Al Gore, Internet, and government money

V.P. GORE's INFORMATION AGE BENEFITS FOR WORKING FAMILIES

September 29, 1999-- Vice President Al Gore announced $9.9 million in grants to help working families gain Information Age benefits by bringing computers and the Internet to community centers, public housing, and libraries.

"Technology must be about opportunity for every American family and that means making technology available to every family for education, skills development -- even for young children just learning to read," said Vice President Al Gore. "The world is changing quickly and we must make sure those changes work for our families. Community Technology Centers will bring countless new opportunities to working families -- helping children and adults to help themselves."

He urged the Congress to provide full funding for $65 million for Community Technology Centers (CTC's). The prior week, the House and Senate provided only $10 million, a cut of $55 million.

Aimed at "narrowing the digital divide," the Community Technology Centers will be located near the working families who will use them -- in public housing facilities, community centers or libraries -- and will provide a range of services.

• Workforce development and employment information -- basic and advanced computer skills training, resume writing workshops, and online access to job databases.

• Pre-school and family programs available at times when parents can bring young children to use age-appropriate software. Linked to other programs such as Head Start, family literacy or daycare providers without access to computers.
• After-school activities that will provide structured opportunities for students to use software that offers homework help, academic enrichment, and exploration of the Internet.
• Adult education -- individually, or in collaboration with existing programs, GED training, English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction, adult basic education, or post-secondary education classes using the latest learning technologies.

"These awards will help parents and students, who don't have computers at home, link learning at school with learning anywhere through technology," U.S. Secretary Richard Riley said. "The Community Technology Centers bring the power of computers and information-age resources to those who have the greatest need."

Forty grants and more looming

The administration has requested $65 million for Community Technology Centers in fiscal year 2000, to support 300 additional grants, and the formation of up to 500 new centers to help more working families.

The Children's Aid Society, Harlem, New York City.

The grant will be used to expand an existing center and build three new satellite centers. Serving the Harlem Empowerment Zone, the centers will work with Computers for Youth to increase home access, improve computer literacy among residents, and increase participant exposure to information technology careers through "Silicon Alley" mentors.

DePaul University, Chicago.

The award provides for the expansion of the existing Learning by Association Community Technology Center. In addition, it will create a new center in one of the most impoverished, mostly immigrant areas of Chicago's Humbolt Park. The center will provide assistance for adult education, after-school programming and small-business start-up assistance through connections with the Mayor's Office of Workforce Development.

---

Community Technology Centers Program

FY 99 Grant Award Abstracts

Armory (NY) High School Sports Foundation

216 Ft. Washington Avenue
New York, NY 10032-3704
Year 1 Award: $305,426
In the Washington Heights section of New York, a Community Technology Center will offer a complete schedule of computer skills building workshops, a technology-infused early language intervention curriculum for pre-school children, and a business applications class. The area to be served has a largely Dominican population with more than 50% of the families receiving AFDC.

Science Museum of Minnesota

Year 1 Award: $211,908
The project will expand STUDIO 3D (Digital, Design, and Development), an after-school outreach program providing computer access for adolescents and their families in low-income, inner-city areas of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Two new community technology centers will be created and STUDIO 3D will be made available on a mobile lab.

Fairfield (CT) University Psych. Department

Year 1 Award: $166,599
Fairfield University's ABCD Literacy Technology Training Center will provide computer, internet access, and training to low-income families in the Bridgeport, Connecticut Enterprise Community. Building on a collaborative partnership between the University and a non-profit agency, Action for Bridgeport Community Development, Inc. (ABCD), the project will create "satellite" computer centers in Head Start/School Readiness classrooms that enhance both the computer and "traditional" literacy of parents and children.

Douglas-Cherokee Economic Authority (TN)

Year 1 Award: $299,992
A Technical Education Center (ATEC) and three satellite centers will place a special emphasis on increasing the computer literacy of female head of households.

Casa Grande Elementary School District 4

Year 1 Award: $287,473
The centers will serve at-risk children, the working poor, and those without access to computers. Instructional technology at the centers will be used for academic enrichment, workforce development, and GED completion.

