By Lisa Asher
When the phone on my desk rings at 8:30 in the morning, I know who it’s going to be. I’m not sure why, but this is the time of day that he seems to have the most questions. “What’s the pope’s hat called?” says the voice on the other end of the line.
“Um, a miter, I think,” I reply, pulling that information from some recess of my brain I didn’t know I had. “Okay, thanks girl.” Click.
It’s not that Jeff Kilgore, the alumni association’s executive director, doesn’t have a dictionary. Or access to Google. Or a Catholic background, for that matter. But with a staff the size of ours, things are pretty informal, and we all help each other out in our own areas of expertise.
For instance, when I’m thinking of buying a car–a task I hate more than root canal work–I get advice from Jeff, whose in-laws own a car lot. When I need to know a bit of Baylor trivia, there is no one more knowledgeable than Judy Prather, our communications coordinator and senior staff member. (Sorry for outing you, Judy!)
“One for all, and all for one” has become a cliché, but it’s also how we live our lives around here. It’s how we got through some dark days in 2002 when our staff was cut from twenty to five–me, Judy, Todd Copeland, Meg Cullar, and Bob Anne Senter. That was the year we learned how to plan a banquet, organize a three-day event for five hundred people, and continue writing and publishing a quarterly magazine.
Pulling together is how we enjoy good times, too. We celebrate together when our membership numbers go up, when a generous someone gives to our Sesquicentennial Campaign, or when Coach Kim and Coach Drew lead our basketball teams to victory.
Yes, we have our office squabbles, the same as any staff does. We will argue for an hour about who’s supposed to clean the coffee mugs, what blew up in the microwave, or why we never have good snacks anymore. Some days, it’s like stepping into a scene from The Office.
But when it comes down to it, we all know where our loyalties lie–with Baylor, with the alumni association, and with each other.
So if that means I have to answer some “phone a friend” questions first thing in the morning, then so be it. Besides, it’s been an education for me, too. I now know that “noogie” is spelled with two O’s–and, of course, the proper name for holy headgear!
