Spencer Rodman: Town’s ‘First Baby’

A couple of weeks ago, Rene and Matthew Rodman were joking that they didn’t have a shot at winning the Palisadian-Post’s First Baby of the Year contest. Their baby wasn’t due until March 5. But a strange thing happened around New Year’s: Rene, who had felt fine throughout her pregnancy, came down with the stomach flu. When it didn’t go away, she went to the doctor, who told her “It sounds like you’re having contractions” and gave her an injection to stop them. The Rodmans returned home that night, on January 2, but at 2 a.m., the contractions started again and they headed to Saint John’s Health Center. Their doctor, Cornelia Daly, came to the hospital on her day off and delivered Spencer Emanuel Rodman, 4 lbs., 16-1/4 inches, at 10:47 a.m. on January 3. Spencer has won the First Baby contest (a tradition since 1954), and his arrival will be celebrated by local merchants with toys, gifts, savings accounts, a savings bond, a $100 gift certificate to Regal Cleaners and pampering for his parents from more than 60 participating sponsors. Despite Spencer’s early birth, Rene said last Friday, “We’ve had nothing but good news since he was born.” She explained that Daly initially tried to hold off the birth for a few days to give the baby’s lungs more time to develop, but there was no stopping him from coming early. Spencer was born with a full head of hair and long fingers and toes'”just beautiful,” said Matthew, “a perfect little man.” He also cried right away’a sign that he was healthy. “We’re very fortunate,” said Rene, adding, “It was a little tough to come home without him.” Spencer has to remain in the hospital for another four to six weeks, and the Rodmans will use that time to prepare his nursery and, more importantly, their son Max, for his arrival. At almost 21 months old, Max “definitely knows something’s going on,” said Rene. When they took him to the hospital to see his baby brother, who’s in an incubator, “he was curious.” Matthew added, “He was kissing the Plexiglas.” They plan to take him once or twice a week to see Spencer, who was named after actor Spencer Tracy because the Rodmans recently watched the original “Father of the Bride” and thought Spencer was “a great name.” His middle name, Emanuel, comes from his paternal great-grandfather, whom Rene said he actually resembles. The Rodmans didn’t know they were having a boy, which made Spencer even more of a surprise. “It’s one of the last mysteries of life,” Matthew said. Both the doctor and nurse had also delivered Max, who was born at the old Saint John’s Hospital. Matthew, who grew up in Brentwood, was also born there. Coincidentally, Rene had the same cravings during both of her pregnancies. “It was chocolate, chocolate all the time,” she said, “chocolate malts, in particular.” Matthew remembers weekly visits to Baskin-Robbins in the cold October wind to get her a chocolate malt. Fortunately, they live in the Alphabet streets, a close walk to the ice cream shop. The Rodmans met in Hermosa Beach while Rene was waiting for a date in front of a restaurant that was closed. Matthew and a friend, who had also been planning to eat at the restaurant, walked up and started a conversation with her. “She called me a few days later,” said Matthew. They were married at the Riviera Country Club in August 1999, and moved to the Palisades that year. Rene was recently elected as a community representative to the Palisades Charter High School’s Board of Directors. “I wanted to get involved early,” she said. “There are so many important things going on at the school. It’s also an educational experience for me to learn about charter schools.” She said the board meets once a month, and has been addressing issues concerning class size and school facilities. “There are so many community members involved,” Rene said, adding that another reason she wanted to get involved was because “PaliHi is such a presence in the community.” Rene comes to the school board with a business background, including an MBA from UCLA and more than 10 years of contract negotiation and financial planning experience. She currently works in licensing and manufacturing for Porchlight Entertainment, a company she’s been with since 2001. Her focus is animation, and she specifically works on preschool property’a TV show called “Jay Jay the Jet Plane” on PBS. “Having children has made me better at that job,” she said. “Max doesn’t watch a lot of TV but he knows who Elmo [of “Sesame Street”] and Jay Jay are.” Rene’s schedule is pretty flexible in terms of work she can do from home, but she’s taking four months off to be with her children. The Rodmans also have “lots of help” with the children because Matthew’s mother lives nearby on McKendree. “We make it work,” said Matthew, who works for a real estate development firm in West Los Angeles called First Enterprises, a third-generation family business. He also serves as president of the West Los Angeles Area Planning Commission, which he describes as a “quasi-judicial body that hears initial appropriations and appeals relating to property from Mulholland to LAX.” If a project approved by the City of Los Angeles or the Zoning Administrator is appealed, the case goes to the West L.A. Area Planning Commission. “Our decision is 85 percent final,” said Matthew, whose experience with building retail and urban construction in Los Angeles qualified him for the position. He was appointed president by Richard Riordan in 2000. There are five commissioners and they hear 50 to 75 cases a year, depending on development in the city. The Commission, which Matthew said is “the largest [planning] commission in terms of geography and business,” is “so empowering to local community members because they don’t have to travel downtown to have their voices heard.” Like his wife, Matthew is also involved in the school system. In November, City Councilman Bill Rosendahl appointed him as one of 30 members on the Presidents’ Joint Commission on LAUSD Governance, which was established “to explore alternate ways to govern LAUSD.” The Commission meets twice a month and “makes recommendations to the presidents of the school board and City Council on how to effectively govern the district.” Matthew said part of the reason he was chosen for this position is because of his experience with the school district, including his campaign for a seat on the school board in 2001. He lost to Marlene Canter, the current president, but stayed involved in matters relating to the district. The campaign marked Rene’s initial involvement with LAUSD. “She was a pivotal part of that campaign,” Matthew said. At that time, before they even had children, they knew they wanted to send them to public school. Though they still have a few years before Max enters Palisades Charter Elementary School, Matthew said, “We think it’s important to be involved in the community.”