United Way of Midlands, Columbia, SC

Year 1 Award: $225,603
Fast Forward will increase access to information technology for adults and children in the inner city. Offer after-school enrichment, adult education, and technical training. Midlands Technical College will teach courses at the centers leading to an Associate's Degree in Computer Science.

Family Investment Center

Year 1 Award: $263,083
The Charles Hayes Family Investment Center will expand its current services in Chicago's Empowerment Zone by creating four new satellite centers. The Chicago Consortium for Higher Education will provide access to an interactive videoconference network run on dedicated T-1 lines.

Blackfoot School District

55 270 E. Bridge Blackfoot, ID 83221 Year 1 Award: $300,000 

A Family Technology Center (FTC) would be built to serve American Indian and Hispanic individuals in a low-income, rural area in southeastern Idaho. The Center would draw students and community members living on the Shoshone-Bannock Reservation and migrant farming community. 

The FTC would have a goal of increasing access to information technology and using the technology to improve academic achievement and job skills. 

Massachusetts Easter Seal Society, Inc.

484 Main Street Worcester, MA 01608 Year 1 Award: $192,129 The Easter Seals Assistive Technology Center, currently focusing on individuals with disabilities, would be expanded to serve the broader community. The center will provide after-school enrichment for students, adult education, and career development. 

Desert Sands Unified School District

 47950 Dune Palms Road La Quinta, CA 92253 Year 1 Award: $192,755 Technology centers will be opened to provide opportunities for a largely Hispanic population in a rural Empowerment Zone plagued by illiteracy and high unemployment. 

Board of Education, Prince George's County Public Schools

14201 School Lane Upper Marlboro, MD 20772 Year 1 Award: $290,067 Focusing on Langley Park, with 700 elementary school children from 36 countries and speaking 21 different languages, a community technology center will provide after-school access and computer-based enrichment exercises in basic math and English. The Center would also serve adults who want to complete their GED, improve their English, or learn basic computer repair skills. Adults will upgrade older computers for donation to needy families. 

Harlem Center for Education

1 East 104th Street, Room 382 New York, NY 10029 Year 1 Award: $353,710 A new center will be created in East Harlem, a designated Empowerment Zone, to better prepare teachers to use technology and provide computer literacy courses to area residents. Services will also include adult education, after-school enrichment, and small business assistance. 

New York City Board of Education

433 West 123rd Street New York, NY 10027 Year 1 Award: $299,908 Community School District 5 in New York will create a Renaissance Community Technology Center. School-to-Work students will gain valuable work experience by reconditioning donated equipment, maintaining center computers, and providing technical support. Using the space of a Parent Literacy Center currently under renovation, the center will offer video-conferencing equipment for distance learning. 

Ganado Unified School District

P.O. Box 1757 Ganado, AZ 86505 Year 1 Award: $279,340 Located in the Navajo Nation, and the Window Rock Enterprise Community, the Ganado Technology Center Project will focus on improving a school-based computer lab, with expanded service to the wider community. Project objectives include increasing student achievement, encouraging the participation of adults in information technology training, and increasing home-access to computers. 

Edudyne Foundation

2232 Salt Air Drive Santa Ana, CA 92705 Year 1 Award: $298,120 A community technology center program will be created in an economically distressed area. The center will help Spanish-speaking students, and their parents, to improve their English-language proficiency and computer literacy. With donations from local industry, home-ownership of computers will be increased. 

The Children's Aid Society

105 East 22nd Street New York, NY 10010-5413 Year 1 Award: $286,657 The Children's Aid Society will expand an existing center and build three new satellite centers. Serving the Harlem Empowerment Zone the centers will work with Computers for Youth to increase home access, improve computer literacy among residents, and increase participant exposure to information technology careers through "Silicon Alley" mentors. 

