Issue link: https://tmcpulse.uberflip.com/i/610185
t m c » p u l s e | d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 5 30 Q | Tell us about the early days—where you were raised, what your parents did and a little bit about your family. A | I was born in Sacramento, California, but it was just a stop along the way. My father was in mining equipment sales. My parents are both natives of Tucson, Arizona, and they are now in Scottsdale. My dad was in the mines in Ray, Arizona, and he realized that he didn't want to be underground, so he figured out how to get on the right side of the mine. So mining equipment sales. We traveled around quite a bit when I was young, but we settled in Scottsdale and I grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona. We went from California to Chicago to Florida and then back to Arizona, and then dad started traveling internationally from that point in time. I am one of six children, number four—five girls and one boy. I grew up there and went on to University of Arizona and then got my start in all of this crazy sports stuff with the Fiesta Bowl, so college football, and that was a fluke of a connection. There was a gentleman who was a high school friend of ours, and he was the number two guy, he had been the SID (sports information director) at Arizona State University and he was at the Fiesta Bowl. They had this crazy idea of having a corporate sponsor for a bowl game, so they needed someone to act as a host or an interface liaison. It was just a very short-term job. Fiesta Bowl used to have theirs on Christmas Day. But then I stayed on at Fiesta Bowl. Everyone thought we had ruined SALLIE SARGENT, PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF THE HOUSTON SUPER BOWL HOST COMMITTEE, SAT DOWN WITH TEXAS MEDICAL CENTER EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF STRATEGY AND OPERATING OFFICER WILLIAM F. McKEON TO REFLECT ON WHAT SHE HAS ACCOMPLISHED IN HER SHORT TIME HERE, AND WHAT IS STILL TO COME AS HER TEAM PREPARES FOR THE SINGLE DAY WHEN MILLIONS OF SPORTS FANS AROUND THE COUNTRY WILL BE LOOKING AT HOUSTON. college sports forever. It was the Sunkist Fiesta Bowl and from there I went on to do 14 Fiesta Bowls. It just grew and developed. Q | Do cities consider you a 'hired gun' when they are awarded a major event like the Super Bowl? A | A hired gun, absolutely, that's how I term myself. I am a hired gun. I am also a gypsy because I have moved around a lot. However, my move to Houston was a unique one, as I have never started from the bid process and then carried it all the way through. In my mind, when I came to Houston, I was here for six months to do the bid, win the award and then I am on to the next thing. SPOTLIGHT