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June 6, 2001
Bruce Hanks' acceptance address
About three months ago, I stood here and said that I was excited to serve as the Interim Director of Athletics for the University of Louisiana at Monroe. I'm here to tell you today that I am still excited. I am even stronger in my belief that we have the ingredients to be extremely successful in our athletic programs here at ULM. It won't be easy, but nothing really worthwhile is. It won't be accomplished because of one person but instead will take a team effort. We have some great coaches who are determined to be successful. We have some great athletic administrative folks who work hard and do an awful lot. We have some strong student athletes who are working hard to put together wins. We have some great faculty and staff at our University who do a great job in the academic and research functions of the University. Finally, we have a great group of supporters who are willing to step up and help us to be successful.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the people who have been so supportive of my efforts during this interim period. I will continue to look to you for your help as we move forward. I would like to thank all the folks at the University who have helped me begin learning how to get things done in our system. I would like to thank the community and supporters for all the help you have provided us and I would especially like to thank the athletic administrative staff and the coaches for making me feel welcome and at home.
I would also like to take this opportunity to say a public thank you to all the folks at CenturyTel. I spent over twenty great years with them and it was a wonderful company to work for. It took a special opportunity here at ULM to get me to leave.
I believe that athletics serves as a window to the University for the entire community. While there is no doubt that the primary mission of the University is, and should be, academically oriented, athletic programs are a big part of University life. As Director of Athletics, I will continue to be a strong supporter of the academic efforts of our University as well as of our individual student athletes.
I realize that we have challenges facing us at ULM but I feel that meeting challenges and succeeding is what gives meaning to the effort. For us to realize our full potential, we'll need a great deal of support from the entire community but I remain convinced that this community wants ULM to succeed in all its missions including athletics. In my role as Athletic Director, I look forward to our future opportunities and successes while building on our tradition of excellence. We will be successful because it is important that we be successful. It won't be because of me as an individual but because of us all. I commit to each of you that I will work hard to make our athletic programs here at ULM successful and that I will listen to any suggestions you may have.
Some of you might have read in the paper that my office here is currently fairly bland with no pictures or plaques on the walls. Now that I have been appointed Director of Athletics on a permanent basis, I will begin to put some things up on the walls. The first thing that I will put up is a plaque that I have that reads as follows:
Care more than others think is wise,
Bruce Hanks
ULM Athletic Director
Acceptance Address
June 6, 2001
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