Hit producer ... The peace within ...Making it official ... Speed racers.
Edited by Louis Marroquin
AND THE AWARD GOES TO…
Even if Ken Ehrlich’s name doesn’t ring a bell, you’ve spent many nights enjoying his talent. “I loved music as a kid,” recalls Ehrlich, a member of Braemar Country Club in Tarzana, California. “I could never do what these performers do, but I’ve always had that love of music inside me.” As the producer of the Grammy Awards since 1980, Ehrlich has brought many of music’s most memorable moments to the small screen. He was the creative force behind VH1’s Divas series, launched Lifetime Television’s “WomenRock!” concerts, and created MTV’s Movie Awards in 1992. This year, he’ll once again produce the Grammys, airing live on CBS on Feb. 10. “The bottom line is that, at some point, someone will read a name and someone will come up and accept an award,” says Ehrlich, who also has produced the Emmys, the Blockbuster Awards, the Alma Awards, the Latin Grammys, and the European MTV Awards. “There are only so many ways to do it. The challenge is to create something memorable and enjoyable between the awards.” It’s a challenge that he has met repeatedly. His innovations led to receiving the Visionary Award from the Producers Guild of America in early 2007. His book, At The Grammys! Behind the Scenes at Music’s Biggest Night, was released late in 2007. “It’s not a tell-all, but there are so many great stories to be told from the years of doing this,” he says. “The Grammys are high profile, so we don’t have the same kinds of stories that you hear from some of the other awards shows. Everyone’s kind of on their best behavior for us.” — Paula Felps
STAY COOL
Tom Crum is a martial arts expert, a black-belt master, and one-time personal bodyguard for singer John Denver. That was before he began teaching school and looking for ways to ease conflicts between students and parents. And that, in turn, led to the Tom Crum of today, an author and workshop leader (www.thomascrum.com) who uses martial arts — specifically aikido, which relies on energy rather than force — to help create a calmer, less-stressful environment. “Conflict and stress affect us all,” says Crum, a member of Aspen Glen Club in Carbondale, Colorado. “The key is integrating the mind and body to become calm under pressure.” At workshops for corporate giants such as Wal-Mart and Sony, Crum wears a hakama and gi, traditional samurai garments that allow for flowing movements and conceal foot movements. “Aikido speaks more to longevity and health than other fighting arts,” says Crum, whose books include Three Deep Breaths and The Magic of Conflict. “It’s beautiful watching a wave break on the beach,” he explains. “But consider the conflict involving water, land, and wind that combines to create it. That’s magic. Conflict — with your spouse, for example — can lead to the same magic and provide a real opportunity to grow.” — Dave Orman
Photography by Robert Millman.
OFFICIAL STATEMENT
Sunday is still game day for Ron Botchan, the built-like-a-linebacker member of Desert Falls Country Club in Palm Desert, California, who was a National Football League linebacker. That’s before he became one of a handful of former players to return as a game official, retiring 22 years later — in 2002 — as one of the top officials in league history (his record five Super Bowl appearances attest to that). “Now I’m at a game every week as the NFL representative,” says Botchan, who sits in a command center high above the action with direct connections to the TV truck, the replay officials, even the commissioner’s office. “If there’s a question, I’ll often provide the explanation the announcers give the TV audience.” A one-time Marine Corps officer whose roommates at Occidental College were future congressman Jack Kemp and NFL coaching great Jim Mora, Botchan also serves as the league’s assistant supervisor of officials. In that role, he helps evaluate and coach current officials and decide which ones will work this year’s Super Bowl. He admits his work is less intense than for officials on the field, who must justify every call they make — and, at the Saturday night “report card” sessions that precede Sunday’s games, suffer through the tape of the ones they missed. “Our guys perform in a fishbowl,” says Botchan, who needs no further review to add, “They make fewer mistakes than the average fan understands. Believe me, it’s all business out there — definitely not the fun and games some people think.” — Dave Orman
Photography by Ian L. Sitren.
GONE TO THE RACES
John and Dotti Bechtol have found the perfect way to keep their marriage on track. “Pittsburgh started a vintage car race in 1983,” John says. “We became patrons of the race, but got to the point where we wanted to do more.” So in 1999, the Bechtols — lifelong race fans and members of the Rivers Club in Pittsburgh — bought a 1959 British Elva Mk IV race car. After sharing the car for three years, the couple bought a 1959 Lotus and has since added a 1969 Caldwell Formula Ford to the fleet. Today, they race on the vintage circuit a half dozen times a year, and John has picked up a few vintage race car titles. Dotti remains one of very few women competing, and both say that hitting the track gets their competitive juices flowing. “It’s a good skill to master, because you have to concentrate so much on driving that there is nothing else in your mind,” she says. “By the time the race is over, everything that was bothering you is gone.” Adds John: “Once you start racing, it draws you in. You can’t quit. At this point, I would race a barstool if you put a motor on it.” — Paula Felps
Photography by Michael Ray.