Mott Community College

1401 East Court Street Flint, MI 48503-2089 Year 1 Award: $177,813 Mott Community College is partnering with several community organizations to serve residents of the Flint Enterprise Community through the creation of three new centers, one of which focuses on serving those with disabilities. Mott Community College will serve as the hub site providing internet access, two-way audio/video conferencing, and technical support.

Family Solutions

2100 Front Street Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44221 Year 1 Award: $298,400 Family Solutions, a United Way family service agency with a 78-year history, will develop two community technology centers. One will be located in the Akron Enterprise Community. The center will serve youth and adults who will learn to use information technology tools through digital photo imaging/editing, web page design, and graphic design. 

Peninsula College

1502 East Lauridsen Blvd. Port Angeles, WA 98362-6698 Year 1 Award: $200,000 Peninsula College, in partnership with four Native American Tribes and the Washington Employment Agency, will create a network of community technology centers serving disadvantaged individuals in the remote communities of the North Olympic 

Peninsula. Future Teachers of Chicago

513 W. 72nd Street Chicago, IL 60621 Year 1 Award: $300,000 Future Teachers of Chicago, City Colleges of Chicago, the Chicago Public Schools, and other partners plan to implement project LIFTT (Learning is Fun Through Technology). The LIFTT collaboration will establish computer learning centers in four Park District sites. College participants will gain hands-on teaching experience in the use of technology as they prepare to become inner-city teachers.

YMCA of the East Bay

2230 Broadway Oakland, CA 94612 Year 1 Award: $298,999 In the San Francisco East Bay area, the "digital divide" is particularly pronounced with flourishing Information Technology companies existing near pockets of urban poverty. Targeting communities in West Oakland and South Richmond, a unique collaborative will develop four, linked community technology centers with a focus on after-school enrichment and job training for adults.

Southeast Regional Resource Center

210 Ferry Way Suite 200 Juneau, AK 99801 Year 1 Award: $299,205 Two new community technology centers will be created in Juneau, an Enterprise Community, and Ketchikan, an economically distressed area. These centers will provide access to technology and related learning services. The Centers will be networked with educational institutions and social services agencies to better serve disadvantaged Southeast Alaskans. 

ASPIRA Association Inc.

1441 I Street NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20005 Year 1 Award: $299,769 ASPIRA will replicate their community technology center model, building four new centers in the mostly Latino, Empowerment Zone neighborhoods of Chicago, Philadelphia, Bridgeport, Connecticut and Carolina, Puerto Rico. Existing ASPIRA community centers will be expanded to include computer learning rooms with internet connected computers and educational software.

Chicago Commons

915 N.Wolcott Avenue Chicago, IL 60622-4998 Year 1 Award: $297,242 Three new community technology centers will be created in Chicago Commons settlement houses, which are located in Chicago?s Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Community. Each site will have a trainer working closely with settlement house staff to assist residents use information technology to improve their lives.

Detroit International Stake Adult Housing Corporation

16631 Lahser Road Detroit, MI 48219 Year 1 Award: $75,880 The project will expand an existing Neighborhood Networks Computer Learning Center and a new center will be created serving Detroit's Empowerment Zone. Objectives of the project include improving the job skills of adults and enhancing the learning of students in the after-school hours.

Seattle Public Library 

100 4th Avenue Seattle, WA 98104 Year 1 Award: $300,000 A collaborative alliance has been created to expand the services and ensure the sustainability of seven existing community technology centers. The centers will serve low-income communities in Central and Southeast Seattle, part of a federally designated Enterprise Community. 

Capital Area Intermediate Unit 

55 Miller Street Summerdale, PA 17093-0489 Year 1 Award: $205,508 In addition to building satellite centers in neighborhoods that are part of the Harrisburg Enterprise Community, the project will expand Career Cybercafe, where high-school students and other residents learn information technology skills, explore careers in technology, and are connected to e-mentors. Sinte Gleska University P.O. Box 490 Rosebud, SD 57570 Year 1 Award: $280,428 Sinte Gleska, one of the first tribal colleges and located in the Rosebud Sioux Reservation, will open computer learning rooms at four of their outreach extension centers. Project goals include open access to technology, increased information technology skills, and improved retention of high school and college students. 

