Feature | Conference 2005 Honor Award

Patricia Besner's Honor Award acceptance speech

Thank you!

I was chatting with a teacher friend the other day and she shared a story with me that helped me build some parameters to guide my remarks tonight.

She asked a student to sum up Socrates' life in four lines and received this reply from the student:

Socrates lived long ago.
He was very intelligent.
Socrates gave long speeches.
His friends poisoned him.

Certainly I don't profess to see myself on the same plane as Socrates but I think the points apply, as least loosely ...

As the faces in this crowd seem to grow younger each year and the number of young faces increases in number I guess there might be a majority that think point one applies to me ... I'm ancient history too.

I like to think point two applies as well, but sometimes I amaze even myself with the lack of intelligence I apply before engaging my mouth.

Sit back and relax because I must admit point three applies. Although I fancy myself to be a person of few words, I have come to believe, I have some Baptist minister blood in my historical blood lines.

But, point four really hit home, His friends poisoned him! Hmmmmmmmmm, I think there might have been a connection between points three and four - I'm REALLY looking forward to retirement, so I will keep my remarks SHORT!

It's a humbling experience to stand before you and be recognized as a colleague worthy of joining the ranks of past Honor Award recipients and the other servant leaders recognized at the conference:

• People I admired from the first meeting or exposure to their accomplishments and contributions to NIRSA;
• Colleagues who inspired me and many of you to become active in the growth and development of our organization and profession;
• People who had the courage and conviction to make unpopular decisions important to our continuing development as an organization;
• People here and passed on, who always had a smile, or hug at just the right moment.

None of us ever accomplish things alone; there are always teams of support that help make goals, visions and dreams come to life. At the University of Toledo my entire staff--students, support staff and professionals--over the years have been important members of the team in building our campus dream. NIRSA is a very special organization filled with servant leaders willing to step up and be bold in reinventing the future! It is all the people in my NIRSA life who helped me along the path to tonight that deserve credit for this award.

Since receiving the call notifying me of this cherished award I have spent many moments reflecting. WOW, what to say? I thought about sharing how recreational sports was the support line that got me through a tough childhood; how play, the core of what we do is so important to our development, socialization and re-creation. My thoughts jump from here to there and back again. Finally the day I was preparing to leave for the conference one word came to mind that captured the essence of all my thoughts: BLESSINGS!

I've been blessed with a caring if somewhat nutty family who never limited my imagination on what I wanted to do with my life.

I've been blessed with caring mentors, some here, some passed on, who challenged me to do better and do more, and gave me support and encouragement along the way.

I've been blessed with teachers and educational experiences that taught me the value and responsibility of giving back and passing on what I learned.

I've been blessed by a student-centered perspective on my recreational sports life since my days in high school.

I've been blessed by a career and work friends & family that bring me joy and feed my passion for life each day.

AND

I've been blessed by colleagues and a professional organization who demonstrate their respect for the contributions of others by giving them a public pat on the back.

Thank you!