When third-year transfer student Tim Mead stepped foot on Cal Poly Pomona’s campus, he had no idea that the experiences he gained on campus would lead to a lifelong career path.
The Los Angeles Angels’ vice president of communications reflected on his years as a Bronco as he prepared for the start of the 2019 Major League Baseball season.
Mead made the decision to transfer to CPP after his second year at San Bernardino Valley College. He felt like it was time to move out of the house and he had heard nothing but positive things about CPP from his childhood best friend Ted Rozzi, who played baseball for the Broncos.
“[Transferring to CPP] was probably the best decision I’ve ever made. I always say ‘I’m as proud to be a Bronco as someone is to be a Trojan or a Bruin,’” Mead said.
Mead grew up playing and loving baseball in high school and summer leagues, but his life as a ballplayer came to an end after high school graduation.
Mead started off his collegiate career as a business major but always wondered how he could find a career in baseball. At CPP, he realized that journalism could be the answer for him and he fell in love with it.
The Poly Post was an integral aspect of Mead’s college experience. He started off as a staff sports writer, covering basketball, field hockey and baseball. And he later became the sports editor.
“My girlfriend at the time was the advertising director of The Poly Post. We started dating and I got an extra page or two for space, which was always nice. She is now my wife. So that worked out very well,” Mead said.
Mead graduated from CPP in 1980, as the first member of the Mead family to graduate college.
Throughout his time at CPP, Mead worked closely with the baseball head coach, John Scolinos. Mead felt so inspired by Scolinos that he went to the university president Hugh O. La Bounty and asked about dedicating the baseball field in Scolinos’ honor.
President La Bounty agreed with Mead and they formed a committee to take action. The baseball field was eventually named Scolinos Field in 1987.
“For a kid that had nothing in terms of influence or leverage, to work with a great group of people and get that field dedicated, I was extremely proud of it,” Mead said.
Still eager to be around the fast-paced and exciting environment of baseball, Mead sent a total of three letters to the then-named California Angels in the early 1980s, hoping to land an internship with the team.
About two weeks after he sent his third letter, his dream became a reality when the one intern at the time was offered a full-time gig, leaving the intern position open and Mead got the call.
He began his internship in the public relations department in June 1980.
“I tell people today that if I didn’t write the second and third letter, I would not be having this conversation right now. With that internship, I worked several hundred hours for free and got a lifetime of experience and opportunity,” Mead said.
In 1985, Mead was appointed as the director of media relations. Then in 1991, he became the assistant vice president of media relations.
Now, in 2019, Mead is 60 years old, living in Diamond Bar and still calling the Angels organization home, as the vice president of communications. He deals daily with players, coaches and members of the media looking for interviews and information.
Mead reached a pinnacle of his career in 2002, when the Angels defeated the San Francisco Giants in seven games to win the World Series.
He remembers taking a step out of the dugout at the end of the game and spotting his son, Brandon, and wife, Carole, in the stands.
“I took about 15-20 seconds to step back in the midst of all the mayhem, I looked around the ballpark and I saw 44,000-plus people in total euphoria, everybody was in sync with each other,” Mead recalled. “Your health problems, financial problems, relationship problems, work issues, all that was put aside for that moment. That is what I will remember, that was the best feeling.”
Mead quickly realized he had a job to do and began pulling players from the celebration pile to do interviews, but will always remember the feeling in that moment.
Tim Mead is a prime example of someone who chased his dream with passion and determination and used the resources, experiences and skills he gained at Cal Poly Pomona to make his dream a reality.
“Pursue your dreams and goals,” Mead said. “Every athlete had to work hard to become what they are. Tom Brady had to work hard; he had a vision of what he wanted and he went after it. Why would a communication, finance, architect, or engineering student be any different?”
VP of Communications Tim Mead, center, has been with the Los Angeles Angels organization for 38 seasons.
COURTESY OF TIM MEAD
