Latest news with #Dan
San Francisco Chronicle
9 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Dan Dillon, S.F. lobbyist who helped bring major PGA tournaments to the city, dies at 64
As a San Francisco hospitality industry lobbyist and City Hall insider, Dan Dillon never wrote anything down. The telephone was for arranging a meeting over drinks at one of his hangouts, and his style was so effective that his contacts put on an Irish wake for him at Original Joe's in North Beach a dozen years ago when Dillon was still alive to enjoy it. A vintage firetruck arrived with a closed and flag-draped coffin, and pallbearers in mourning jackets carried it in as bagpiper played mournful hymns. Waiting inside to speak was the Irish consul general, former Mayor Willie Brown and Supervisor Aaron Peskin. Dillon was president of the Olympic Club, a downtown institution with an outlying golf course, and an officer in the Guardsmen nonprofit serving at-risk youths, so both of those organizations were represented. A mock death certificate had been printed and entered into the record at the moment when the lid flung open and up popped the honoree raising a bottle of Bud Light. The wake lasted from lunch into the evening. The funeral march, including off-duty cops and firefighters, went from Original Joe's to the Northstar to Gino and Carlo to Tosca. Dillon, if reluctant to be the center of this type of attention, gamely rode along with it as the procession grew from 40 followers to 100 or more. That event, organized to celebrate a guy who was known and loved in every old-timey bar in town, happened in 2013 and turned out to be a preview of the real wake. Dillon died July 15 at San Francisco General Hospital of renal failure, said his wife, Cara Sheean, a San Francisco attorney. He was 64. 'Dan was one of San Francisco's most colorful rascals, always with a mischievous glint in his eye,' said Peskin, who worked with Dillon on a variety of civic projects over the course of 30 years. 'He always had just a fascinating take on everything that would completely change how you would view an issue.' Among his achievements, Dillon is credited with helping pass state legislation authored by Sen. Mark Leno in 2011 that allows alcoholic beverages infused with fruit and herbs to be served in bars and restaurants, which gave them a major boost. 'With his connections and his ability, Dan got that law done in 90 days, so bars could make cocktails the way people wanted them,'' said Brian Sheehy, owner of Bourbon and Branch, the Lark Bar and a few tiki bars, among 14 in San Francisco. Dillon was also the point person who persuaded the Professional Golfers' Association to bring the PGA Championship, one of golf's four majors, to Harding Park, a public course in San Francisco, in May 2020. He served as event chair, and it went so well that the PGA Championship is coming back to the city in 2028. It will be followed by an even bigger event, the Ryder Cup, a team competition that has not taken place in California since 1959. When it was announced in 2017, Dillon, as president of the Olympic Club, stood between then-Mayor Ed Lee and the PGA president. Both of those events will be played on the Lake Course at the Olympic Club. 'There was nobody more connected to the world of golf than Dan Dillon,' said Brown, who found this out when Dillon personally introduced Da Mayor to Tiger Woods during the PGA Championship. Dillon also introduced Brown to voters in the west side of the city when Dillon and Sheean hosted the first house party for Brown's mayoral run in 1996. That started a partnership that did not end until Brown came to say goodbye to Dillon at San Francisco General, just days before he died. 'Dan Dillon was very much a part of San Francisco for years and years and years,' said Brown. 