Texas A&M Center for Housing and Urban Development

College Station, TX 77843-3137 Year 1 Award: $223,216 Texas A & M will partner with numerous State and local agencies to open computer learning labs in nine existing community centers along the Texas-Mexico border. Project goals include increasing the educational level of residents, improving their job skills, and increasing access to technology. Delaware Technical & Community College 1832 N. DuPont Parkway Dover, Delaware 19901 Year 1 Award: $242,404 Delaware Technical and Community College will create a mobile community technology center that will serve distressed urban and rural communities. WHEELS (Working to Heighten Education and Employee Learning Skills) will be a custom designed vehicle capable of bringing directly to those who need it basic education, skills training, and access to computers. Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin P.O. Box 910 Keshena, WI 54135 Year 1 Award: $62,288 Three community learning centers will be created in outlying community facilities to implement a technology-based education program designed to improve high school retention and completion. 

Mercy Charities Housing

1028A Howard Street San Francisco, CA 94103 Year 1 Award: $200,000 Mercy Charities Housing, a non-profit dedicated to building affordable housing, will create NET (neighbors, education, and technology) centers in seven low-income housing developments. Leadership, Education, and Athletic Partnership, Inc. 31 Jefferson Street New Haven, CT 06511 Year 1 Award: $265,000 Leadership, Education, and Athletic Partnership, Inc. (LEAP) currently operates a network of five LEAP Computer Learning Centers. They will expand the learning services at these centers and build two additional centers. The project will focus on ensuring the long-term sustainability of the centers so that they become a permanent community resource, like schools or libraries. 

Des Moines Area Community College

2006 S. Ankeny Blvd. Ankeny, IA 50021-3003 Year 1 Award: $252,927 A large technology center will be established in the heart of the Des Moines Enterprise Community and in a satellite center nearby. In partnership with the State of Iowa Department of Workforce Development, Des Moines Area Community College will open centers that deliver educational technology to disadvantaged citizens in both urban and rural communities. 

100 Black Men of Albany,New York Capital Region, Inc. 

388 Clinton Avenue Albany, NY 12206 Year 1 Award: $296,942 The 100 Net 2000 project will expand the 100 Black Men of Technology Center to satellite centers in inner city neighborhoods. The project is using as a framework the Urban CyperSpace Initiative, of the Center for Urban Youth and Technology at the University of Albany, which focuses on infusing advanced multimedia and telecommunications technologies into under-served communities, using community technology centers to provide opportunities for community and workforce development. 

Community College of Southern Nevada

3200 E. Cheyenne Ave. North Las Vegas, NV 89030-4296 Year 1 Award: $195,871 In one of the most economically distressed neighborhoods of Las Vegas, the Community College of Southern Nevada Neighborhood Educational Center will add 2 computer classrooms with full internet access, online connections to distance learning, and educational software. 

Hudson County Community College 

25 Journal Square Jersey City, NJ 07360 Year 1 Award: $299,563 The Hudson County Community College is forming a county-wide partnership to develop a far-reaching network of community technology access sites. Two core sites, one in Jersey City and the other in Union City, will ultimately be working with 8 satellite centers. 

DePaul University

1 East Jackson Blvd. Chicago, IL 60604-2287 Year 1 Award: $236,050 This project will expand the Learning by Association Community Technology Center at the West Town Association Site and create a new center in one of the most impoverished, mostly immigrant areas of Chicago, Humboldt Park. In addition to adult education and after-school programming, the centers will provide small-business start-up assistance through connections with the Mayor?s Office of Workforce Development. 

Middle Rio Grande Development Foundation

P.O. Box 1199 Carrizo Springs, TX 78834 Year 1 Award: $197,926 The FUTURO project, focusing on a five county area and rural Enterprise Community, will develop five new Technology Centers, open during the after-school hours, evenings, and on weekends. Activities include a pre-school reading enhancement program, interactive videoconferencing for small business development, and webpage design. Fairnet, Inc. 1215 Cowles Street Fairbanks, AK 99701 Year 1 Award: $141,799 FairNet (Electronic Community Network), the Literacy Council of Alaska, the Fairbanks Native Association, the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, and other partners have joined forces to develop three new community technology centers and a mobile center to serve low-income neighborhoods. All centers emphasize public access, open lab time, and elder services.

