Nominating Committee

After his college years in Oklahoma he went straight into the nightclub entertainment biz working out of San Francisco, Portland, and Las Vegas. After 18 years of thrilling highs and heartbreaking lows Gene landed in Los Angeles where he worked odd jobs while attending LA Valley College studying journalism. In 1981 he took a job at the Hollywood Radio & TV Society (HRTS), a networking association for the industry’s top execs, clerking for its International Broadcasting Awards (IBA), a global competition for radio and TV commercials. He stayed on at the HRTS for 27 years, 13 of which he was its executive director. Gene produced, or executive produced, more than 200 industry events each attracting from 600 to 1400 people. In 1989 he joined UUCSC where he met, and fell in love with Marilyn Shield. Rev Sue Spencer pronounced them husband and wife in 1993 and they are still living happily ever after. Since retiring from the HRTS in 2007 drumming has been Gene’s fav pastime. Sometimes he’s asked how he got into drums. He said, “Rhythm is in my bones. In fact I probably owe my very existence to my parents using the rhythm system.”