The 2022 Elizabeth “Betsey” Kassen Award

What a way to kick off the inauguration of the Betsey Award. TWIM is all about competition. It is the keystone of everything that we do. It promotes the unique, expansive camaraderie that defines us. So it was only fitting that there was nothing but competition when it came to the voting for our organization’s most prestigious award.

The outcome was left to the last ballot counted; the very last.

I know I need not remind anyone of how unusual last year was. Indeed, COVID-19 seemingly compacted 2020 & 2021 into one long yearbook filled with horror and triumph intermingled with hope and tears and patience and irritation. If those two years were an animal they would be a platypus duckbill. 2022 though, is showing signs of being different; and anything different would be welcome. Pundits have used the word “promising” to describe the phase we are entering. I believe that depiction inadequate. I think a return to normalcy in our corner of the world, that which includes regular, constant swimming competitions, is as certain as a Carl Haynie gold in the 200 back. A Holly Lickwala first in the 100 IM. A Stephen Fogg, well, you get the picture.

Speaking of Stephen; he received 8 votes and finished fourth in the balloting. This fourth place finish was for the following: He swam in the Give-It-A-Shot Meet in June (tho’ not under the TWIM banner), SCY Nationals in Greensboro, N.C. (this included a 3rd in the 500 free and a 4th in the 400 IM) in late July, the Oregon State Senior Games (undefeated) in late August, Long Course Nationals (which included a 5th and a 7th) in Ohio in October, the November Snohomish Meet as well as the Bend Meet (undefeated) in December. As a TWIM ambassador he represented TWIM at Dawn Jaeger’s Memorial (Aug. 29th) as well as David Varner’s Memorial. He’s perennially a top fifteen ranked competitor nationally in SCY and has been as high as top 6 in SC meters. The Velvet Fogg is indisputably a force both in the pool and out. He will definitely be a perennial threat to win this award. If we had a Rookie of the Year, it would be his.

Finishing third, only a single vote from second, the 2019 Ironman Award winner, Dan Underbrink. Dan’s contributions are prodigious; his swimming prowess legendary. His contributions to the team as President and his work as TWIM ambassador are exemplary. He swam every pool event the state offered and went outside the state for the Huntsman Games (Utah) and the Bend Meet (Oregon). He swam the Open Water events and was the only person in the state to swim around Mercer Island. He always swims the toughest events. He never misses a chance to represent TWIM as an Ambassador be it PNA Board Meeting or funeral. Lastly, when Vince had to resign his position as President, in the middle of his term, Dan not only stepped into his shoes but has filled them admirably.

How do you top that!? What does it take to register more votes than either of those two!?

In second place, with a unique story to tell and hence an unusual path toward being this high in the balloting was Scott Neuhaus. His painfully intense path from bed confinement in January, through surgery in February, dealing with family death in March, malady (piriformis) after malady (adhesive capsulitis) and then the tortuous, torturing path first just to the pool (April), grinding out soul wrenching progress measured in strokes, not in laps and finally, triumphantly, after 4 long months, being able to swim 500 yards without pain. Then, just 4 months after that, swimming in competition; not fast, but it didn’t matter. So it was on inspirational grounds as well as his contributions via his service on the board and writing for the blog that he finished second.

And the winners!

You know, to beat that group behind them, they had to be special!

Our own power couple: Holly & Brent.

To start, each won, in their respective age groups, the Pacific Masters e-postal series challenge. They both swam well at the Give It a Shot meet in June. Brent swam and did well at the Senior Games in July. They both swam at the Walnut Creek, California Masters Meet in October. They both were there, with kids in tow, at the Snohomish Meet in November and then they made the trip to Bend for the SCM meet there. In addition to this Brent has been and continues to be a swimming facility advocate in Olympia while Holly serves on our board. All this while raising 2 strapping young men. To boot, Holly is a top 10 Nationally ranked swimmer and seldom loses.

