Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/76076
Jeff Atkin and family gather in Jeff and Brenda's living room on Somerset Hill. In back: Son-in-law Rick O'Neill, son Reed, wife Brenda and Jeff. In front: Granddaughter Kelsey, daughter Marlee O'Neill and grandson Jaxon. An hour later, when Jaxon trips and scuffs his hands, Jeff eases the pain by lifting him high in the air and letting out a loud "Kaboom!" With that, Jaxon smiles and takes off again. A FAMILY MAN Through the years, the Atkin family did much of its bonding at the WAC. Jeff joined the Club in 1974, about six months after his former employer transferred him to Seattle from the Twin Cities. He started his West Coast career in the IBM Building. When the stock market closed each day, many colleagues darted to the WAC for dominoes or basketball. Jeff, who twice lettered as a high school wrestler, soon joined and learned to play dominoes and entered the Club basketball league, where he still plays. Jeff's wife, Brenda, made the cross- country move with him. Marlee was born in 1977 and son Reed followed in 1981. Annual WAC events quickly became in consecutive years. "You don't know what we had to go through to convince her she wouldn't be winning that forever," Jeff recalls. Marlee and Reed both attended the Jeff at the start of the Shore Run/Walk along Lake Washington with Marlee, Jaxon and Kelsey. part of the family's calendar. Jeff still attends the Father Daughter Banquet with Marlee—and now Kelsey, too. Point of fact: Kelsey became the answer to a quirky WAC trivia question by winning the banquet's Youngest Daughter Award 28 | Washington Athletic Club Magazine | AUGUST 2012 University of Washington and earned advanced degrees—Marlee in law at Seattle University and Reed in business at University of Maryland. Marlee, 35, works as an attorney for the state Department of Health, and Reed, 31, is a principal at Double Beta Consulting, a digital marketing advisory firm in Seattle. Brenda, who spent much of the kids' childhoods at home, also taught in the Northshore School District and now owns and operates Sylvan Learning centers in Bellevue, Renton and Sammamish. For his part, Jeff changed companies twice before joining the partnership of Kunath Karren Rinne & Atkin. The firm's penthouse office stands 40 floors above the corner of Second and Spring in downtown Seattle. Since Jeff joined in 1986, the partnership's funds under management have grown eight-fold. A large conference room in the top-floor office provides floor-to-ceiling views of Mount Rainier, Puget Sound and a long belt of the Seattle waterfront. LEO SANTIAGO