Special Salute (3)

The LAPL nominated Russ for the WCC HAll of Fame. He was inducted at WCC LXV on July 7, 2012. This is his bio.....

"Russ Pepin was born in Massachusetts decades ago.  He left his New England roots for good when he moved to Washington, D.C. in 1981 where he came out of the closet.  Finally enjoying his life he openly became an activist for gay rights.  He also involved himself in gay activities:  bowling, pool, softball.  There were no pool leagues in D.C. at that time, but he ran tournaments a couple nights per week.  Being very active in softball, he served as team manager and sponsor.  As a local bar owner, he sponsored several lesbian teams, helped for a women’s division in D.C., served as commissioner of the softball league, stubbornly petitioned the Parks and Recs department to provide the Gay and Lesbian Softball League with fields for their weekly activities.  He further initiated a fall tournament for teams throughout the U.S. and Canada.  Feeling the need for change, Russ moved to San Francisco in 1991.  Upon his arrival, he immediately got involved in the bowling, pool and softball leagues.  Joining a team in the SFPA led to decades of involvement in the local league plus the West Coast Challenge.  Included were managing and sponsoring teams, volunteering to help in any league activities where needed and finally his election to the Board of Directors of the league, first in an At-Large position then as Vice President. One of Russ’ proudest achievements was introducing the Calcutta auction as a means of increasing the charitable donations the league dedicated at each of their seasonal Hi-Lo tournaments.  Instead of hundreds of dollars raised each tournament, it became thousands.  And each subsequent year realized greater and greater amounts.  He introduced this format at the West Coast Challenge in San Francisco in 2001 and has offered to run a tournament for all four participating cities.  At each one held, thousands of dollars has been raised for distribution to the top placing teams. When close friend Luby Pelletier suddenly died, Russ raised funds to have Luby remembered with an inscription in the Circle of Friends in Golden Gate Park.  This permanent remembrance was further enhanced when Russ organized  and ran a 10 year annual 8 ball tournament and 9 ball tournament, each of which raised money for various local charities.  These events were held at the Transfer, Rich’s and Skips.  Walnut plaques were inscribed with the top four finishers in each tournament each year.  These 10 year plaques now reside at Skips on Cortland Street and serve as a permanent memorial to Luby:  one of the greatest pool players, teachers and friends."