VIEW FROM THE TOP
Jeremy E. McKane has been known to lunch at the Tower Club on the fly, making a quick helicopter exit off the roof of Thanksgiving Tower in downtown Dallas. So he’s comfortable with a bird’s-eye view. His company, Aerobotics International, uses technology, spun off from civilian and military applications, to guide unmanned aircraft over real-estate projects capturing low images from a vantage point where other aerial photographers can’t venture. Partnering with a design firm and branding specialist, McKane uses 3-D renderings to marry aerial images of real estate that can help developers and construction firms visualize, brand, and market projects from a new perspective. Through the use of this micro-PC guidance and control system, called USAV (Un-Manned Sub-Autonomous Vehicle), his clients receive an aerial finished product that “tells a story” in a unique way, he says. McKane, whose background includes advertising, Web design, and streaming media, got the technology bug when he was part of a pioneer Internet service provider in the 1990s. “I like the intriguing projects that most people find difficult to market,” McKane says. “Those are the ones that are most interesting — trying to figure out a way to put the pieces together harmoniously.” — Helen Bond
Photography by Lisa Means.
REAL-LIFE DRAMA
It’s not unusual for super-organized Amy Yarsinske to write an entire book in two weeks. “Once I have it in my head, it just comes out,” says the author, who works on a minimum of six books at once, from historical narratives to biographies and current events. Yarsinske, a member of Town Point Club in Norfolk, Virginia, wrote the best-selling No One Left Behind: The Lt. Comdr. Michael Scott Speicher Story in two months. The book sparked doubt on Capitol Hill about Speicher’s status as “killed in action,” and eventually led to the soldier being listed as missing/captured. As a result, Yarsinske and the book enjoyed a media blitz. Now she has what she calls the “breathing room” to write what she wants. “I like doing stories with a cutting edge,” says Yarsinske, who has published 45 books and expects to top 100 one day. “Real life seems far more interesting than fiction.” — Mary Sue Lawrence
Photography by Keith Lanpher.
REINVENTING THE SWING
Larry Kelly is always inventing things, but he has only patented one — and it took him to the finals of The Golf Channel’s Fore Inventors Only. After his success on the cable network show, hundreds of e-mails poured in from golfers eager to purchase his Gyro Swing, which consists of a motorized gyroscope attached to the end of a golf shaft. “The motor spins at 20,000 rpms and creates angular momentum,” explains the self-professed golf nut, who’s forever looking to improve his game. “It allows a player to experience what it’s like to swing on a perfect plane,” says Kelly, a member of Oak Pointe Country Club in Brighton, Michigan. “It teaches you how to be a ‘feel’ player with good mechanics.” Now in production, the Gyro Swing will make its debut in early 2008, at about $200. “This may have opened the floodgates for me to bring a lot more products to market,” Kelly says. He’s now at work applying the principle of the Gyro Swing to another sport: baseball. The possibilities, it would seem, are endless. — Mary Sue Lawrence
Photography Santa Fabio.
COLD WAR, HOT TOPIC
The Virginia high schoolers were excited — a speaker was coming to talk about U-2. “They expected to hear about Bono,” laughs Francis Gary Powers Jr., a member of Stonehenge Golf & Country Club near Richmond, Virginia. His subject, instead, was the historic 1960 “Cold War” incident when his father’s U-2 spy plane was shot down over Russia. The speaking appearance merely bolstered Powers’ resolve to preserve the era’s history through the Cold War Museum, which for 10 years has existed as an online (www.coldwar.org) and mobile exhibit, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors per year. Powers plans to open a physical facility in 2009 — at, appropriately enough, an old Nike missile base outside Washington, D.C. — that will showcase an era that ended with the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. For now, he points with pride to “a functional museum in every sense of the word except for brick and mortar. Our mobile exhibit includes items like a U-2 flight suit and letters my father wrote from prison. We also provide spy tours of Washington, conferences, and group lectures.” Ongoing efforts include fundraising for the 501(c)(3) organization, collecting relevant artifacts, and documenting oral and written Cold War histories from those who lived through it. — Dave Orman
Photography by Elaine Odell.
MOMS KNOW BEST
Womanhood doesn’t have to take a backseat to motherhood. That’s the message Mary Goulet-Rendler promotes as co-host of The Mary & Heather Show, an Internet talk show targeting women who want to balance family life with a thriving career. Ever the entrepreneur, Goulet-Rendler began her career in bonds and started hosting her own Internet show in 2002 under the umbrella of Entrepreneur magazine. She joined forces with current co-host Heather Reider in 2003 to launch MomsTown Reality Radio and also to write several books, including The MomsTown Guide To Getting It All. The two — who’ve been featured on the Dr. Phil and Montel TV talkfests — encourage women to call in to their show and make “shameless plugs” for their businesses and Web sites. “There are so many creative women out there, you’d be amazed,” says mom-of-two Goulet-Rendler, a member of Morgan Run Resort & Club in Rancho Santa Fe, California. She remembers telling one caller who wanted to start a business to read another MomsTown guide, The Big Break. Six months later, the woman started a franchise of her own. “To this day, she says it was all because of MomsTown,” Goulet-Rendler says. — Janet Mefferd
Photography by Tim Mantoani.
