by Kevin Hamilton, Vice President for Communications
Last October, impassioned comments from alumna Tamara Paul and former NPS Director and SCA board member Bob Stanton generated a mountain top emotional high for those attending the Charlestown, NH event. And Saturday’s Golden Anniversary Reception at the Presidio in San Francisco was a repeat performance.
Senator Dianne Feinstein taped a personal salute, colleague Barbara Boxer sent a laudatory letter, the regional leaders of NPS, USFS and BLM all attended, and the keynoter was the world’s foremost woman oceanographer, Dr. Sylvia Earle. She holds so many underwater records she is often referred to as “Her Deepness.”
There were some heart-pounding moments: San Francisco’s Taiko Dojo rocked the house with an extraordinary drum performance. The crowd of 300 gave SCA Founder Liz Putnam a standing “O” that did not end, and Dr. Earle walked in moments before her cue having got stuck behind the Chinese New Year parade (okay, so maybe it was only my heart pounding as I sweated the status of our marquee speaker).
But what a great night. Kudos to Jay Watson and his Oakland office team. I have a tape of the entire evening in my backpack and we’ll get some clips posted soon, but at the moment I’m heading to Pinnacles Nat’l Monument to visit some SCA interns. Thanks to all who attended.