BALLS 17 experimental launch in Northwestern Nevada over Fall Break. Probably an appropriate past-time for the budding astronaut in the family.

(Here’s some video of our 4″ Goblin ascending on an I-115 W.)

As I get older, it becomes increasingly clear to me that our attitude is the single biggest influence on our lives. So many times I have witnessed people torpedoing themselves because they adopt a destructive attitude and give up their power by blaming others. Far fewer times I have seen people rise to the top because they choose to accept responsibility and adopt a positive attitude.

Ryan Hall’s latest personal blog entry reminds me WHY he is a champion. Yes, he is probably gifted with physical attributes that makes him well-suited for running, but that alone cannot make him, or anyone, a successful athlete. Success relies on attitude. After his 10th place Beijing Olympic Marathon finish, Ryan doesn’t complain or blame, yet he is still honest about his feelings. He is grateful for what was, chooses to see the good, yet still presses on. He has the ATTITUDE of a Champion.

Read the words of a Champion – Ryan’s post-Olympic Marathon blog: http://www.thefinalsprint.com/2008/08/ryan-hall-post-olympic-blog-entry/

Many different organizations over many years have paid me to help them figure out solutions to their technology problems. I’ve written about and presented technology so that others may better understand it. I’ve taught technology at the elementary and college levels so that others may learn it. I get technology. And I have a special appreciation not only for the importance of technology today, but the vital role it will play in the future, especially for our children.

Kids need a command of basic computer technology, just as they need a command of basic math and english. Children who suffer through inadequate and outdated computer equipment and infrastructure might as well be without pencils and paper. It is that important, because the world’s increasing reliance on technology makes it that important. As a School District, we have an obligation to prepare our children with proper technology skills and support them with quality equipment and instruction. Anything less is a disservice.

I know Mike Chatham, with assistance from others in the District, is working on a comprehensive technology plan that he will soon present to the School Board. It is my expectation the plan, at a minimum, will address ever-evolving equipment needs, accommodate growing bandwidth requirements, and embrace both student and teacher proficiency standards. I also hope the current Board will demonstrate its commitment to technology by adopting and funding the plan.

As a prospective School Board member, I will look forward to paying especially close attention to the way our schools address technology education and will do my part to insure our children are well-equipped for a digital future.

Last night on television I watched the amazing Opening Ceremonies in Beijing. It was quite a show, but what really moved me was what I saw before hand. An hour before the Opening Ceremonies began, NBC aired a show called, “The Road to Beijing,” where they highlighted key Olympic athletes. I had heard our local hero Ryan Hall was going to be included, and I kept watching and waiting. And as I watched and waited, I noticed the caliber of the athletes kept getting more significant, and that NBC was staging athletes in a specific order to keep you watching. Finally at the end they showed the segment on Ryan, followed by the final piece on Kobe Bryant. Ryan, then Kobe. Our Ryan next to Kobe. I liked that.

The Road to Beijing segment on Ryan was great to watch. Its one thing to see the familiar sites around Big Bear on a daily basis. Its another to see them through the eyes of a network camera. It reminds you just how beautiful it is here in Big Bear. I must admit seeing our Move a Million Miles work on national television was also a huge thrill. I’ve never seen my artwork on television, and I got a kick out of the scenes of Ryan in front of the Coldwell Banker thermometer banner and all the kids with red Run Ryan Run hats. It feels good when your hard work gets noticed. Especially on network TV.

After the Road to Beijing segment, the NBC lead-up to the actual Opening Ceremonies began, and again there was our Ryan, running beside our Lake, showcased among the top athletes in the world, while millions of people watched. I really liked that. I wonder how many others Big Bear residents understand the value of such publicity for our Valley. With the Opening Ceremonies over, I finally went to bed, I’m sure, smiling ear to ear. This morning I was greeted with a very kind e-mail from Ryan’s mother, Susie Hall, thanking us for our efforts on the Move a Million Miles campaign. I wrote her back and said you’re welcome, but really, thank you for Ryan and for helping create this incredible experience and opportunity we all get to share in.

It’s not everyday a small town gets to embrace their own Olympic athlete. We’ve been told that Big Bear’s unprecedented Million Mile Campaign is historic and that no athlete has ever received that level of support. Ryan has said he thinks this Campaign will help give him an advantage in Beijing. I can’t wait to see what happens when he runs the marathon on August 23rd.

If you are curious, a short bio on me:

I was raised in Santa Barbara, California, gained my secondary education at Cate School in Carpinteria, and graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Journalism in 1985.

After college I caught the entrepreneur bug and started a small chain of printing businesses in San Diego County, which introduced me to desktop publishing and revealed a knack for computers. My interest in technology blossomed at the same time as the Internet did in the 1990s and ultimately led me to a Director of Technology position in a large Nevada-based marketing communications firm, and then on to my own technology consulting firm.

For the last 14 years, I have focused on providing technology solutions and services for corporate and government clients. By combining my diverse management skills, extensive technical background, and marketing insight, I have been able to help companies leverage their technology investment through increased profitability and productivity. I have assisted many organizations large and small, including such notables as the State of Nevada, the City of Las Vegas, Cisco Systems, the Irvine Public Schools Foundation, and our local Big Bear Mountain Resorts. Recently I started Gobo LLC, a marketing technology business specializing in promoting businesses online in unique ways.

I have a teenage son and daughter who started in Big Bear Elementary and currently attend Big Bear High. Over the years I have actively volunteered in my children’s various classrooms and have taught after-school computer classes to elementary students, as well as college-level technology classes. Most recently I helped plan and build the Move A Million Miles for Ryan Hall campaign to support our local Olympic Marathoner. I’m an avid runner and cyclist and especially enjoy trail running and mountain biking in our surrounding National Forest.

It’s official – after swearing to defend the constitution against all enemies and paying $403 for a candidate’s statement, I’ve filed to run for a seat on the Bear Valley Unified School District Board of Education in the upcoming November ’08 election. With the encouragement and support of many friends and family, I’m looking forward to the experience. Running for public office is new to me, but I’m optimistic my life’s experience so far has given me the tools necessary to win a seat, and more importantly, do a good job helping out our already distinguished schools.

On Tuesday and Thursday evenings when we can’t bike due to Winter weather, we will often snowshoe up the Bear Mountain ski runs to the top of the mountain range above Big Bear. Usually we do this in the dark with headlamps, but as the days get longer we sometimes are treated to spectacular sunsets and views almost all the way to the coast. Below is a panoramic view of the San Bernardino Mountains from the top of Silver Mountain at 8,564′. In the panorama to the left is San Gorgonio Peak, which is the highest point in Southern California at 11,501′. In the middle you can see Big Bear Lake, and to the right, Baldwin Lake at the East end of Big Bear Valley.

In German putz literally means “finery, adornment,” but when used ironically in Yiddish it means “obnoxious man, fool,” or more crassly in Yiddish slang it refers to a certain part of the male anatomy. The Pennsylvania Dutch used the term putz for a “Nativity display around a Christmas tree.” Putz is a derivative of the German term “putzen,” meaning to clean, brighten, preen, or shine.

Growing up I would slunk down and cringe in my theater seat when one movie actor would call another “a putz.” Now I just laugh. As my Father always said, “no one ever forgets your name.”