Ambassador Training

The Great Park Ambassador Training started yesterday, 7 July 2008, led by energetic, enthusiastic former Marine, Melissa Campbell. Sam Allevado, Public Information Officer for the Great Park Design Studio popped in to say hello as did some of the executives from the Great Park Corporation (Colleen Clarke, Marsha Burgess). Ice-breakers got the ambassadors acquainted: of the approximately 15-20 people in training, only one had five or more siblings, only one had an exotic pet (a ferret) two could do a strange trick with a body part (e.g wiggling ears), four or five have jumped out of an airplane, repelled or bungee jumped, and many have been on TV. The ambassadors are an accomplished group: CPA/attorney, former Aerospace & Peace Corps, architect (currently a grad student), undergrads (UC Berkeley, Loyola Marymount, Univ. of San Diego), high school student (Northwood High), a Real Estate professional, and a former university faculty.

The land on which the Great Park is being built has a fascinating (recent) history. It was the site of MCAS El Toro for 60 years (3 Aug. 1942 - 2002). Prior to that The Irvine Company used it to grow lima beans. Now, the former base has been split into three different areas: wildlife refuge, great park, and housing/mixed use development area. After the history, we were introduced to Park Policies and Procedures. We then signed forms for the City of Irvine HR folks and also had our pictures taken for IDs. We also got lots of gifts from the City for volunteering (City of Irvine duffel, mints, M&Ms and memo pads). We had a boxed lunch on the patio of the OCGP offices on Trabuco. After lunch, Sharon Landers, Interim Chief Executive Officer shared some of the details that make this park unique such as the unique collaboration between the Federal govt which owns the wildlife refuge, the City of Irvine which owns the great park, and the private company Great Park Neighborhood (formerly Lennar/Heritage Fields). We also had the opportunity to get to know Jordan Perkins, Special Assistant to Irvine Councilman Larry Agran, and Wade Williamson (Balloon operations) spent the whole day with us. The Ambassador program is Jordan's brainchild; he piloted it two years ago.

Today, the 2nd day of Ambassador training, began with a visit from Larry Agran, one of the charismatic visionaries behind the Great Park. Mr. Agran is Chairman of the Orange County Great Park Corporation, a non-profit organization founded in 2003, and an Irvine Councilman. The Balloon presentation by Laura Kirschner and her staff (Chris leading) filled us up with fun facts. Did you know the balloon is actually called the envelope and the passengers stand in the gondola? This is not a hot air balloon. It is a tethered, helium balloon. The tether strength is 99,000 lbs or 9 large African elephants! Finally, we went for a ride on the Great Park Balloon with pilot Gary. The 360-degree views were truly awesome. I began to have a much better understanding of the Great Park and the Preview Park, that will open Sat. 12 July. I was a little too busy taking my photos from the balloon and look forward to going back up again this summer. We had a boxed lunch and Melissa led us in the Great Park Team Game of Jeopardy that she'd created. A lot more facts did seem to stick as a result of the game. Mostly because Melissa made it a lot of fun.

We changed venues in the afternoon, moving from the Balloon trailers to the Design Studio offices. We saw the concept map drawn by the Great Park Design Studio. You can view it here (pdf). It is a dramatic picture and the park looks like a giant bird in motion, soaring above and beyond human time and space, but nevertheless welcoming, enticing. The whole park flows dynamically and gracefully around the old El Toro runways and includes a 2.5 mile canyon, the Agua Chinon, a wildlife corridor and wilderness park, botanical gardens, besides a Great Lawn, Sports Park, Cultural Terrace, and Aviation Museum. Sam Allevado, Public Information Officer gave us a tour of the studio and we met some of the graphic artists and the resident wildlife biologist.

This summer, the Ambassadors will make presentations to all sorts of different groups and citizens about the Orange County Great Park. We will also be helping out at special events. The first special event is the one coming up this saturday, July 12, Festival of Flight, 11 - 3 pm. We will do mini-presentations on the shuttle and serve at the various information, welcome booths and children's activities. We have been encouraged to interact with the park visitors, help them, answer questions, and ask for their input on the various features of the park (e.g. lily pad shades, permeable concrete, etc.). I certainly feel a lot more ready to be an Ambassador now. Thanks to Melissa for leading a very informative and fun training.