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cavalier sports 10 CAVALIER CORNER Dave Trinkle is a man of many talents and passions. "Here in Roanoke, a lot of people make fun of me," he said. "They say I'm unfo- cused; I have too much going on, and they can't figure out what all my jobs are." A geriatric psychiatrist, Trinkle became engaged with the community serving on the Roanoke City School Board and then running for Roanoke City Council in 2006. After 12 years, including three terms as vice mayor, Trinkle announced last De- cember that he would not seek re-election. Trinkle's most recent passion began about a decade ago. "Virginia Tech and our big hospital sys- tem, Carilion, here developed a medical school and I was able to get a job there. I've worked my way up to be an Associate Dean [for Community and Culture and As- sociate Professor of Psychiatric Medicine] and I actually had to give up a lot of my practice." Trinkle helped develop many geriatric services for Carilion Clinic over the years, but just retired from there and opened a small, one day a week private geriatric psychiatry office while spending the rest of the week at his Virginia Tech job. "On top of all of that, my wife, Ann, and I own a couple of restaurants and a food truck," he added. "We've been fortunate to be pretty successful in the tough field of restaurants. It's a lot of work. Fortunately, my wife does most of that work." But Trinkle insists on making time for UVA sports. "I grew up in a University of Virginia family," Trinkle said. "My dad James went to undergrad at Hampton-Sydney and then law school at UVA; as did his father, for- mer Virginia governor, Elbert Lee Trinkle. "It's a pretty good legacy. My older brother Will graduated in 1980 and I fin- ished in 1983. Our class just had our 35th anniversary. I went straight into UVA Med- ical School and graduated there in 1987." The legacy will continue this fall when Trinkle's daughter Owen will begin her UVA career as part of the class of 2022. "I'll be spending a lot more time up there," he said. Trinkle joined the VAF as a student on the advice of his father. "My dad was actually on the Board of Visitors when I was in college," Trinkle said. "He was very active, so he knew the game. He had me sign up when I was in college to start getting points. That was good advice to jump in while I was still in college." The early '80s were not only a good time for joining the VAF, it was a great time for Virginia basketball with two Final Fours, an Elite Eight showing and a Sweet 16 finish in the NCAA Tournament. "I was there during a really fantastic time. Ralph Sampson was in my class," Trinkle recalled. "It was kind of a wild time with basketball and being able to sweep Carolina during the 1980-81 regu- lar season. "There were some good moments in football, too. We started going to bowl games on a fairly regular pattern after our first one in the '84 Peach Bowl, which I was able to attend with my family." Trinkle said he likes the direction he sees with the athletic department over the last decade. "There have been incremental changes that have led many sports to success," he noted. "I think that change has been calculated and pretty strategic in a way that is definitely moving, but at a calcu- lated pace. "I strongly support the recent hires, the recent changes and recent plans." — Greg Waters Trinkle has been a member of the Virginia Athletics Foundation since he was a student in the early 1980s. PHOTO COURTESY DAVE TRINKLE Dave Trinkle WAHOO NATION