Dreams do come true | Dunn done good

Dreams do come true
The boys water polo team at Sonoma Valley High School has arrived.
For the first time in five years, the team has won a league game. Matched up Wednesday afternoon against perennial powerhouse and defending league champion Cardinal Newman, the Dragon squad took an early lead and held it, winning by a convincing score of 15-12. And this was despite a pre-game delay of 45 minutes needed to repair a goal that had been shattered during warm-ups by a hard shot from Dragon senior and co-captain Peter Armstrong.
This represents an enormous victory for the players, many of whom are seniors and have worked hard for the last three years, with the conviction that their hard work would eventually lead to results. It has.
It is a big victory for the coach, too. Sean Mullen is in his third year coaching at Sonoma, and he has preached to his maturing squad a program of fundamentals and intelligent play. Himself a player while at Cal Berkeley, Mullen has also stressed conditioning.
“Work hard now, and maybe you’ll get something rewarding in the future.” That admonition is what economists call deferred gratification; it’s the investment principle underlying capitalism. We’re lucky to have coaches like Mullen to develop this character trait in our youth. Perseverance does pay – the water polo players know this to be true and will carry that forward into their careers at college and beyond.
Their next dream is a little closer, though. There’s a “home” game at the Agua Caliente Aquatic Center next Wednesday: girls at 4 p.m. and boys at 5 p.m. Maybe the boys will get their SECOND win in five years. Come watch – a supportive crowd always helps.
Yet a championship pennant, if they are dreaming that big, is soon forgotten in a glass case somewhere. We expect the players would prefer a lasting legacy: a pool at the high school. It’s a project taken on now by Coach Mullen, who encourages everyone in Sonoma to visit sonomasplash.com and register support for a community pool. Go, Dragons!

Dunn done good
We say goodbye this week to Stephanie Dunn, the woman who thought to rename our organization Three House MultiMedia, Inc. during her tenure as its president. The three houses are, of course, the front buildings on our West Napa Street campus, but they’re also representative of the print, radio and TV arms of the company. We’re appreciative of Dunn’s hard work to expand and solidify our presence in the Valley, and we wish her well in her future endeavors.
Like all living things, Three House has grown some times and consolidated during others, according to the season. As we move forward now, our focus remains on service to the community, with news, information and sometimes just entertainment.
Our motto has always been Warmth Light Truth. We want folks to feel warm about their hometown (or adopted town) and we like to bring our readers, listeners, and viewers positive stories about life and success in the Valley. We want to shine the light of investigative journalism on areas of concern, especially when it might involve those of our neighbors elected to carry a public trust. And we want always to present the truth as best we know it – complete, comprehensive and without bias. Perhaps the truth will be compelling; this column is our opportunity to explain why we on the Editorial Board might find it so.
We invite you to visit our three houses of print, radio and TV, whether you do so figuratively or literally, and to share in our concerns and dreams for Sonoma Valley. In our view, the more people understand and participate in local civic affairs, the stronger our community.