Towhomitmayconcern,

RE:

September28,2015

LetterofRecommendationforMs.MarcelinaMariano

Itis with great pleasurethatI havebeen askedtowrite thisletter tointroduceyoutoMs.Marcelina

Mariano. I first met Marcelina when she was a student athletic at local middle school. Shewasa
catcher on herschoolssoftball teamandI was thegames umpire. As for mybackground, I retired
after 32 years as the Merced Community College Districts Chief Fiscal Officer and have umpired
various sports for over 30 years including softball at the NCAA level. I feel I have the proper
experience in both business and sports to assess how anindividual wouldfunctionasanumpire. I
sawthequalitiesinMarcelinathatwouldmakeheranassettoourlocalsportsofficiatingassociation.

In2014,knowing Marcelinas father from his playing recreational softballandapproachedhimabout

inquiring if Marcelina hadaninterestinumpiringsoftballforMerceds localgirlssoftballleague. Asa
young teen umpiring girls softball for Under 8, Under 10, Under 12, and Under 14, she would be
required to work with adultcoachesand dealwithenthusiasticparentsasapeer. Marcelinawasable
to show the maturity at a young age to handle herself on the playing field with great amount of
professionalism while showing the proper respect to adults. Marcelina was able to do this by
devotingthenecessarytimetostudyandinterprettheASAUmpireManualaswell asto askquestions
about rule interpretation and the handling of certain situations thatcan ariseduringasoftballgame.
She processes the qualities that make for an good umpire 1) A thoroughknowledge of the rules; 2)
Effective communication skills that include both verbal and especially auditory; 3) Effective game
management, selfcontrol, and current knowledge of ASAmechanics. She is alsoacutely awarethat
there is no substitute for game experience. The qualityofjudgmentisonlyachievedthroughlessons
learned in gamesituations. Oftentimes during the course of thegame theumpiremayfacecoaches
challenges and its how that official handle themselves during the situation reflects highly ontheir
character. In thetwoyearsthatMarcelinahasumpiredforourassociationweneverreceived asingle
compliant. In thetwoyearsshehasumpiredforourassociationshehasnevermissedorbeenlatefor
anassignment.

As with many young persons, their life goals can change; however, I feel no matter what course
Marcelina takes in the future; as an attorney or in another profession, she is building a solid
foundationthatwillprovidehersuccessinwhateverherfinalvocationwillbe.

Thankyouforyourtimeandifyouhaveanyquestions,pleasecontactmeat(209)7696472oremail
smith.marv@att.net
.

Sincerely,

MarvinW.Smith