Craft Talks
by Lorine Parks
“Jerry West was a class act.”
So said Vahid Babaeian, a class act himself, as he explained his interest in the
sports memorabilia which decorates his dental office. Fellow members listened intently as he continued his Craft Talk, a Rotary tradition.
“I was born in Iran,” Vahid said, “and my family came to the United States when I was 12. I went to high school here in Glendale and got my higher education at UCLA. Then I went to the University of Pittsburgh to get my orthodontic training.”
“I started in a small office, Brace Connection, in 1997 in Downey, and then I built my own building at 12102 Paramount Boulevard,” Vahid added. To introduce his new digs, Vahid held an Open House and this reporter remembers when all Downey Rotarians were invited to come and see his imaginative layout.
The office has an on-deck area and play station in the waiting room, to keep younger clients occupied, and there is a brushing station, with pre-pasted brushes all ready to go. There is a large open state-of-the-art clinic area, and digital x-rays instead of traditional photographic film, to reduce exposure.
But the prize feature of Dr. Vahid’s office is his framed and mounted collection of sports memorabilia, everything from autographed basketballs and shirts from Jerry, Magic, Kobe, and John Wooden’s pyramid of success which occupies a prominent spot as you enter the working area, to football, baseball and unexpected lesser-known sports items. Signed bits of net, a puck and shoes will fascinate young and old alike. These interior appointments breathe the colors and spirit of UCLA, where he obtained his BS in biochemistry in 1990 and his DDS degree in 1994 from UCLA Dental School.
Vahid has two children, a son in high school and a daughter in sixth grade. His wife Nazila, who is also an orthodontist, works with him in his practice, which offers early, adolescent and adult orthodontics with metal, ceramic or clear braces.
Once a year, usually in April, under the auspices of the Downey Dental Academy which he headed at one time, Vahid gives free screenings, along with other DDA member-volunteers, to kids in the 1st to 5th grades as a community service. He has been a member of the Downey Chamber of Commerce for some time and a Downey Rotarian since 2000, having served on the board three previous times.
In response to questions from members, Vahid said the biggest change he has seen in orthodontics is that they can get results much faster now. What memories does he have of Iran? “I remember big oil refineries.”
How much does a brace process cost? Vahid was careful to point out the many individual differences and circumstances that went into the answer, but a general ballpark figure would be about five thousand dollars.
Anyone consulting the Internet will find that Yelp reviews have only the highest praise for Dr.Vahid and his office staff. Here’s one anonymous example: “Everyone in the office is pleasant to speak to and their professional demeanor is exceptional; I love that everyone is wearing scrubs and/or uniform with the company's logo. I love to be able to tell that the doctor invests money on his office to make sure it is exceptionally clean, modern and cozy.”
Any parting advice from Vahid? “Brush and floss, brush and floss.”
It’s interesting to consider how many of our fellow Rotarians were born in other countries and bring their world experiences to us. The next member to give a Craft Talk, Harold Tseklenis, was born in Pyrgos, Greece, located only 20 miles from the archeological site of ancient Olympia, where the first Olympic Games were held.
He began his talk by relating to what Vahid had said. Vahid was born in Ahvaz, near Abadan, a major port city on the Persian Gulf, and Harold, who has traveled extensively in Iran, remembers stopping in Abadan and having to sleep in one of the original Quonset Huts built by the British in 1906. When the Royal British Navy switched from coal-burning to oil-burning vessels, the British built the first oil refinery in the Middle East in Adaban, giving a start to British Petroleum. Harold’s business associate had forgotten to make a hotel reservation, so Harold he had to sleep in what was the Brits call a Nissan hut, “a lightweight prefabricated structure of corrugated galvanized steel having a semicircular cross-section.” No mention of pillows.
Harold came to the United States at age 14, and says he learned all his conversational English in his first six months of junior high school there.
His father, who had become a naturalized American citizen, had died when he was 4, and Harold remembers having to report with his mother and brothers to the Nazi occupation forces every Monday morning. Right after VE Day in 1945, his American-born mother decided to bring Harold and his two brothers to the United States. They settled with relatives in Chelsea, directly across the Mystic River from the city of Boston, which Harold was to find handy later when commuting to MIT.
Because of his outstanding aptitude, he was hired by Fluor Corporation even before he graduated. After marrying Anna from nearby Dorchester, Harold and Anna came to Los Angeles for three months right after his June graduation and wedding, and then they were stationed in St. Thomas in the U. S. Virgin Islands on a Fluor project.
Because there was a military draft during the Korean War, after that year’s deferment with Fluor, Harold served as Battalion Officer in the Army Corps of Engineers in Monterey, CA for two years. It was not until then that the Department of Defense made sure that Harold belately established his U. S. citizenship, which he derived from being born to American citizens while overseas.
Working for Fluor in construction meant living for extended periods of time “all over the world.” The Tsklenises lived in Santos, Brazil (the port city near Sao Paolo); Whilhemshaven, Germany on the North Sea near Bremen; and Gothenburg, Sweden; but in 1959 they bought a house here and made Downey their permanent base. Son David went to Rio Hondo, Warren High and graduated from UC Berkley. After retirement from Fluor as a vice president, having worked in some five different areas for the same company over 42 years, Harold has continued to keep busy professionally on a consulting basis.
Harold’s work with Fluor was in the energy field, mostly having to do with constructing refineries, chemical plants and power plants. One of his specialties was in the development of LNG, Liquified Natural Gas.
He participated in a major project for Fluor in Prudoe Bay, Alaska, where he visited once a month for a year and a half, but did not have to live there. Fluor produced pump stations on the original Alyseka pipeline.
The arts have played an important part in Harold’s life in Downey. In the 1960’s Harold joined the Board of the Downey Symphonic Society, where he became good friends with our own Downey Rotarian, Dr. Jordan Phillips.
As a longtime member of the Downey Museum of Art and current DMA board member, he recalled those early days. “The museum was really a product of the community,” said Harold. “The same people who felt strongly enough about the city to incorporate are the people that made the museum happen.”
Now that he is retired, Art in Public Places, such as sculpture and fountains, is a special interest. In keeping with his Renaissance range, Harold is a founding member of the new Downey Arts Coalition.
Harold is a valued part of the Downey Greek community, a resource person and very much a part of the building of the St. George Greek Orthodox Church on Downey Avenue, which was erected in 2002. In June, the 32nd Annual Downey Greek Food Festival took place, and Harold always enjoys welcoming his fellow Rotarians there.
Harold concluded his talk by saying that his sponsor in Rotary was his friend and neighbor Chuck Hutchinson. Harold says it is has been a privilege being a Rotarian and he has enjoyed the friendships he has made since he joined the Downey Club. He appreciates the work Rotary does in the community and internationally.