OCC names faculty member of the year

Leon Skeie, one of the longest-tenured staff members on Orange Coast College’s campus, has been named OCC’s faculty member of the year for 2005-06.

The honor is well deserved.

Skeie (pronounced “ski”) has been an OCC professor of physical education and athletics for nearly 33 years. He was selected for his latest accolade by a vote of the college’s faculty and staff.

“This is a huge honor, I’m overwhelmed,” he told me after being informed of the election results. “Orange Coast College has been a wonderful place to spend my career -- I love this campus! I’m humbled to have been given this honor by my colleagues.”

I’ve known Leon since 1973 when he first joined OCC’s staff as a physical education instructor and head athletic trainer. Trust me, he’s an amazing guy! We’ve been lunch buddies over the years, holding one another accountable as husbands, fathers and (in recent years) grandfathers.

We were running mates for many years (when we were both young and in shape!), and ran all over Costa Mesa and Newport Beach during our lunchtime jaunts. I have numerous fond memories of our running exploits together. He was ever the competitor, and I always had to work hard just to stay on his shoulder.

I vividly recall an incident that occurred one day in November 1982, when Leon and I were running down Irvine Avenue in Newport Beach. My wife had asked me that morning if I would be attending the “Thanksgiving Feast” that day at our daughter’s preschool in Newport Beach. Frankly, I’d forgotten all about it. “Gosh, honey,” I quickly improvised, “I’ve got an important meeting at that time.”

My “important meeting” happened to be a run with Leon that we’d been planning for several days. We were to run from OCC’s campus to the Upper Newport Bay, down Irvine Avenue to Coast Highway and back. We were deeply absorbed in conversation as we ran along Irvine, when a car suddenly zoomed by us and honked. I looked up and the driver waved. It was my wife! She was on her way to the Thanksgiving Feast. So much for my important meeting.... I was busted! Leon got a huge kick out of it, and never let me forget it.

I’m proud that my good buddy -- Coach Leonski (as I’ve affectionately called him over the years) -- has been named OCC’s faculty member of the year. Let me tell you a bit about him:

A native of Story City, Iowa, and an ex-Marine, he earned a bachelor of science degree in physical education and biological sciences from Iowa State University. Leon remained at Iowa State to pick up master’s in physical education.

Before joining OCC’s faculty, Leon was an assistant athletic trainer and strength coach at Iowa State for four years. He taught physical education and was athletic trainer at Corona del Mar High School for one year.

Skeie came to Orange Coast College in 1973 and served as the head athletic trainer and strength coach for a dozen years. He became one of the most respected trainers -- at any level -- in the nation.

After joining OCC’s faculty, he helped to establish several programs on campus for sports medicine and fitness. He started the college’s Sports Medicine Center and assisted in establishing an exercise science lab, a strength lab and the college’s Adapted Physical Education Program. He also developed numerous OCC professional physical education courses.

Leon is director of the college’s unique Fitness Specialist Certificate Program, which he helped to inaugurate 26 years ago. It was the first accredited program for personal trainers in the United States. He has written several books on conditioning and fitness and, in the 1980s, penned a popular weekly fitness column for the Daily Pilot.

Leon was named the national first-year community college teacher of the year in 1973, and was twice selected the national community college athletic trainer of the year, in 1980 and 1984. In 1986, he was honored by the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame as an outstanding contributor to athletics. In 1982, he was given the OCC student services award for outstanding service to students, and in 1999 he was inducted into the Daily Pilot Sports Hall of Fame. In 2000, Leon was named the state’s community college fitness/exercise physiology instructor of the year.

Leon owned and operated health clubs in Orange County for 15 years and was a competitive weight lifter for many years. He remains active in this sport, and he is also heavily involved at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest.

Leon is always equipped with an infectious smile, an entertaining quip and an inspirational message, and I’m grateful that he has been my friend for 33 years. He has been a positive influence on my life, and I’m not alone in making that claim. Countless others on this campus and in the community owe him a debt of gratitude. He has helped to improve the lives of thousands.

Mark your calendars. Leon will be feted on April 12 in a 3 p.m. awards ceremony in OCC’s Student Center Lounge. Following the ceremony, he’ll deliver a 30-minute address on his teaching philosophy. He’ll be the featured speaker at the college’s 58th commencement on May 25 at the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa.

Now 63, Skeie shows no sign of slowing down.

“I love what I’m doing at the college,” he told me recently, “and I love working with students. Retirement is a word that’s not yet in my vocabulary.”

Personally, I hope the guy never retires. He has a deep passion for what he does, and he does it exceptionally well. He is one of those valuable people in our society who’s making a significant difference.

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A reading of Dylan Thomas’ much-beloved holiday classic, “A Child’s Christmas in Wales,” will be conducted Thursday, Dec. 8, at a meeting of the Friends of OCC’s Library.

The program begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Lido Isle Clubhouse, at 701 Via Lido Soud, Lido Isle, in Newport Beach. The session is open to the public. Admission is $5 for nonmembers. Seating is limited. Reservations may be made by calling (714) 432-5087. Refreshments will be served.

In addition to “A Child’s Christmas in Wales,” the program will also include a reading of Truman Capote’s wistful “A Christmas Memory,” and several other Yuletide treasures.

Directed by theater department chair Alex Golson, the program will feature OCC drama students doing the reading.

* JIM CARNETT is senior director of community relations at Orange Coast College. Reach him at [email protected].