Go, Team! by Past President Eloise Tweeten
Our special “guest” speaker for November 17, 2022, was past president Eloise Tweeten speaking/facilitating the topic “Go, Team!” Eloise has a long history in team sports going back to 2004, when she tried to get her daughters interested in synchronized swimming. They weren’t interested, but Eloise caught the bug and has been competing in the sport, now known as “Artistic Swimming,” ever since. Eloise noted that the topic of “Teams” is very relevant today, given the the importance of teams to Rotary.
Eloise broke us down into small groups to talk about teams, in general, but not necessarily sports teams. The first team to report was presented by Lori Rodriguez, who told us that when she moved to the North Bay she became a diehard Giants fan. Lori played softball for many years, retiring when she was 54. She was also the manager for her team for over 25 years. As a manager she learned that a player’s energy is sometimes as important as their skill in a team sport. Merle Hayes told us that she’s always been interested in sports, having fallen asleep on basketball benches as a child when her dad was a coach in Healdsburg. College football has also been important to her because it gives her something to talk to her college-age grandchildren. Leroy Carlenzoli talked about his hunting/fishing hobbies, where he doesn’t want everyone to be interested because there would be too many people! Ross Jones played football and basketball in his younger days but went to a college without those sports. He now enjoys Cal football with his son, who goes to Cal. Here’s a Cal “sick burn” for the upcoming “big game.”
Eloise told us about her first competition, a solo, when she “forgot” her nose clip, which she finally found on her finger after getting water up her nose! Eloise showed us a video of her team at the U.S. Masters Tournament in Waterville, Maine, last month. Her team was in the 65-79 age group and was the only team in that group (they won!). Her team beat all but one of the teams in the 50-64 age group! Artistic Swimming is a team sport extraordinaire, since the teammates need to not only play together, but they also need to be 100% in sync!
Past Pres. Harry Coffey reminded us of the infamous synchronized swimming event held at Eloise’s debunking back in the day. It was a remarkable feat of artistic, athletic, and acting skill! President Jack says he still has the video. Hey Jack, let’s play it at an upcoming meeting.
Great job, Eloise. Let’s all remember that “team work makes the dreamwork!”
