Alamo, Brown will leave NAC

When Jim Gibbons was elected governor last November, he made it clear that he was not going to allow political appointees to serve more than their allotted two terms on commissions.

Gibbons kept his word this week when he informed Tony Alamo that his tenure with the Nevada Athletic Commission would not extend to a third term.

He also told Joe W. Brown that his first full term would not be renewed.

Alamo, a Las Vegas physician who is also the chairman of the NAC, and Brown, a Las Vegas attorney with Jones Vargas, will conclude their time on the commission on Oct. 31.

Gibbons quickly moved to fill the vacancies Thursday by naming attorney Pat Lundvall and businessman Bill Brady to the five-member commission, effective Nov. 1.

Lundvall becomes the second woman to serve on the NAC board. Amy Ayoub was a commissioner from 1999 to 2002.

"I appoint the most qualified people, not because of where they're from," Gibbons said Thursday. "What's important is to get fresh blood and new ideas on a very important commission. They're both well-qualified. They both have athletic backgrounds, and it's important we have a seamless transition so the commission's work continues uninterrupted."

Lundvall, who is a partner in the law firm of McDonald Carano Wilson LLP and had previously taught at the University of Nebraska, said she had no idea she was being considered for such a high-profile position.

"I never saw it coming," said Lundvall, who has homes in Las Vegas and Reno. "I received a phone call from the governor Wednesday with the appointment, and I'm honored to be asked to serve the people of Nevada. I hope to bring energy, enthusiasm and a lot of hard work to a position which I know is time-consuming."

Brady, who is from Las Vegas and is president and CEO of Brady Industries, which deals in commercial cleaning supplies and has been doing business in Southern Nevada since 1947, is a former Nevada legislator who was state assembly assistant minority leader in 1977.

NAC executive director Keith Kizer said he had talked to Lundvall and hoped to speak to Brady today. He believed the new appointees will fit in with the three remaining commission members -- John Bailey, Skip Avansino and T.J. Day.

"I don't know much about Bill Brady, but I talked to Pat and, with her legal background and education background, she will be an asset to the commission," Kizer said. "I know the governor takes the commission very seriously, and I'm sure these will be fine appointments."

Alamo, who has served Nevada boxing for more than a decade, first as a ringside physician and for 71/2 years as an appointee by the governor, knew he was probably at the end of his run on the NAC board.

"The governor made it clear when he was elected that he wanted to keep it to a limit of two terms," Alamo said. "So when I got the phone call from the governor Wednesday, I knew what was coming.

"But I have no regrets whatsoever. I've been fortunate to have been around longer than two terms (he finished out Dr. Elias Ghanem's term after Ghanem died in August 2001), and I've had a great run.

"I was a fan first and a regulator second. Now, I look forward to being a fan again."

Brown, who has been a commissioner since 2003 when he was appointed by then-Gov. Kenny Guinn to replace Luther Mack, said he too had no regrets about leaving the NAC.

"I had a wonderful time," Brown said. "If I live to be 100, I'll look back on my time with the Athletic Commission as the time of my life as a public servant."