'He came up with multiple ideas for how to make the city really work.' For the last 20 years, Dillon has been a partner at New Deal Advisers, a San Francisco firm that lobbies government entities for legislation, permitting and contracts on behalf of clients like the San Francisco Firefighters Union and Dominion Voting Systems. New Deal is located at Kearny and Bush, conveniently near Sam's Grill and Sam's Tavern, where Dillon 'held court,' said his partner Chris Gruwell. Over the years he also took meetings at the Washington Square Bar and Grill, Moose's in North Beach, the Buchanan Bar and Grill in the Marina, the HiDive along the Embarcadero and any number of joints in between. 'Dan was a face to face communicator who had the widest network of relationships of any person I've ever met,' said Gruwell. 'The city was his office. He was like a politician who never ran for office, so he never pissed anyone off.' Daniel Kirk Dillon was born April 28, 1961, in Raleigh, N.C., the middle son of a Methodist minister whose wife was the church organist. Dillon was born blind in one eye and with Perthes disease, which causes bone death in children. Weakness in his right hip required him to use crutches and a wheelchair until he was 9. He always wanted to play sports, but the only one sufficiently low-impact was golf, which he took up with vigor after the family moved to Kentucky. He attended University Breckinridge School on the campus of Moorhead State, which had its own course. According to Sheean, he won the Kentucky Junior Golf Championship in 1979 and was rewarded with a golf scholarship to attend the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He graduated in 1983 with a degree in political science. One year later he came to San Francisco for the Democratic National Convention and stayed. A connection to Ed Moose, the publican at Washington Square, led to a campaign position as volunteer driver for Assemblyman Lou Papan in his 1986 campaign for state senator. Dillon was later hired for the staff of Supervisor Terrence Hallinan, but was fired after just one day. The next day he was on the staff of Supervisor Wendy Nelder, a job turnaround that merited mention in Herb Caen's Chronicle column. But his main contribution was outside of government, working on behalf of clients. ''Danny Boy' was a brilliant political strategist who could see the whole problem and figure out piece by piece how to get to resolution,' said Annemarie Conroy, a former supervisor who is now assistant US Attorney for the Northern District of California, using her nickname for Dillon . In 1992, Dillon met Cara Sheean, a lawyer at Wells Fargo, at the grand opening of Johnny Love's at 1500 Broadway. Conroy introduced them, having met Dillon through his work at City Hall when she was on the fire commission. Dillon put Sheean on the spot by asking for a date in front of Conroy, where she couldn't say no. She agreed to meet for a drink back at the bar at Johnny Love's. 'I just wanted to get it over with,' recalled Sheean, 'and he charmed me.' The drink lasted until closing, and soon enough Sheean had also agreed to use her spacious flat on Funston, near Mountain Lake Park, for political house parties. The couple were already living together when they were married Sept. 6, 1997, at the chapel in the Presidio of San Francisco with a reception at the City Club. Conroy was in attendance, as she was recently at San Francisco General, waiting her turn to say goodbye to Dillon, in a line that included members of the fire commission, the police commission and many other city agencies. Among those who came were officials at the Olympic Club, where Dillon could be counted on to entertain dignitaries coming to play the famous Lake Course. To honor his ambassadorship, the club is establishing a youth golf scholarship in Dillon's name, like the one he received. 'Dan was always gracious and always forthcoming, and he always did what was right for any situation,' said Malia Lyle, president of the Olympic Club. 'He didn't just have friends in the golf community. I've never known anybody who had such deep relationships in all walks of life.'
