It’s not hard to understand why Bill Carle was named Best Business Community Leader in last year’s readers poll. An attorney, real estate developer, real estate broker, school board member and winery owner (McNab Ridge), Carle has, over the years, also sat on the boards of such diverse local organizations as the Railroad Square Association, the Committee for Restoring Santa Rosa Creek, Fountaingrove Golf & Athletic Club, the American Red Cross, the Presidio Bank North Bay Advisory Board, the Polly Klaas Foundation and, well, you get the idea.
This is a man obviously committed to making his community better for all. What’s surprising is, he didn’t grow up here. “I grew up in Cupertino, but I feel like a native,” he says. “My grandfather was one of the chief commanders at the naval air station in Southwest Santa Rosa when it was closed after WWII, so my father attended Santa Rosa Middle School. My parents moved back here after I graduated high school, so all my college summers were spent here. And my wife, Nancy, and I moved here permanently 26 years ago.”
What quality do you appreciate most in a friend?
Honesty. A true friend can call you on your mistakes and know you’ll appreciate his or her willingness to tell you.
What sort of dances did you do in high school?
I always loved the sock hop in junior high school and loved dancing—if you can call it that—to “Gloria” by Them (written by Van Morrison).
What’s the most unusual food you’ve ever eaten? Did you like it?
Nancy and I had dinner at a little hotel on Mijajima, an island right off the coast of Hiroshima. Some of the creatures looked like they were still alive—and this was long before bizarre food was commonplace on the Travel channel.
What’s the worst advice you ever received? From whom? My college roommate: “Don’t buy Microsoft at the initial offering.”
What have been your favorite countries to visit?
Take me back to Scotland to golf or, if I develop amnesia and have to choose a new home country, to Italy.
If you could look into the future to find out one thing, what would you want to know?
Will the Giants win a World Series in my lifetime (having been born five months after their last one)?
If you could take back something you’ve said, what would it be?
I said to a friend at Game 6 of the 2002 World Series in Anaheim, “Dusty shouldn’t have given Russ Ortiz the game ball. We’re doomed.”
What animals scare you the most? Why?
I’m not at all into snakes. My sons knew that at an early age and capitalized on it too many times!
What’s your favorite birthday memory?
I spent my 30th birthday in a rented house at Dillon Beach with a group of high school and college friends—and some 30-year-old wine.
What’s your strongest sense?
Sight. I can catch poison oak just by looking at it! Plus, I can still see a golf ball 300 yards out (obviously not my drive, but a playing partner’s).
Who’s your favorite movie actor?
Clint Eastwood. “Dirty Harry” is probably my favorite; I’m still trying to figure out if he shot six times or only five.
Describe one of your happiest life moments.
There have been several and they all surround successes of my two sons (as most fathers will understand). I still get a tear in my eye when I see them, even at college age, make a new discovery, succeed at something when they have made an all-out effort, or when I hear a compliment about them from someone else.
Describe one of your most exciting life moments.
Last October, I completed my first sprint triathlon in San Diego with my older son as my race-day coach. The excitement soon gave way to the grim reality of floating in the water waiting for the starting gun (swimming isn’t my favorite sport), then an exhilarating bike ride and the start of a run when I thought, “These legs won’t work.” The first mile seemed to take an eternity, but the second and third clicked off with relative ease and culminated in a welcome finish line where I realized I had nothing left. It was a blast to do that with the role-reversal with my son. I wasn’t the father on the sidelines—it can come around the other way!
How did you get interested in triathlons?
I got roped into it because one of my sons did the half Vineman this year, the other is on the triathlon team at UCSD, and my wife has done several in addition to the Nike half marathon in San Francisco this year. I had no choice but to join the program!