Some pretty special congratulations are in order for for anyone garnering even a single vote for the Elizabeth “Betsey” Kassen Award. The four finalists above, their competitive spirit and fortitude, exemplify the spirit Betsey, herself, exuded when she swam for our team. She dominated in the pool with a competitive attitude that is the benchmark for us all and it is that approach that buoys us, mentally, physically and in spirit as we anticipate coming competitions. Last time I spoke to her, which was just a few months ago, she seemed almost embarrassed that this award has her moniker. She said she never felt like she was as dominant a force, in the pool, as she was. That attitude is what I respect so much about how she approached competition. And it is the cornerstone of TWIM; walk softly but carry a big stick.

Lastly but not leastly, swimming facility advocacy should be paramount in all our minds. We have two retired Majors that contribute to TWIM in some way. One, my 98 year old father, dropped bombs on Nazi Germany in the latter stages of WW II. He is a TWIM benefactor, contributing money to our cause. The other is 2022 Betsey Award winner Brent Barnes. He shows up wherever municipalities are considering delaying or shelving pool bond proposals. He is metaphorically dropping bombs on short sighted governing bodies in an effort to make them realize their folly. There has never been a time when it has been so important for kids to catch up on how to swim and survive in the water. It has been estimated that over 10 million swim lessons have been missed, in the U.S., during COVID. Now is not the time to consider closing facilities. Quite the contrary. The spike in water related deaths in 3, 5, 10 and 20 years will occur if we continue our ignorant path. Water covers 2/3 of the earth. You can’t avoid it; especially in summer. The list of well known people that had their lives cut short by drowning is much too long.

One in particular is especially tragic.

I loved the TV show Rawhide when I was a kid. One of the cast was born Eric Heddy, Jr. He was named after his father; a father that was abusive. So abusive, in fact, that Eric pointed his father’s loaded pistol at him when he was only eight years old and pulled the trigger. As fate would have it, the weapon jammed. The abuse continued but for just a few months longer because Eric ran away from his home just after turning 9. NINE! He hit the rails, gravitating by railroad boxcar to Chicago during the gangster thirties. He became a “runner” for a prominent crime boss and prospered for three years when, in a gun battle, he was shot. The wound wasn’t life threatening but authorities took control of his life and sent him back home to California. Luckily his parents had split so from 12 years old on he lived with his mother until he left home as an adult; joining the Navy. Born with a club foot, he always had to “catch up” physically, it seemed. He always felt he had to “prove himself”. In the Navy he bet a fellow swabbie $100 he could lift a 200 pound metal object over his head. He failed and the weight crushed part of his skull. He had to have reconstructive surgery just to look somewhat normal. A few years later, after the war, he caught on as a “grip” in Hollywood. One thing led to another and he started acting. That’s how he ended up on Rawhide. After 7 seasons though, his contract wasn’t renewed so he looked for work elsewhere. At 6’4” and with good looks, it didn’t take long. He was signed to play a starring role in the movie High Jungle that was filmed in Peru. There was a scene where co-star Nico Minardos and he were canoeing on the Huallaga River. The canoe overturned and though Nico swam to safety, Eric drowned. Through his tumultuous youth, he had never had swim lessons. For the scene, he failed to warn anyone that he couldn’t swim. He was embarrassed about it.

For this he died.

Most people knew him by a different name. The name was Eric Fleming. He played the role of trail-boss Gil Favor in Rawhide. He left behind his fiancee’ Lynne Garber.

That was a generation ago but in this day and age, there is no excuse for this. Opportunities should abound for children so they never have to miss any activity around the water.

Brent should be an inspiration to all TWIM members. We are an eclectic, spread out mix of aquaphillic, energized athletes. Whenever anyone hears of any municipality contemplating reverting back to the Dark Ages regarding facilities, speak up! Spread the word! Then we’ll organize and go and drop our own metaphical bombs!

Thanks Brent and congratulations once again to the 2022 Betsey finalists and especially the winners, Holly and Brent! We are all, I’m sure, looking forward to a competition-filled year. And if I know anything about the individuals that make up this special organization it’s that come Super Bowl weekend of 2023, when the Betsey Award is handed out once again, there are going to be some special stories to tell.

Hail TWIM!