Al-Ahram Weekly
16 hours ago
- Sport
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Nottingham sign Swiss forward Ndoye from Bologna - World
The 24-year-old forward has joined on a five-year deal. Forest did not say what the fee was for Ndoye, who helped his team to the Coppa Italia title last season by scoring the winning goal in the final. 'Dan is an exciting new addition to our squad and a player we have tracked extensively over a long period of time,' said Forest chief football officer Ross Wilson. Forest has also signed Igor Jesus and Jair Cunha this offseason. Ndoye has won 22 caps and played at last year's European Championship. 'It is a really exciting time at Forest and I knew straight away that I wanted to be a part of the project. It's a really ambitious team with a fantastic history and I can't wait to get started," he said. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.) Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Daily Mirror
17 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
UK's 'most scenic summer drive' named as 'unforgettable' 500-mile route
A travel expert has shared his list of the UK's most scenic road trip routes - including a 500-mile loop around the Scottish Highlands and a short stretch around limestone cliffs A travel expert has named five scenic UK summer drives that should be on your bucket list. The round-up of the UK's best road trip routes highlights the country's diverse landscape - from rolling hills, mountains, storybook villages and coastal views. According to Dan Doherty, insights manager at Away Resorts, the rise of staycations has created a growing appetite for 'more flexible, weather-proof travel options'. He says road trips are the 'perfect way to explore at your own pace'. 'Whether you have a day or a week to spare, scenic road trips are the perfect way to explore the UK's natural beauty, " says Dan. 'From spontaneous detours to peaceful viewpoints, travelling by car lets you enjoy the journey without the stress of crowds or fixed schedules.' It comes after sunbed wars have seen Brits forced to queue for 'over an hour' just to get to the pool. Road trips offer the 'freedom to roam' with the 'comfort of staying close to home'. That said, Dan shares his ranking of the top five road trips everyone Brit should try. 'I moved from UK to Benidorm – price of a pint and Full English left me floored' Flight attendant urges tourists to always leave a shoe in their hotel room safe 1 of 5 North Coast 500, Scotland 2 of 5 Cheddar Gorge, Somerset 3 of 5 The Lake District's Kirkstone Pass, Cumbria 4 of 5 Atlantic Highway, Cornwall and Devon 5 of 5 Snake Pass, Peak District
The Guardian
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
New signings are in line to be saviours – even if we don't know who they are
I am staring at a video posted by my beloved Cambridge United. Their stuff is pretty good. It's four days until our League Two campaign begins at home to Cheltenham. 'Striker, Acquired' it reads, the video showing a man with a neat beard in baggy jeans wearing the new home shirt. The music is the kind that if it was played too loudly in a confined space, I would instantly get a migraine. OK, these things aren't aimed at me. The man does some keepie-uppie in bright white trainers. He has an endearing smile. He side-foots a few, points at the camera, leans against a post, rests a ball against his right hip and then smashes a penalty into the roof of the net. Our new saviour is here. The man to score the goals to get us back into League One at the first attempt. The video does not give us his name, which feels like an oversight or perhaps a generous amount of presumed knowledge. As someone who prides himself (and fills way too much of TalkSport's airtime) at being able to guess the footballer from his Wikipedia page, sadly Dundee United, Broughty, Northampton , Stevenage has me beaten. Fortunately, the club give us the details with the next post. The man to pin all our hopes on is Mr Louis Appéré. The first comment on the post from Dan does not necessarily inspire – 'I'll back him but 0 goals last season and hasn't ever been prolific anywhere, let's hope he can be for us this season [thumbs up emoji].' A little more searching and there is one Northampton fan who is in love with him. Ellis_2002 has named his account 'Has Louis Appéré re-signed for Northampton Town yet?'. Ellis has posted 'No' every day since his departure from Sixfields about a year ago. You have to admire the commitment. It should also be remembered that Paul Mullin had barely done anything until we taught him how to play at our training ground just by my parents' house and now he's in Deadpool. A big season for Appéré and he could be an Avenger. I often think about how we discuss players at this level. When you watch a lot of League One and League Two it is easy to forget quite how sensationally good all these players are. At one point every one of the them was the best somewhere – school, youth, academy, wherever. It is a weird situation where they are living the dream – being paid to play football – but constantly having to acknowledge they are not the best at this. Another of our signings, Ben Knight, made his debut for Manchester City in the Community Shield in 2021, coming on for Ferran Torres in the 74th minute against Leicester. He played for England Under-18s. League Two can't be where he expected to be four years later. It is a dream, but it is also an odd dream to be a lower-league footballer. You have the huge sacrifices from 18-30, when most of us are trying to work out how to be an adult, what I could term my chips, cheese and doner meat years. Add to that the complete lack of any semblance of security, not only of income but also of geography. You've just been sold to Exeter; you're on loan at Grimsby, recalled in January. Out of contract, give Shrewsbury a go. Add to that more coach travel than anyone should be subjected to. At the end of it all you probably have to find a proper job, but without virtually any transferable skills. 'Tell us a moment when you triumphed in adversity' … 'Well, we were one down at Tranmere with 10 minutes to go and I bundled one in at the far post to keep us in the hunt for the playoffs.' 'Congratulations, you're our new CFO.' Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion League Two may be the most exciting and least predictable of the top four divisions. It's just you don't pay any attention to it when you're not in it. As a result I have barely looked at it since Mark Bonner took us up in the Covid season in 2021. But with no games played, I have a confidence that hits me around this time every season. Our signings look interesting. Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu played in the Premier League. Dominic Ball has played for lots of good clubs (and Peterborough). His surname is Ball. It may be a stretch to say League Two squads are as randomly selected as Scrabble letters, but given one or two very tiny sliding doors there's every chance Cambridge's squad would be a set of 25 completely different individuals. I am waiting for a player to answer: 'So what made you choose [insert League Two club]?' with 'To be honest, this was the best I could do.' I'm waiting for a manager to say: 'Look, he was our fourth choice, but the season starts next week.' Instead we get the facilities, the gaffer, the project as the reasons why these guys have chosen to be here. And we get 'we've wanted him for a long time' from the manager. That may be what every new player at every club says, but I choose to believe the ones who are at … [check badge] Cambridge United … [kiss badge]. In Neil Harris, (whose loyalty I have never questioned), we trust. Come on you U's.
