STARK GOES FROM GUARDING DOORS TO BOOKING TURTLES

Barry Manilow does not want to be looked at in the face. That was in the ’90s. I still remember that. You could not look directly at Barry Manilow. And I don’t know if that is still the case. Maybe he’s gotten over it now. But back in ’97, ’98, eyes down. No looking at Barry.

JEFF STARK, DECC

accountant for the city, got him the job guarding doors.

“I probably could have got it on my own merits,” Stark said, “but my mom might have greased the wheels a little.”

By Matt Wellens mwellens@duluthnews.com

Growing up watching Minnesota Duluth Bulldog hockey at what was then the Duluth Arena, Jeff Stark decided when he was 16 years old to go after an entry-level job at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center as an usher and ticket taker.

He soon learned that’s not where you start.

“There’s a step below that,” Stark said. “There’s a door guard. First you have to guard inanimate objects before you can actually interact with the public.”

Twenty-four years later, Stark oversees the operation of the crown jewels of Duluth’s entertainment scene — Amsoil Arena and Bayfront Festival Park. The oldest-ever selection (rules may have been bent) for the News Tribune’s 20 Under 40 award, the DECC venue operations/ Bayfront Festival Park director was nominated by former state legislator and Duluth City Councilor Roger Reinert.

Stark went from guarding doors to helping set up microphones, sound systems, lighting and the like. He then took a fulltime job as the building services manager working with event organizers for conventions.

During the construction of Amsoil Arena, Stark was invited by long-time DECC Executive Director Dan Russell — who retired in 2017 — to planning meetings, initially for input on furniture, fixtures and equipment. Later they had him help design the locker rooms and press box while serving as a liaison between the DECC and UMD hockey coaches

Scott Sandelin and Shannon Miller.

When the project was completed, Russell handed Stark the keys to Amsoil Arena. When the city handed over the administration of an underutilized Bayfront

Festival Park to the DECC in 2012, Russell put Stark in charge of that as well.

“When I was a city councilor, we were happy if there were four significant events at Bayfront in a summer,” Reinert said in his nomination of Stark. “This past Fourth of July holiday, there were five significant events in five consecutive days. Jeff lived (literally) at Bayfront during this stretch, and ensured each one was a hit.”

Stark doesn’t like to take credit for the good times all of Minnesota is having these days at Amsoil Arena and Bayfront Festival Park, pointing to the 400-plus people he works alongside who make things work.

He won’t even take credit for landing that first gig at the DECC, which was just supposed to be a job he took to get through high school, and later college at UMD. Stark claims his mom, who at the time was an

Stark said he views Amsoil and Bayfront as community-based assets. His goal is to maximize the value of those assets for the citizens of Duluth every day. Almost all of the city’s major events pass through the facilities Stark helps run — from Grandma’s Marathon, to concerts like Trampled by Turtles and the eighttime NCAA champion UMD men’s and women’s hockey programs — and its an honor for him to be part of those events.

“It’s a fun experience. You’re an ambassador for your city, your town,” Stark said. “I grew up here. I love showing this place off. I think everybody knows what the potential is. There is a Bayfront effect now that wasn’t there a long time ago.”

What do you do? (job, community involvement)

I am an assistant professor in the Mechanical & Industrial Engineering department at the University of Minnesota Duluth, and I work on materials science through textile recycling and engineering design via designing toys for children with extraordinary needs. I co-advise Engineers Without Borders’ UMD student chapter (ewbumd. org), and we are trying to raise $1,700 to gain access to a generous donor’s $2,000 pledged match in order to travel to the 2,000-person town of Nyansakia, Kenya, in December to help the town get access to clean water when their stream runs dry throughout the year. I am a member of the Duluth NAACP’s Health & Environmental Equity committee and am steering the Morgan Park Food Justice Community Garden project through a small grant. How do you spend your free time?

My kids and I love skiing and snowboarding at Chester Bowl while my husband helps keep us all safe as a ski patroller. I love running on trails, and I love swimming in Lake Superior — most of all in July when I don’t have to wear a wetsuit.

