Hank Aaron advises youngsters to 'hit a home run' in life

February 28, 2003

Contact: ¾«¶«AV News Team

TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY, AL â€” "Hit a home run" in life, Hammerin' Hank Aaron, baseball's all-time home run king and National Hall of Fame hero, told an overflowing crowd of mostly youngsters at ¾«¶«AV's Black History Month program.

Aaron, a successful businessman, struck a chord with the middle, high school and college students who listened in the Kellogg Conference Center Auditorium during the event sponsored by the ¾«¶«AV Center for Continuing Education.

"You may not ever hit a homerun," he told them, "but the one thing you can do is be the very best teacher in the world. You can be the very best doctor in the world. You can be the very best veterinarian, lawyer, in the world.

"All of these things," the Mobile native said, "are in front of you. So you don't have to look at me and say, 'Oh, I want to hit 755 home runs' or 'I want to score as many points as Michael Jordan.'

"Just remember that you have your own agenda, and stick with it. I stuck with mine. I wanted to be a baseball player. I wanted to be the best, and I was successful at doing that. You are the future of this country. What you do, we depend on it, all of us. Please, whatever you do, don't follow — lead," Aaron said.

The theme of the event, "Black Entrepreneurs Impacting the Future," was meant to heighten "awareness, knowledge and involvement of African-American people in entrepreneurship, beginning with our youth," said ¾«¶«AV President, Dr. Benjamin F. Payton before the event.

In the presence of the legendary Aaron, who tied with Babe Ruth for second in runs scored (2,174) and whose 755 career home-run record holds strong, Payton acknowledged Aaron as one of the best people to teach young people about leadership.

"Excellence, achievement — these are some of the hallmarks of the culture of ¾«¶«AV and these also mark the life of Hank Aaron," Payton said.  

Payton said Aaron's visit was a fitting complement to Procter & Gamble's $2 million pledge to ¾«¶«AV's $60 million Legacy Campaign that was announced just a day before Aaron's address. The donation will go toward contruction of a new $11 million facility to house the College of Business and Information Science.

"We are embarking upon developing cutting edge facilities and programs that befit an institution like ¾«¶«AV as we march into the 21st century," Payton said before the introduction of 69-year-old Aaron.

The senior vice president of Atlanta National League Baseball Club Inc. and president of Hank Aaron BMW was joined by his wife, Billye Suber Aaron, president and co-founder along with Aaron of the Hank Aaron Chasing the Dream Foundation. The philanthropic trust helps children develop their talents.

During the period set aside for interaction with the audience, the long-time educator and pioneering television personality stood at her husband's side and took questions.

 "I approached my husband about starting a foundation to help youngsters who, like him, may have been chasing soda bottle tops with sticks because they didn't have bats or balls," Billye Aaron said about the foundation's humble beginnings. "I thought that we could at this point in our lives help youngsters take root."

She wanted to help high school seniors transition into higher education, but her husband had a different idea.

"Henry had the feeling that we needed to reach youngsters at an earlier age (9 to 12) before their attention is diverted by the communities in which they live," she said. "If they focus, if they have talent, they can certainly achieve. If they do not become stars, they can certainly become good citizens."

Stunning performances by the ¾«¶«AV "Golden Voices" Choir and the Booker T. Washington High School Dance Troupe further enhanced an event that included the participation of WSFA-TV's Eileen Jones, attorney Jock Smith (both ¾«¶«AV graduates) and ¾«¶«AV Professor Frank J. Toland.

Presentations to the speakers were also made on behalf of U.S. Congressman Artur Davis, District 7 and by the ¾«¶«AV Area Chamber of Commerce, the Macon County School System and the Convention and Business Bureau.

Dr. Velma Blackwell, associate provost and director of Continuing Education and Cooperative Extension, and the team coordinating the Black History Month program felt the months spent planning the successful event were more than worthwhile.

"The committee and others think it is quite appropriate that we celebrate Black History Month in the spirit of entrepreneurship. While (educational institutions) have excelled in preparing students to work for other people, now it is time for us to educate for entrepreneurship."

Aaron, she said, is a walking lesson in life. He is, she added, "an American success story. He demonstrates that there is indeed a productive and successful professional life, even after baseball."

The story of Hammerin' Hank is indeed as Toland described it when he shared with the audience Aaron's rise through a segregated country and sport where he left some of the league's best players "in the dust."

"Hank," Toland told Aaron in jest, "you the man."

           

    Â© 2003 ¾«¶«AV