They’re With You Win or Tie

This book of humor, inspiration and wisdom provides the reader with lots of chuckles as he reads about many of the pit-falls that are common place to a school superintendent every day, but may never reach the publics’ ear. Who’d ever think that much of a superintendents wisdom could be derived from experiences served on the proverbial “deer gang” – i.e. Old Bill’s response to a shot in the distance as he sits around the circle eating lunch deep in the woods – “well, he either got him or he didn’t” – real wisdom. Or, when asked why he was blowing down his gun barrel to make it whistle – it made sense to him to simply reply “Becuz,” wisdom. Just because the superintendent gets home for supper from time to time doesn’t exempt him from the public. I think of the time a parent rapped on the door while we ate dinner and asked me to come outside. When asked why, he replied “because I’m here to whip you.” “Fine” I replied,” but may I ask why”? “Well, it’s because that coach up at the junior high made my son write the dictionary as some kind of punishment,” he replied. “Well, ok” I replied “but may I ask you why you want to whip me, when it was the coach who inflicted the penalty?” “Yeah,” he said” but I always start at the top!” I got it worked out – but it was a close call! School systems differ – primarily based upon their socioeconomic affluence. I’ve always said you run school systems on dollars and cents – and it’s held true. If one thing could absolutely change educational achievement it would be the equalization of funding across the board. Of course regardless of funds available it still takes a great educational community to work together and make a blue ribbon system. Pleasants County is a good example of this. There is an abundance of industry in this Ohio River County and I’ve never seen a system with a better attitude and care for their young people. They’ve always passed school bonds and levies by broad margins – most recently for a state of the art new high school. But the one factor that enticed me to take the superintendent position there is that the philosophy of these people has always been “we want the very best for our kids – and we’re willing to pay for it.” But they have high expectations too, and by the time I retired every one of our schools was either a state or national blue ribbon school. Waiting for a press conference in the Governor’s office one day honoring our school system as well as the Hershey’s Track and Field Hall of Fame housed in Charleston, I was passing the time of day with the Hershey representative. He was a short fellow, very neat, in a 3 piece suit. Our conversation turned to football where I was proud to report my background with the Romney Pioneers, the Shepherd Rams, and even one year in the USMC. He was obviously impressed, or so I thought, and the conversation turned to other things. Glancing at his hand I commented that he had a beautiful ring. “Oh,” he said, showing me, ‘that’s a super bowl ring!” Imagine! I very meekly asked him exactly who he was? His response – “Bob Hayes.” Bob Hayes happened, at that time, to be the world’s fastest man and a star of the Dallas Cowboys! Imagine him telling the Cowboys in the Dallas dressing room that weekend that he’d met a powerful football player from WV who played for Romney, etc. Those Notre Dame, Ohio State, Alabama, etc. players surely got a great laugh that day. In addition to lots of these kinds of stories, the book deals with wisdom that helped turn my whole life around. I think of the time Joe Stan, special assistant to Governor Jay Rockefeller, taught me a valuable lesson I have retained the rest of my life. Since Romney is the apple and peach capitol of WV, I would occasionally bring a bushel of apples or peaches to the Governor or State Superintendent of Schools when we had meetings in the state capitol. Joe Stan has always been one of my idols from his coaching and officiating days all the way to the governor’s office, so anything he had to say to me, I listened! One day when I told Joe about bringing fruit to town he put his arm around my shoulders, as only he could do, and in his quiet, soothing voice he said, “Butch, let me tell you something. When you bring apples or peaches – take them to Walter, the guard on the gate to the governor’s mansion and to the state superintendent’s secretary. The governor or state superintendent doesn’t even know who brings things to them, but Walter and Amy do. And then when you come in for meetings Walter will have you a place to park behind the governor’s mansion, and Amy will make sure you get in to see the state superintendent no matter how tight his schedule. You see Butch, it’s the little people who make things happen in this old world – and if you take care of them, you’ll always be the benefactor.” Needless to say, I followed his advice and prospered to the day I retired. I watched Hugh Jacks, president of Bell South come down from his 18th floor pinnacle suite and dip ice cream for all of his hundreds of employees, and listened to people like Bob Hope and Norman Vincent Peale in regard to getting along with people. Read how Joel Steely made his fortune with help from Hugh Jacks, and how Bill Battle became the nation’s youngest Division I coach at Tennessee, thanks to nurturing and a “jump start” from Billy Mitchell. These and dozens more stories of inspiration, wisdom, and humor may help you be the benefactor of some sage advice, because minimally speaking he who laughs, lasts.