Hampton was looking for a coach. I think we might have talked (flashback)

Mark Rauterkus
108 South 12th Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15203

web site: http://www.SportSurf.Net
email:

home: 412-
voice mail: 412-

September 24, 1999

Athletic Director
Hampton High School

Dear Athletic Director,

	I’d love to learning more about the open swim coaching position with the district. I’d like to apply to be the team’s coach starting this year. 

	Your district's program might make an ideal match for my situation. As a returning resident of Pittsburgh, my dreams are to raise my family here. It is most probable that I would one day make a long-term commitment to stay with the program for many years. But our short-term advantage is the fact that I am well suited for the job and ready to work with the swimmers right away.

	Getting this position would end a mini-retirement. My most recent coaching stint was for two years as the head coach for the Plum High School Swim Teams nearly a decade ago. I was thankful for the opportunity to work with the students and get back into the swim scene in Pittsburgh. However, that experience was destined as a short-term endeavor.

	A great deal of thinking and planning for swimming opportunities is happening with me for the next year and the long-term future. I’d like to get on the job now and explore the possibilities of moving into a various year-round coaching roles -- beyond just the High School Team. I’d like to have a program that has tighter coordination with other swim sites. I am hopeful that you are willing to entertain ideas and proposals from myself regarding the evolution of the position and duties in due time.

	I’d like to establish valuable community programs and assets beyond a role as swim coach. I’d like to pull together a combination of part-time duties, and build a new position for myself that would keep the program exciting. 

	I am a team player who knows how to set and reach objectives and goals. At Plum, a number of significant goals were reached by the swimmers and divers on our teams. The girls squad, for the first time in school history, placed second at the WPIAL Championships. And, the girls team finished #2 in the WPIAL meet both years I coached the there. Plum beat USC one year and Mt. Lebanon the next year by 3-point and 1.5-point margins, clinching wins in by dominating the 400 free relay, the last event. 

	I feel that I bring a rich set of experiences to the position and would offer the swimmers, parent boosters, staff and other important players in the community dynamic leadership. I know that I have the skills. I can promise a fun and spirited team with plenty of structure and clear ground rules.  The team will have a great deal of customization with individualized training and instruction that offers everyone a great chance for improvement.

	My coaching philosophy, a personal reference list, and presentations on both my background and future programming considerations most suitable for integration are ready for delivery in these meetings with you.

	Thanks for your consideration. 


					Sincerely Yours,



					Mark Rauterkus


	I’m firm, fair and not afraid to communicate my thoughts. I have no doubts that I can run the team in a most responsible manner.

	I would like to start a new programs. Some of these activities would be a result of past and pending books and expert/author contacts. For example, one such possible new program that could become a new revenue source is a swim instruction/training course for triathletes. Another is Underwater Hockey. 

	These programs could flourish in off-hours as priorities and staff growth permits. The leaders and participants in the programs would obtain valuable information from my “high-tech” interactions. 

	There are other ideas that can be explored with you in due time including a weight-training/sprinting seminars with out-of-town presenters, a literacy program for summer reading, a stop-smoking project, ghoul school events for October and Pull Your Own Weight that aims to develop self-esteem.

	Furthermore, I plan getting the job, on making some requests of you before I would accept the job. These are expressed and attached. All points are open-ended and subject to our discussion. I would not feel comfortable unless I first presented these items to you in writing before you decide about my coming to work with you this summer.

	A copy of my professional, swim coaching resume, some of my company’s books and older catalogs are here for you to inspect.



Beyond my rich competitive swim coaching experiences, I am a publisher, a small-business owner, a creative thinker, and a most ambitious person. Marketing and communication are strengths. I understand issues in public education, production and even management. 

