That's a good thing, seeing as the former resident of Arlington Heights, Ill. will soon be the new director of the Los Gatos­Saratoga Community Education and Recreation Department. Formerly the department's administrative services manager—the job for which he "came West" four years ago—Rauwolf will officially take over as director on Nov. 1, when Bob Best retires after 14 years at the helm of all things recreational.

The path leading to this promotion was long in more ways than one. A graduate of Illinois State University, Rauwolf's first job was as a certified public accountant with a national public accounting firm. Five or so years later, he became the controller of a vending company. When the recreation department of Glencoe, Ill. hired him as its business manager, he was still number crunching, but he says his outlook began to change.

"As I matured in my career and transitioned from accounting to more managing, I got to enjoy working with people more," he says, smiling. "I saw there was such a commitment to the community among recreation department employees, and I really liked those kinds of people. When people are inspired to be the best they can be, it impacts the whole community."

From the city of Glencoe, he moved to Glenview, where he served as the superintendent of administrative operations for that city's recreation department, which was bigger than Glencoe's and even included a golf course and ice rink.

After a family trip to California in 1996, Rauwolf, his wife, Marlene, and their four children—they've since had a fifth—fell in love with the Golden State and considered moving here. "We wanted to be anywhere from San Francisco to San Diego," he recalls with a chuckle.

"I discovered that, unlike Illinois, out here there are many stand-alone recreation departments that aren't funded by cities," he adds. "I thought Los Gatos was intriguing because its department is not tax-supported."

As director of the Los Gatos­Saratoga Community Education and Recreation Department, Rauwolf says he plans to institute "fresh and innovative programs" that encompass the ever-changing needs of the community. Among his ideas are creating more programs that appeal to teenagers and seniors; working more often with other civic groups to sponsor events like the recent Town Plaza celebration; planning more activities parents can enjoy alongside their children, such as the Bunny Fun Hunt on the Los Gatos High School front lawn every spring; and organizing community forums at which people can learn about and discuss current events and issues.

"Our society needs to be able to engage in respectful dialogue with others. If you can begin to understand another person better, you can try to understand their viewpoint better, even if it's different from your own. A good exchange of ideas can foster more of a sense of 'oneness' in the community," he explains.

Speaking of exchanging ideas, Rauwolf adds, he is very open to feedback—positive and negative—on what people want out of their recreation department. "I always view criticism as a valuable way to make improvements or learn what the community is looking for," he says with a smile.

While Rauwolf expects his new duties to keep him busy, he says he'll make sure not to sacrifice the recreational activities he enjoys in his personal life, namely "dates" with his wife in local coffeehouses, watching rented movies with his family, walking for health, reading and beachcombing.

Steve Rauwolf can be contacted at 408.354.8700, ext. 222 or steve@lgsrecreation.org.