Bill Ukropina’s Holiday Lunch at the Rose Bowl Thrives Come Rain or Shine

Every year for the past seven years, commercial real estate broker extraordinaire Bill Ukropina throws a holiday lunch at the Rose Bowl for friends & family, customers & guests. On Friday morning, December 12, despite the heavy rains the night before that seemed to be continuing on into the day, Bill Ukropina woke early in the morning, ready for another holiday fest. With Olympic gold medalist John Naber as his speaker and close to 300 on the guest list, the Executive Vice President of the Coldwell Banker Commercial Alliance Office in Glendale was certain it would be a wonderful day. Maybe a little wet, but still as wonderful as years before.

Then it happened. Bill Ukropina got the phone call from the Rose Bowl grounds staff, informing him that the heavy rains had flooded the visitor’s locker room with two feet of water, mud and turf. As any successful man in the modern world, Bill Ukropina knows when crisis comes, it is never the time to panic.

Rather, taking proactive action with the help of the Rose Bowl team, Bill Ukropina shifted the event to the Brookside Clubhouse Restaurant, barely a hop, skip and a jump from the original location. With an email blast handled by his team, the event was back on. After all, Bill Ukropina’s Annual Holiday Lunch at the Rose Bowl is known for being annual because it happens every year come rain or shine.

With over 265 people in attendance and hosted by Bill Ukropina and his beautiful wife, Linan, the Holiday Lunch was a great success. Although the guests had to navigate a new small river rushing down Rosemont Avenue, they braved the elements to attend. By attending, the guests were rewarded with an inspired afternoon of first-class networking, delectable delights, and the words of a true Olympic champion.

Pasadena resident John Naber achieved a perfect balance as the speaker by being both inspiring and funny. As a backstroke specialist, John Naber earned five Olympic medals in 1976, and was honored as the Nation’s outstanding amateur athlete. Later inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, John Naber has had a successful post-athletic career as a network broadcaster and corporate speaker. John Naber focused his talk on the lessons of how to succeed that are detailed in his latest book “Awaken The Olympian Within.”

As a charitable gesture, Bill Ukropina donated $10.00 for every guest who attended to “Legacy Connections,” the organization raising money for the Rose Bowl Renovation. In addition, he gave John Naber a very special gift by honoring him with an inscribed legacy brick that will forever be part of the new Rose Bowl main entrance. As described on the Legacy Connections website,  “The brick mosaic will be installed immediately in front of Gate A, the main entrance to the Rose Bowl Stadium.”

Given the nature of a holiday gala where gifts are exchanged, Bill Ukropina wasn’t quite finished. Every attendee was given the opportunity to receive a free signed copy of John’s book, “Awaken the Olympian Within.” Given such an opportunity, there was quite a line, and John Naber signed a lot of books, but it was a lovely end to an amazing annual Pasadena event.

About the Author

Growing up in New York City as a stutterer, John Lavitt embraced writing as a way to express himself when the words would not come. After graduating from Brown University, he lived on the Greek island of Patmos, studying with his mentor the late American poet Robert Lax. As a writer, John Lavitt’s published work includes several articles in Chicken Soup For The Soul volumes and poems in multiple poetry journals and compilations. Today, John Lavitt works at Open Interactive as the Director of Content Development. As a journalist, he is a Regular Contributor to The Fix where he writes investigative reports about the latest issues in the world of addiction and recovery.