BOTTLED UP
Barry Flink’s interest in wine might have begun as business, but it has become a pleasure. “I started out in the hotel industry, so I was exposed to some good wines,” recalls Flink, a member of Atlanta’s Buckhead Club. “I never took any formal courses, but I continued learning along the way.” The self-taught oenophile has evolved into quite the expert, serving as judge for the Atlanta International Wine Summit for the past four years. And, with a corporate wine collection of more than 1,000 bottles, he has plenty of tasting experience. “Both my business partner and I were wine collectors, so we decided to create a corporate collection,” says Flink, who is executive vice president of a human resources consulting firm. He keeps about 600 bottles in a specially designed room in his home, where guests also can enjoy his collection of more than 1,000 pieces of stemware and more than 3,000 miniature liquor bottles. Although he tries not to play “favorites,” he admits that among his most prized bottles is a rare French wine that originally retailed for $275. “I’m not trying to impress anyone,” he says. “I enjoy collecting wines. This is just something I do for fun.” — Paula Felps
Photography by Marc Climie.
GADGET ETIQUETTE
In a world where kids are being raised to text instead of talk as they keep up with the daily antics of Britney Spears and other pop cultural mainstays, etiquette experts like Deborah King are trying to send a different message. “We are in the third generation of people who have lost touch about what is appropriate for dress and behavior,” says King, a member of La Cima Club near Dallas and president of Final Touch Finishing School, which has been giving children, teens, and business professionals the polished edge since 1989. No more white gloves and party manners, King’s lessons stress social skills, common courtesy, respect, and building self-esteem. She travels across the world to conduct customized on-site coaching and workshops for a personal, contemporary approach to minding your manners to help her pupils be successful in life. And that means ditching your high-tech gadgets in the company of others. “Whenever you are in the presence of another person, they are the focus,” King says. — Helen Bond
Photography by Lisa Means.
PAINTING THE TOWN
Pat Kochan and Lyn Vermillion first connected more than 30 years ago on the tennis courts at Brookhaven Country Club near Dallas. Today, they’re linked by their love for art as co-op partners at Artisan’s Studio-Gallery. Kochan, a nationally known artist who works in a variety of media, joined the studio in 1989 with founder Naomi Brotherton to teach art classes and display her works. In 2005, the Dallas native released Once Upon a Time in Dallas, which showcases her nostalgic paintings of the city as it’s looked over the past few decades. “It’s sort of a legacy of growing up in Dallas,” Kochan says. “Younger people have found it interesting to see how it was growing up in the ’50s.” Vermillion, who started taking art classes from Kochan several years ago and joined the co-op last summer, has captured a travelogue of her own in a series of watercolor creations. The collection, titled “Beach Trash,” is inspired by the rummage her grandchildren gathered on the Florida sands where the family vacations. Discovering her inner artist after a career that began as a trained dancer, she says, “is a nice cherry on top of the sundae.” — Janet Mefferd
Photography by Lisa Means.
SHORT TAKES
ClubCorp president and CEO Eric Affeldt ranks third on Golf Inc. magazine’s list of “Most Powerful People in Golf.” Since 1999, Golf Inc. has selected 25 of the most powerful people in golf, and this year has expanded its list to include 10 additional international people and companies. The individuals on the list were chosen for their impact on the business of golf. … Capital City Club’s Big Bad Ball keeps getting bigger and badder. The annual event at the Raleigh, North Carolina, club raises $135,000 for Hospice of Wake County. The event recently was named “best charity event” by the area’s Metro magazine. The BBB featured a silent auction valued at more than $26,000, a raffle drawing for $10,000, and two door prize drawings for his and hers Breitling watches. … Morgan Run’s members and staff came together during last fall’s California wildfires, participating in community outreach services and donating items for relief efforts. … Lani Hay, president and CEO of Lanmark Technology and member of Hawaii’s Plaza Club, gets the nod from the U.S. Small Business Administration as Minority Small Business Person of the Year. The award recognizes minority business excellence, perseverance, dedication, and commitment. … National Easter Seals elects Bunker Hill member Mary Platt to its board of directors. Platt, a senior vice president of Wells Fargo’s Commercial Banking Group, has been an Easter Seals Southern California board member for seven years and served as the board chair for the past two years. … Crow Canyon in the news: Member Walt Abraham wins the Super Seniors event at the United States Golf Teachers Cup; junior swimmer Kirstyn Colonias earns a spot in the 2008 Olympic trials, while teammate Madison White breaks the USA Pacific Swim 100 backstroke record (for girls 11-12). … No one rains on La Cima member Daniel St. Claire’s parade (of homes). The owner of Quantum Custom Homes receives the 2007 Gold Excellence Award for the “most livable home” during the Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas Parade of Homes … The Dallas CPA Society names Tower Club member Ken Sibley as its new chairman. … Elvis has left the golf course: As part of a ’50s-themed golf tournament at Canyon Crest, celebrity look-alikes took to the greens at the California club. … Hunter’s Green member Tim Hume wins the Southeast Regional Chrysler Club Championship event. …