Bill Brock is one of our newer
members. He and his wife, Carol, retired to the Rogue Valley just three
years ago. Already, the Brocks are active in our organization. Bill has
just signed on for his second term on the Ashland Board as treasurer. Bill
has an extensive background in business and finance, and the Board and we
members are lucky to have him keeping the books.
Bill is actually a fourth
generation Oregonian, though his family moved from Dallas, Oregon, to
Washington two years after he was born. Bill lived in a great variety of
places before returning to Oregon for good. He grew up in Goldendale,
Washington, and attended Linfield College in
McMinnville, Oregon. He graduated from the University of Washington,
Seattle, in 1950. His degree was in business, with an emphasis on finance.
Bill met Carol at college and
they married soon after graduation.
Bill began his career
in finance with the National Bank of Commerce in Seattle. From there, he
and Carol moved on up to Fairbanks, Alaska, and then back down to San
Francisco and Los Angeles when Bill joined Wells Fargo Bank. Their two
sons, Geoffrey and Gregory, were born in California.
In 1974, they were back in
Alaska, this time in Juneau. Bill was appointed to an ad hoc
Board by the Governor. The Board’s original task was to develop and
implement a plan to bring affordable malpractice insurance to Alaska and
thereby attract practicing medical professionals to the state.
After spending more than 25
years in Juneau, Bill, at the age of 70, decided to retire. He and Carol
traveled at home and abroad before settling in Ashland. Son Geoffrey and
family now live in Kirkland, Washington, where Geoff is a software engineer;
Gregory and family live in Denver, Colorado. Each son has a daughter.
Geoff's daughter has made the Brocks proud great-grandparents of a boy and
girl.
Bill's parents never played
bridge when Bill was growing up, but his family played other card games.
Bill was introduced to bridge in college. He and Carol played party bridge
for years and were finally introduced to Duplicate
in 1980. At that time they joined the ACBL. The Brocks were
thrilled to win their team game at their first tournament in Juneau. For
a time they managed a Juneau bridge club. Though they are not yet Life
Masters, they would like to earn the elusive gold sometime in the near future.
Meanwhile, Carol and Bill have joined a lively bridge class taught by
Bernadine Lacy at Rogue Valley Community College, where they are learning new
conventions and brushing up on old techniques.
Bill is a former downhill
skier and a fly fishing enthusiast. He takes several trips each year to
beautiful mountainous areas to practice his skills in fishing. He hopes to
get back to his love of skiing “one of these days.”
Bill's wish for our bridge
organization is that our membership continues to grow. With friendly folks
like the Brocks, this wish is a good bet. Thanks, Bill, for your
expertise and service on the Ashland Board.
