Her titles include: Focus: A Professional Development Program: Developing Self-Esteem (translated into six languages); Journey of Self-Discovery; and How LifeWORKS: A Guide to Your Life Patterns. She has a doctorate in educational psychology. Connie has served on the Y's advisory board of women for eight years.

She was elected Woman of the Year from the 11th Senate District in '89, and named Outstanding Alumna of Santa Clara University in its division of counseling and psychology, in '91.

John has been an insurance and financial planning professional for the past 30 years. The much-honored planner has earned varied designations in his field and was named Professional of the Year by the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors to recognize his contributions to his profession, clients and community.

John was one of the founders of the Rotary Club of Menlo Park Foundation, which provides scholarships to students in the community. More than $600,000 has been awarded in scholarships and community grants since he established the foundation.

For the Boy Scouts, John served as past chairman of sustaining membership enrollment and he was also on the board of St. Rose Hospital. His degree in business administration is from Golden Gate University. The Palladinos are parents of four and grandparents of six.

They have both been active on the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce board and are members of Saratoga Rotary. In addition, Connie occasionally plays the flute in the Saratoga Band. The couple will serve three-year terms.

MANY MARIAS--ONLY ONE RAWSON: Saratoga-reared Dalia Rawson, a member of the San Jose Silicon Valley Ballet corps, was one of seven ballerinas who danced the role of Maria in the yearly classic The Nutcracker. The role is very difficult because Maria is onstage nearly the entire time.

No matter who performs the grueling role, Marias are hard on equipment: She goes through two leotards and a pair of toe shoes at every performance. The dancer wears them once, then tosses them. Now that's a stunning example of just how hard a ballet dancer works. That life is said to be the most athletic endeavor a person can undertake.

And that's just wear and tear on costumes, to say nothing of the body. The left shoe gets the most wear because of the way the ballet is choreographed. Also, this time of year is notorious for illness so every major role is double-and triple-cast. Rawson performed Maria twice this season.

But she has danced Maria since 1997, and thus has performed the role dozens of times. As for what was new this year: dancers from the troupe, the Chinese Performing Artists, took on the China scene this year. Now there's an example of authenticity in our shrinking world.

HAPPINESS TIED TO SELF-ESTEEM: "What determines happiness is not necessarily straight A's, being captain of the football team or admission to Stanford, Harvard or Yale. It is the attitudes students develop relating to self-esteem, confidence and connectedness to family and school."

So said Dr. Ned Hallowell, an expert on learning skills and attention deficit disorder, who spoke at Hillbrook School recently. Parents and students are "crazy busy, driven by the speed of modern life, the accessibility of limitless information, and the bombardment from all the media.

"Somehow, these factors act like a great magnet pulling us away from each other and making us feel we always need to be someplace else. If that's the case, we're never anywhere, fully," Hallowell said. Children need plenty of free play to stick to interests that give them a sense of accomplishment, rather than being booked into endless activities.

SHE WAS TROUBLE: A short play of mine will be given a full performance at the Santa Cruz Actors Theatre at 1001 Center St. from Jan. 13 to Feb. 19, Thursday-Sunday. It's a film noir spoof called She Was Trouble. The short play festival typically gets about 100 entries, and eight plays are chosen.

Here's how the theater website puts it: "Ten years of sold-out houses: Eight Tens is the perfect antidote for today's short attention span." Tickets at 831.425.7529.

ENTHUSED DIRECTOR: Dr. J. Randall Hawkins, longtime accompanist for the West Valley College music department, is also the music director at Los Gatos United Methodist Church. And it was he who led the magnificent presentation called A World of Christmas at the church shortly before Christmas.

It was the Bay Area premiere of the Joseph Martin work.

Got a tip for Saratoga Sampler? Send email to maryanncook@earthlink.net.