Tell us about an influential person in your life.

Steve Dentel invited me to advise Engineers without Borders and co-teach a class with him on engineering for sustainable development at the University of Delaware. Mentoring from Steve eventually led me to advise four female engineering students in Engineers Without Borders to successfully oversee the drilling of two borehole wells for water supply in the 500-person town of Mphero, Malawi. Steve passed away from his battle with prostate cancer in 2015. I want to carry on Steve’s legacy and help engineering students at UMD gain confidence in their skills to engineer good in the world by helping Kenyans in Nyansakia to get the water they need to live.

What keeps you in the Twin Ports?

I was born and raised in Minneapolis and have spent decades living away from Minnesota. Being able to move to Duluth was and still is paradise! My grandparents sat behind each other when they went to the old Central High together, so it’s exciting for my family to get to call Duluth home again.

What words of wisdom do you live by?

Perfect is the enemy of done.

What do you do? (job, community involvement)

I am the executive director of the nonprofit Mentor North, which supports the Mentor Duluth and the Mentor Superior programs. I also am an adjunct teacher at UMD in the social work department. I volunteer on the Homegrown Music Festival steering committee to help plan the greatest time of the year!

How do you spend your free time?

Playing outside on the Superior Hiking Trail, primarily backpacking! I love backpacking and go with friends and go solo. I also enjoy hiking, kayaking and camping.

The local music scene is vibrant and engaging. Homegrown is the best time of the year. I usually try to go see music on a regular basis.

And if it’s a major snowstorm outside, I like to walk around the side streets to help push out other cars. Tell us about an influential person in your life. My sister Sheila. She is an amazing woman who has guided me throughout my growing up years and into adulthood. She brings joy to everyone around her! She was a mentor many years ago in Mentor Duluth, and I used to have sister weekends with her and her mentee when I was 13 years old. That was what led me to my work with Mentor North. Sheila continues to be a guiding force for me.

What keeps you in the Twin Ports?

Everything! Sheila and her family are here, it’s nice to have my sister just down the road. I love my job and the community I work with, and I truly believe mentoring is the key to changing the world.

Winter is the best season, no competition. The more snow, the better!

What words of wisdom do you live by?

“I’m trusting that it’s OK to just keep doing the next right thing — even when the long-term plan isn’t quite clear. Enough right things will get me to where I need to go.” — Brene

Brown

What do you do? (job, community involvement)

Jobs: Public Information Coordinator for the Superior Street Reconstruction, Northeast Minnesota Regional Coordinator for the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits

Involvement: National Trainer Vote Run, lead board chair First Witness Child Advocacy Center, board chair Duluth Community Schools Collaborative. I’m a former member of the Duluth School Board.

How do you spend your free time?

My husband and I practice the art of hygge as often as possible. We love gathering our family and friends in our home to spend time being cozy and connected. I love to cook for the people that I gather or just for us at home. I enjoy taking my dog, Rorygirl, to local dog parks or to the beach. I love to travel, whether it’s to Denmark to visit my in-laws or to find a new spot up the shore to explore, I love seeing and experiencing new places. And I love as much time as possible with my niece and nephew.

Tell us about an influential person in your life.

I stand on the shoulders of generations of women that have been bold and have built networks of strong women to support one another. One particular woman was my high school theater director, Liz Larson. Beyond my amazing mom, Liz was one of the people I look back at my formative years and can recognize that she truly saw me for what I was capable of and encouraged me to step out. I learned from her to not hide my voice, to be committed and loving in relationships, to never downplay your age but to rise above expectation through hard work and hustle, and how to speak confidently — even in the face of fear of rejection. Liz invested in so many people in our community, and it is great to see a number of other people leading in our area from her wonderful teaching.

What keeps you in the Twin Ports?

The deep connections I have to the phenomenal people here is why I stay. I love that my family is nearby and that I have built a chosen family of other people committed to living lives centered on hope and justice.

What words of wisdom do you live by?

It’s not joy that makes you grateful, it’s gratitude that makes you joyful. “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything.” —

Rainer Maria Rilke