This article first appeared in the December, 2016 edition of SportsCar Magazine. SCCA members can read the current and past editions of SportCar digitally here after logging into their account; To become an SCCA member and get SportsCar mailed to your home address monthly in addition to the digital editions, click here.
Paul Gauzens
Atlanta Region
Member Since 2003
The last time I talked to Atlanta Region’s Paul Gauzens he had received SCCA’s Worker of the Year Award in 2012. You may not recall the story back then but – to catch you up – he started with autocrossing, then road racing, then stewarding, and then retirement from AT&T. One thing led to another. When you talk with him you get the impression that maybe he doesn’t idle well but he’s always ready to change gears.
In 2014, he was honored again – and it doesn’t take long to understand why. The guy is always thinking. I caught up with Paul as he was stuck in traffic on I-75 heading to the 2015 National Championship Runoffs. I asked him if he was still pursuing his idea of immersion training for stewards. I didn’t have to ask twice.
In 2012, Paul was on the Training Development Committee when they launched something called the Ground School. It was designed to responsibly and effectively speed up the training of stewards with intensive weekend schools. It worked and Paul thought perhaps there were more ways to use it. That led to the idea of immersion during a race weekend.
He brought together some mentors and four or five Stewards in Training (SIT) to a 13-hour endurance race at VIR in 2014. The SITs had a single-day refresher course the day before the race and then 13 hours’ worth of “opportunity” to work closely with the various stewarding roles. “They got more hands-on training at this one event than they might during a season of weekend events. And, because it was all happening at the one weekend, it was a better use of their time and expenses as well,” says Paul.
But why stop there? He had more ideas. Was there yet a more effective way to train stewards? Paul is about to find out. He is cautiously optimistic. Utilizing technology that SCCA recently adopted, and with which he’d become quite familiar at work, Paul began to explore training stewards using the Internet and web conferencing. He crafted a series of two-hour sessions that SITs could attend online over the span of a few weeks. “It will not replace face-to-face interaction, but it is a great supplement, particularly when resources are limited. Think of what it would cost to bring all these folks together for a weekend.”
At AT&T, Paul trained hundreds in this webinar manner. “The idea is to paint pictures with words and not put too many thoughts up on one slide.” He is coupling these training methods to a new immersion locale: the Runoffs. To his great delight, both Dennis Dean, the Chief Steward for the 2015 Runoffs, and Jim Averett, the Chairman of the Stewards of the Meet, heartily approved of this plan. “Dennis also recruited Costa Dunias, his Runoffs Assistant Chief Steward. Costa has already been an incredible help in planning the SITs’ rotations with the various specialties. It would have taken me a month to find all those folks.”
Paul is looking for the unseen things that make organizations thrive. “There are intangibles that make a huge difference. I’ve noticed that we have people like that in the Club. They are supportive of the team effort behind the scenes. They will step up beyond normal expectations and do what is necessary to support the effort.” Just when you get the feeling that Paul may be up in the clouds, you’ll hear him talk about details. Like laminated cards for every specialty chief listing each SIT who will be showing up at every post each day. Every SIT has a card as well. Paul didn’t think of every detail, but he has welcomed each helping hand on the team to have the very best shot at success.
“The first time I received this award I didn’t know how it happened. But now, as an Executive Steward myself, I know that it means someone not only noticed but also took the time to write it up. I’m extremely grateful for all the people who have allowed me to help where I could. We want to keep it simple and still keep it a great racing organization.”
Words by James Kearney
Image by Clark McInnis