Besides the present needs of the swim team, I would like to know if you would be interested in allowing me to take on some new directions by forming and/or expanding a “scholastic press.” The university press model cold be put into effect at a community level. I’ve got new and creative directions that can be implemented in due time. For example, we could publish and sell books to earn revenues and provide a fantastic learning laboratory for the educational community.

I’m eager to learn more of the specifics of district activities in competitive swimming, aquatics recreation, and even information technology.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.



				Sincerely Yours,


				Mark Rauterkus



If you want to build an exciting team based upon excellence, where the sky is the limit, let’s start. 

I am interested in working with you, doing further exploration and nurturing a long-term relationship. But before we begin to build, I want to be certain that we agree on the building’s blue-print, and I want to be certain that all the materials for the building are going to be available when they are needed. 
	Beware, because I am someone who can build a program and who already has delivered top-flight teams. Just two years ago, in my first season with an typical, unranked, area high school, as Head Coach, I took the kids to state records, and a 2nd place team finish at the WPIAL championships. Things happen quickly. I’ve taken 1:03 girl backstrokers to :58.8 in one short season.
	As a consultant coach, I’ll be held back, and I will not be able to make sweeping changes. However, at the same time, I will not be in a position to make promises to the kids that I will help them in every way I can and that I will insure that they will be as great as they possibly can be. I will not lead a frustrating experience.



Consultant / Mentor Coach
A consultant coach and/or a mentor coach can present new roles that might be worth some exploration. The new roles provide a safety-net for the club and its swimmers for the short term. Coaching staff development is critical for a growing program. Small group coaching can be cultivated. And, most of all, the long-term upside with a reorganization can lead to an exciting future.


Time
A mentor coach can work a range of hours each week with a range of that time devoted to interaction time with the swimmers. The total time can be 10, 20, 30 hours per week. For the duration of 1998 the head coach position is not expected to be a full-time job.

Beyond contact time with the swimmers at practices and meets, another portion of the services for a consultant / mentor coach can be conducted out of team practice time for meetings, research and behind the scenes, fact-finding efforts. 

Handbook
One by-product of the early phase of any employment will be the development of a new team handbook. The handbook will be at least 100 pages in length. The book will be edited and published in paper and on-line editions. 

Introduction
The Swim Team Board should host a parents meeting one evening in the school auditorium or some other suitable setting for a “Introduction Meeting with our Consultant Coach.” Only High School aged swimmers and interested adults should be in attendance. There should be no swim practice while the meeting takes place. All the coaches should attend. Swim club business should be limited to 10 minutes or less. Mark will speak for one hour. 

Club Administration Seminar Sponsors
The Swim Team Board will agree to host a two-part club development seminar for the region’s swim teams some time between November and February. Part one will be a swim coaches seminar directed by Mark Rauterkus, and part two will be an club administration seminar to be directed by Guy Edson of the American Swim Coaches Association. This event needs to be publicized and if properly managed could generate following budget. (See attached.)


Sample Budget for Club Administration Seminar
Fixed Expenses:
	Publicity: 	$200.00
	Room & Hospitality: 	$300.00
	ASCA Director & travel	$1100.00
		Total	($1600.00)

Variable Expenses:
	Materials:	$5.00 per person.
	estimated attendance = 75	Total	($375.00)


Income:
	Coaches: 25 x $15.00	= $375.00
	Parent Leaders: 50 x $25	= $1,250.00
		Total	$1625.00

		Profit/Loss Grand Total = $25.00


Further Points of Interest from Mark Rauterkus

	In the event that I am offered the job as head swim coach, I will want the Board to assure the following start-up tasks. Can we coordinate the following points the first month as they are necessary to give this first season a positive start.

	
A great deal of preparation and homework on all elements of the team is necessary. Assistance with an in-depth study is appreciated. Covering “what is what” and, “who is who” should also include ample opportunity for others to meet me and for them to express ideas that can help the program and further assist the athletes.

1. I will want to have an initial meeting with the High School Athletic Director, the YMCA director(s), the township recreation leaders, the summer club coaches, swim team captain and parents club members and board.

