Dylan Thomas

Activities that kept you busy at Rollins: What kept me busy at Rollins? Self discovery. It was a long and winding road. I’d say mainstream activities that I cherished were related to student government; trying to lead a fraternity that was on a downslope for a while; and reading philosophy books.

If you could choose your major today, what would it be? I meandered from mathematics to history to philosophy and religion with a side of Charlie Rogers’s Speech. Today, I’d probably explore political science with a side of statistics.

Favorite Class: Philosophy courses.

Funniest Moment: Not necessarily funny, but there was the time I danced to music on a table in Beans during a meal at Halloween. Some might remember me wearing what might be considered a “scandalous” costume.

What went through your mind on your first day as a student? Who and where are the “cool” kids? I didn’t know a soul.

Partner in crime and your favorite memory together: So many. How about my tower roomie Bobby Leighton? We felt an obligation to put our stereo speakers in the tower balcony and give everyone out on the library lawn some good music to listen to.

Your biggest moment of triumph: After some hard campaigning in the sororities to win their votes, I was elected student government Vice President.

Prank you can’t believe you got away with: You’d have to ask for Capt. Cullifer’s (RIP) report files. Nothing got past him. Seriously, I don’t practice or condone pranking.

Lesson you learned as a student that you still value today: A smile, an engaging attitude, and a sense of humor go a long way. On a serious note, studying philosophy and religion redefined my attitude about religion after growing up as a “preacher’s kid” and attending a church boarding school.

Person you met at Rollins who you will always respect: Hal George

Life Since Rollins: With no plan after Rollins, I defaulted to a seminary in Berkeley, CA. That failed, so I came home to Orlando and followed advice from my pals, Bobby and Nancy (Kaiser) Leighton: do what excites you. So, I talked my way into a 7-year career as an assistant GM with the Orlando Twins. I began as the PA announcer for Minnesota’s spring training games and grew to learn a lot about sports administration and living on $500/month.

In my off hours, Tar grad, Patrice Shirer, introduced me to the girl of my dreams, Dana Schneider (’76), and she’s been the light of my life ever since we married in 1976 in the chapel. My dad officiated, with Arnold Wettstein and a Catholic priest assisting.

In the 70s, I worked Tangerine Bowl events during baseball off-seasons, which led me to a 2-year stint as an in-house event marketer for the City of Orlando’s facilities department. Around the same time, the bowl needed a sports guy who could do all the work I’d done with the Twins and city. So, in 1982, I began a 23-year run with the sports association as an associate director over ticketing, advertising, event coordination, marketing, network TV coordination, and facility management. I contributed heavily to three stadium improvement projects. We staged games for bowl teams, NFL teams, in-season college teams, a HS all-star game, half-marathon, 1994 World Cup, and 1996 Olympic Women’s Soccer.

During these sports years, Dana and I enhanced our lifestyles through her talents as a realtor (and so much more), buying and selling residences in the Orlando area, and raising two uniquely-different sons who we are infinitely proud of today. Both are Rollins grads. One married another Tar, has four children, and runs a last-mile delivery service in Orlando, doing business for Amazon. Our other son married a one-time Disney Cinderella who is a Michigan State grad. They live in Grand Rapids with two children. He’s in finance with Santander Bank.

In 2003, I was talked into running for Winter Park city commissioner by a good friend. That was a learning experience.

That same good friend also talked me into a 2004 breakfast meeting with the Orange County Public Schools superintendent. He hired me as PR director for the 200,000-student district. That 16-year career ended in July 2021 and was full of many successes and ordeals typical of a huge, people-centered enterprise.