Cision Canada
18 hours ago
- Business
- Cision Canada
Dan Watson Promoted to Senior Vice President, Managing Director of Vortex International
HOUSTON, July 31, 2025 /CNW/ -- The Vortex Companies, one of the world's fastest-growing providers of trenchless infrastructure solutions, is pleased to announce the promotion of Dan Watson from Managing Director of McAllister (a Vortex Company) to Senior Vice President, Managing Director of Vortex International. In his new role, Dan will lead the strategic growth and operational oversight of Vortex's expanding footprint across Europe, the United Kingdom and future expansion. He will be responsible for aligning the company's regional service and product offerings, while driving innovation and efficiency throughout its international operations. "Dan has deep roots in this industry and a unique understanding of both the service and product sides of our business," said Mike Vellano, CEO of Vortex Companies. "Having helped grow the McAllister Group, Dan has what it takes and is an exceptional leader who knows how to scale a business, inspire teams, and attract top talent." "Over the past five years, we've taken a deliberate and strategic approach to our UK and European expansion," said Ryan Graham, Chief Operating Officer, Vortex Companies. "Through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions, we now have the platform in place to deliver a broad portfolio of solutions tailored to this region's infrastructure challenges. Dan's leadership and prior success will be central to our continued momentum." A Proven Leader with Global Reach "What drew me to the trenchless industry—and keeps me motivated—is the constant opportunity to apply innovation to real-world challenges. No two projects are ever the same, and that's what makes our work so dynamic and rewarding, added Dan. "I'm honored to take on this new role and help lead Vortex's continued international growth. With the right people, proven technologies, and a shared vision, we're redefining how critical infrastructure is renewed across the globe." Dan joined McAllister in 2003, bringing expertise in tunneling, horizontal directional drilling (HDD), and a keen understanding of the emerging potential of CIPP lining technologies. His technical depth and vision for trenchless solutions played a key role in McAllister's growth, particularly in the rehabilitation sector. Since 2019, Vortex has made significant investments in its international business by establishing Vortex Europe and acquiring several leading technology and service companies, including Fleer-Tech GmbH (now Vortex Services GmbH), ETECAS UV Technology in Germany, and UK and Ireland-based Lining Division Ltd. and McAllister Group. Now, as SVP and Managing Director of Vortex International, Dan is poised to drive the next chapter of international growth for the organization. About Vortex Companies Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Vortex Companies is a global leader in trenchless water and sewer infrastructure solutions. The company provides advanced technologies and turnkey services for municipal, industrial, and commercial systems. With 29 locations worldwide, Vortex specializes in the rehabilitation of manholes, pipelines, and structures; the manufacturing of specialty mortars, polymeric coatings, resins, and CIPP liners; and the development and distribution of sewer robotics, UV curing systems, and high-speed drain cleaning tools. For more information, visit