2. I will want to have a brainstorming meeting with the Swim Parents group. Then I will want to have a follow-up meeting with the same group one week later. At that follow-up meeting, we will pick a parent to serve as a communication facilitator for the remainder of the year.

3. I want to have two dry-land seminars with all the swimmers interested in becoming members of the team. We should hold these meetings in a large classroom, perhaps on Saturday afternoons when most of the people are available. We will elect captains, get training handouts, suggest pre-season conditioning programs, and get to know one another.

4. I want to be a part of the process to hire the assistant coaches. I want to be able to have the authority to object to the hiring and be able to dismiss these people at any time without prior approval.
	I am quite hopeful that I’ll be able to get qualified coaches to move to Pittsburgh to be “role coaches” with the program in seasons to come. Given the lack of seasoned coaches in the area, and given the few numbers of coaches now available to the program, I fully expect that I’ll have to find, recruit and re-locate experienced swim coaches.




5. I want to ensure that the year-round swimmers have a suitable opportunity to excel in this program. I am not certain what solutions will be necessary, and everything may already be in place, but these may include optional morning, afternoon or evening practices. I want to guarantee that there will be a place on the team for dedicated swimmers who want to swim to the best of their abilities.


About Mark Rautekus for Introductions:

Mark Rauterkus grew up in the Greater Pittsburgh area,  but he has lived and worked in Swimming all around the USA.

His swimmers have set State Records in Ohio, Massachusetts, Illinois and Pennsylvania.

Mark started coaching in 1976 in eastern area of Pittsburgh. Mark’s parents still live in Penn Hills. 

In the old days, Mark was an Assistant Coach with the Greater Pittsburgh Swim Club -- back then it was the #1 team in the AMS. Mark coached throughout his college years, and he has earned many valuable experiences -- from Learn-to-Swim programs in Waco, Texas to interview rooms at the Pan Am Games.

Mark loves to work with Age Group Swimmers, Senior Swimmers AND Swim Club Parents! 

Mark has been an invited speaker at a Coaching Clinics in Northern California. Plus, Mark has formed a good network of authors and experts.

Mark publishes books, and has worked on a dozen books in Swimming. He works with authors who live all around the world, and his books are sold around the world. Mark’s ideas are shared on the internet too.

Mark moved back to Pittsburgh in 1990. Mark’s home and office is in the South Side. He is married to Catherine Palmer, Ph.D. Catherine is a Professor of Audiology at the University of Pittsburgh, the medical school and she leads a clinic and research grants.

Mark and Catherine have two sons -- Erik, age 3, and Grant, 6-months.

Mark wants to sign a 15-year contract. He has some big visions for swimming for us for the long-haul.

- and now let’s welcome him and listen to what he has to say...

Reporting a robbery in progress. AMS did not act.

September 3, 1999

Hi Cindy and Rick,

Here is a friendly heads up and notice. I got your email off of the AMS web pages. This note is being snail mailed to the club's address as well, PO Box 97952, 15227.

The TRA team exists. You should know this. We are aware that some former TRA members might be saying some un-flatternig things about the team's state. Some of TRA's former members might be engaged with your club. Your club might now be home to some swimmers who's parents are the focus of this investigation.

We do not have any problems with the children, but we do have problems with former board members and their duties of stewardship of a non-profit community organization. Furthermore, problems such as these should not be repeated elsewhere, hence the awareness, prevetion, and education.

The TRA team is now pressing matters in a number of different fronts against the miss-use of funds and authorty. Our legal folks are preparing letters to these individuals (not yourself of course) for delivery in September. And, our case is going to be delivered to the AMS executive committee and HOD some time soon as well. With the US Aquatics Convention and Coaching Clinics and such, we can not promise exact dates.

If you want to email me and set up a time when we might be able to meet and discuss this further, please do so.

Thanks for all you do in swimming and sports!

Mark Rauterkus
*NEW* General Manager of TRA
mrauterkus@sportsurf.net