SDGC President Elect, Bena Leslie

What is a President Elect, you may ask? Well, good question. One that perhaps Bena herself may have asked before agreeing to take on this role for our club. As it implies, Bena will the next President of the San Diego Gator Club, for the 2008-2009 fiscal year. During the current year, she will assist the current President, the other Officers, Directors, and Volunteers, and learn as much as she can about the operation of the club and her future role as it's President, while having as much fun as possible! (Yes, that's in the job description :)

After attending Nova High School in Davie, FL, Bena earned her BA in Business Administration from UF in 2003. These days, she "earns he keep" as a teacher, a bookkeeper, and even a part time dog sitter. She is single, lives in Normal Heights, and for fun likes to travel and play ping pong at Rosie's on Wednesday nights. So if you can't join her for happy hour, be sure to at least say hello to her at the next club event and thank her for all she does (and all she will do :) for our great club as it's eager "President in waiting."

"Every year I get more and more involved with UF and football," Bena said. "Seems like me graduating was just the beginning of my fun college experience!"

Treasurer - David King

David’s duties as Treasurer of the SDGC can be summed up in one easy phrase, made famous by the 18th Century French nobleman, “Count de Monet.” OK, so it’s “Count the Money,” but there is more to it than just that. David balances the books, tracks expenses, manages our club bank account, and handles all bill payments and reimbursements to officers who put out their own money for club related purchases.

Originally from Jacksonville, FL, David earned a BS in Accounting from UF in 1991, after attending Terry Parker H.S. Now a Point Loma resident, “Kinger” is also a lawyer who previously worked on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley before coming to San Diego. He is active in politics, loves to run and box, and enjoys having friends over to grill meat and drink Coronas by the Jacuzzi.

If you see David at one of our events, be sure to say hello and “thanks” for all he does to keep our club fiscally sound. He may “Count de Monet,” but we all know “It’s good to be the King.”

Family Coordinator - Amanda Tennant

You may notice the word "family" appears more than a few times in Amanda's profile here on the Club website, as Family is practically her middle name. Her role on the leadership team in to create, schedule, and coordinate a few events throughout the course of the year that are open to all ages and appropriate for the whole family. Additionally, Amanda is very quick to lend support to anyone else in our Gator Club family of officers and volunteers wherever and whenever there is a need.

Her husband Ed, whom she refers to as the Ultimate Gator, can be seen involved with countless tasks and activities in support of our great Club. Amanda, although not necessarily always seen, you can bet is behind him, lending her support in whatever he does as well. Rest assured, Gator faithful, the sometimes over-used phrase, "behind every great man, there is a great woman," is more than a metaphor in their gilded Gator family! They even have a daughter, Brandi, who will be transferring to UF this Fall. They also have two other future Gator "possible's" among their children in Paul and Caitlin. Hey, it wouldn't surprise me to learn that their two Great Danes and cat can be seen roaming their hood in their official Gator gear as well.

Although she does work as a Community Relations Coordinator at Retirement Community, Amanda lives for her own family. When not attending or planning a Gator Club event, you'll find her supporting the two kids still at home with their various activities. So find the time to say hello and thanks to Amanda for all she does for the Gator Nation, and the Gator Family that is the San Diego Gator Club. We are so lucky she found her calling after growing up in L.A. and finishing High School in Utah, of all places!

Webmaster - Marshall Spevak

Profile written by Wayne Mostecky, SDGC Secretary

This terrific looking website you are viewing is made possible by our very own top-notch Webmaster, Marshall Spevak. Marshall designed our site, easily one of the nicest sites of any local Gator Club in the world, from scratch, using suggestions and input from many of our local club leaders and his own creative imagination. He works diligently to maintain the site with updated details regarding schedules, scores, photos, and other pertinent event information on a very timely basis. He also continuously upgrades and improves the site to include an ever increasing plethora of useful and entertaining material.

And as he meets the needs, wants, and deadlines of various club officers, he must balance his efforts to effectively manage his own business and personal affairs. Marshall is currently an Associate Publisher at Elsevier Public Safety Publications. He earned his Bachelors degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences at UF in 1982, after attending Wolfson Senior High School in Jacksonville, FL.

Marshall also enjoys, when he manages to tear himself away from his computer screen, photography, surfing, travel and his two rescued greyhounds. He will be celebrating his ten year anniversary with his wife, Liz, on October 18th, whom he married on a day that the Gators beat Auburn 24-10! So if you see Marshall or his lovely wife enjoying a game at Players or any other Gator Club event, wish them a Happy Anniversary and let him know how much the SDGC appreciates what a great face his work has put on our great club!

Academic Affairs VP - Peggy Poulson

The Club's VP of Academic Affairs will primarily focus on its academic scholarship fund. Our Club, as with all of the Clubs in Region 8 (west of the Mississippi River), is striving to take a more pro-active role in raising more funds for needy, worthy Gator students. "We have a wonderful and strong social component (in our Club), and I would like to strengthen the academic support side," Peggy said of her role within our organization.

Peggy is a Gator true and through. Although she was born in New York City ("New York City?!"), she attended Ft. Lauderdale High School before attending, and then earning a BA in Political Science from, UF in 1970. She presently owns a graphic design company in Mission Hills and lives in Poway. When not involved in Club activities or running her company, she enjoys reading, gardening, volunteering, and watching all kinds of college sports.

Peggy has other loves as well, namely her converted "Great Gator Mater" hubby Bob, actually a U of Maine alum and local attorney, and her daughter Rachel, who works at the San Diego Zoo. She also loves cats (don't Gators eat cats?)... all cats, really, but particularly her very own fat cat named Fudge. Gator Nation will only survive and thrive with a healthy crop of future Gators, and programs like local Gator Club scholarship funds can only help that long term objective. So when you see Peggy, be sure to thank her for the efforts she makes to raise money so UF will continue to be an option for all deserving students!

Event Greeter - Chantale Ellis

OK, so Chantale prefers to call herself the "Game Day Hostess." And she probably deep down inside has "with the Mostest" attached to it as well. Well, if Game Day Hostess With the Mostest gets this vivacious, energetic, gregarious and pleasantly loquacious bundle of fun coming back to our Club, we'll call her anything she likes. The position of Event Greeter actually covers all events, not just game day viewing parties, but as an on-call Registered Nurse at Mercy Hospital, Chantale sometimes must disappoint us and miss an event or two. Most of the time, however, she can be counted on to not only show up, but light up the Club with her smile, sense of humor, and ability to make everyone feel welcome and important.

As "Hostess," Chantale partners up with Club Secretary Wayne Mostecky, making sure that all who come out to enjoy a Gator Club event get a name tag, a smile, and perhaps some help finding a seat or getting a question answered. We don't know what kind of nurse she makes, but it could not possibly be any better than the kind of hostess she makes. Chantale usually "works the door," putting a friendly face on the Club for those just arriving, knowing that those that sneak by her for whatever reason, will be approached and greeted by Wayne or one of the other helpful officers, directors, or volunteers of the Club.

The bad news, gentlemen, is that she says she is "taken." Single but unavailable, Chantale moved here to the San Diego area from Florida. She got her Nursing degree from SFCC after doing her first two years at UF. Originally from Plant City, FL, she graduated from the local High School in 1986. When she is not Nursing patients, or showing patience at the crowded and sometimes chaotic greeting line at the Players Club entrance, she enjoys traveling and snowboarding. So if you are one of the fortunate members to somehow evade the Secretarial clipboard and get your name tag stuck on you by our very own "Hostess Cupcake," be sure to thank her for taking the time to make the experience of attending Gator Club events a very pleasant one for everyone.