On December 3, 2000, Sandra (Sandy) Baldwin was elected to a four-year
term as President and Chairman of the Board of the United States Olympic
Committee - the first woman ever to be elected to this position in the 106-year
history of the USOC. Following in the footsteps of ISHOF presidents Jack
Kelly and Bill Simon in this prestigious office, she brings warmth,
understanding, accountability and direction to amateur athletics in the United
States. Sandy Baldwin is recognized as the leader of amateur sports in the
USA and oversees a quadrennial budget of $426 million.
It all began in 1965 when Sandy's son Clay, at the age of six, began swimming in
their hometown of Mesa, Arizona. Initially, she was a timer at Clay's swim
meets but her enthusiasm flourished and she began to help create a stronger
swimming program for the children in that city. The Tokyo Olympic Games of
1964 had just created great excitement for the swimmers and the 1968 Olympic
Games were just beyond Arizona's backyard in Mexico City.
Baldwin served as chairman of Arizona Swimming and soon became president of the
Arizona Chapter of the AAU. With the passage of the Amateur Sports Act of
1978 whereby governance of the U.S. Olympic Sports was passed from the AAU to
the USOC, she became active in the USOC. She served as treasurer
(1978-1982), executive vice president (1982-1984) and president (1984-1986) of
USA Swimming, where she was the first female head of a national governing body
that was not a female-only sport. Sandy also served as president of USA
Shooting (1994-1995).
At the USOC, she has been on the Board of Directors since 1985 and has served
four-year terms as treasurer, budget committee chairman and vice
president. From 1993-1996, Sandy also chaired the Budget Committee.
Other committees include National Governing Body Council, Audit, Finance and
Junior Olympics. She was named Chef de Mission to lead America's athletes
and the U.S. delegation to the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games as well as the 1995 Pan
American Games in Argentina. She was a member of the Board of Directors
for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) in 1996 and is a member
of the Board of Trustees for the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002
Winter Olympic Games. She has also served on numerous USOC standing and
special committees, including the Members Services Committee, NGB Council
(1989-1992), Development Committee (1985-1988) and the Foundation Grant
Committee (1985-1986).
Sandy's articulate writing and speech comes naturally to this 1962 graduate of
the University of Colorado with a degree in English and a 1967 doctorate in
American literature from Arizona State University. She taught English at
ASU for 11 years before beginning a career in real estate in 1982 and currently
is employed by Phoenix's Prudential Arizona Realty.
Sandy's honors have included the 1988 U.S.A. Swimming Athletes Appreciation
Award and the 1990 U.S.A. Swimming Award.
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