It’s been said that a modest man is often admired, if people ever hear of him. So when word got out that Media Engineer Dennis Sanford’s last day was at the end of February, we were fairly certain he would quietly ride off into the sunset without any fanfare whatsoever, as is his way.
But that would not be a fitting finale for a man who has spent the last 30 years filming, photographing, archiving, and building things around campus. In a quiet, unassuming corner of the A building he can be found editing video and cleaning out his office, with a couple of “Above and Beyond” awards stowed behind some family photographs on a shelf above his desk.
An Army kid, born in Juneau, AK, Dennis moved between Alaska, Washington and Colorado before his Dad retired and they settled in Port Orchard. He spent his first two years of College at Olympic Community College in Bremerton as an art major. He completed his bachelor’s degree in 1979 with a forestry degree from the University of Washington. While there, he took a course called Environmental Interpretation which got him interested in all things audio visual, and he was able to use cameras and record videos. He enjoyed it so much that he spent another year at Bellevue Community College to get a media technology degree.
In 1981 he came to Port Angeles as a seasonal worker for Olympic National Park, and moved permanently to PA in 1983. Two years later he left the Park to work for Commercial Electronics doing repair work on media equipment for schools on the North Olympic Peninsula. It was while working for the company that Dennis met his predecessor at PC who was offered a teaching position at Clallam Bay Prison, and encouraged him to apply for a “media tech senior” position.
Whether it’s baking or selecting fabric colors for his wife’s quilts, Dennis has always been a fan of the creative process. His carpentry skills have been put to use upgrading a circulation desk for the library, as well as sound system cabinets in the PUB and Longhouse.
Every position at a small school comes with “other duties as assigned.” Dennis’ position fell under the library umbrella until fairly recently. He filled a number of roles during the process of getting PC’s new library built, including housing himself in what amounted to a closet when the library was temporarily moved to the A building.
According to his coworker, Library Supervisor Nina Pitts, there was no role that Dennis wouldn’t take in seeing the library completed.
“He attended meeting after meeting in Seattle, where his construction knowledge helped inform many topics on the agenda, not just media,” she said. “He made maps of spaces to help us with needs assessments, so we didn’t have to submit our sketches on the backs of cocktail napkins.”
He drove a car full of library staff on tours of new libraries, patiently, cheerfully and safely, whether on slippery roads on the Hood Canal or in city rush-hour traffic, Pitts said. He photographed the libraries they toured, met with consultants and architects and tech’d campus forums about the building. When the time came for the temporary move to the A building, Dennis built two large, sturdy, all-terrain book transporters to shift the book collection from the old building to the A Building and later into the new building.
“He scaled the mountain of steel in the storage unit multiple times, to find extra brackets and rods for more shelving we discovered we needed,” Pitts said. “He even helped with saving the beautiful Japanese maple from going down with the building.”
Dennis Sanford pictured in his office in the same red chair he’s had for 30 years.
In addition to modest, two words often associated with Dennis are patient and calm. No one knows these traits better than the people in charge of putting on campus events, and they are happy to sing his praises.
“I’ve never lost it on the job,” Dennis said. “I’ve been stressed, but I don’t let anybody see it. I may go home and say ‘Geez!’ but I always try to stay calm.”
Associate Dean for Athletics and Student Life Rick Ross would add “MacGyver” to the list of Dennis descriptors.
“Dennis is one of my all-time favorite Peninsula College people,” Ross said. “We regularly come up with crazy ideas about what we want to do with audio or video and he never says no. He calmly and patiently hears us out and then helps us do things with technology that other schools our size are not doing.”
One habit that has served him well in his position is his penchant for repurposing things.
“I don’t throw things away that I think can have a second use,” he said. “Everything has a second use as far as I’m concerned.” Television mounts he saved from the trash have gone on to enjoy second acts as camera mounts in the gym, or speaker holders in the Little Theater.
“With Dennis, it is not so much remembering one special time where he saved the day, though he has done that countless times” said Music Program Director Dr. David Jones. “Rather, it’s the many times he has come thru with the right microphone set-up or tweaking of lighting needs, or showing me how to operate the video-camera or troubleshooting the sound board, all while staying calm and professional about everything, even when I didn’t always let him know about my audio-visual needs as far in advance as I should have.”
“What I value most is that Dennis treats each person with respect: whether he is assisting a student in using the lapel mic for the first time, or working with a Pulitzer Prize winning poet to finesse the placement of the lectern, Dennis treats each person equally,” Dr. Kate Reavey said.
Without a doubt, Dennis said, the highlight of his three decades at Peninsula was definitely meeting his wife, Ginger.
In the early nineties he played volleyball in the gym and Ginger took an aerobics class there afterwards. She would come in and shoot baskets before her class, and they visited.
Following a knee surgery, Dennis stopped playing volleyball, and was hobbling across campus one day when Ginger offered him a ride home. He found out later that she didn’t have a car that day and had to borrow one from a friend to give him a ride.
The first thing on his agenda upon retirement is completing an addition on his house. He is in the “mudding the sheetrock” stage now, and plans to install cabinets and an outside deck. Potential trips might include visiting Gettysburg, seeing a sister in North Carolina, or driving the AlCan Highway, in addition to trips to Utah to see the kids.
As for what he will miss most about working at PC Dennis is reflective. “I’ll miss the people,” he said. “I will miss my library staff family. How fortunate I was to have Paula Doherty as a supervisor for 25 plus years. Also, (IT director) Steve Baxter, and his staff, have always been good to me.” He also appreciates the PC environment. “I often look around campus and think, ‘what a beautiful place to work.’”
Wherever retirement and the creative process take him, Dennis himself is certain to have more than a just second use, but you’ll probably have to track him down to hear about it.
