Outgoing APSE president Paul Barrett gave his farewell speech during the awards banquet at the annual APSE Summer Conference on Saturday night, July 18, in Arlington, Virginia. Here’s his speech in its entirety.
Dan Spears and I recently were talking, and he mentioned that it often has seemed like many APSE presidents’ year in office occurred during an especially hectic time for their “real job.”
With my year as president ending – a year when the Mariners came eight outs from reaching their first World Series, the Seahawks earned their second Super Bowl victory, and Seattle hosted men’s World Cup games for the first time – I can confirm that is a thing.
But I’m not complaining. My time as president, and as an APSE officer over the past three years, is a career highlight, and I’m grateful for the opportunity.
I didn’t get to everything that came up the past year – which is a seemingly common outgoing president’s lament – but there were some achievements:
- We stayed within our budget.
- We filled two region vice chair positions.
- We picked a host city, Denver, for the 2027 Summer Conference.
- We addressed access issues within NASCAR and men’s college basketball.
- And we added a Sustainability Committee, which is chaired by Iliana Limón Romero and examines how we can support sports departments amid stress within the industry.
Speaking of stress, I definitely felt that as we planned this conference. Would we make it a memorable conference with strong, practical sessions along with some fun things to do? Would it all come together in time?
Fortunately, the answers to both questions were yes, and I need to give kudos to all involved – especially John, Tommy and the moderators who made it happen. Your success in putting on this conference was no small feat.
I’m also grateful to my fellow officers the past three years: Perryn, Erik, Tony, Dan, Naila, Ed Reed, Bill, John and Glen Crevier. It was great working with you, and I enjoyed our time together.
And I have one last shout-out to Dan, who again helped guide me through another year in office.
Now, it’s time to look ahead: Perryn, I’m excited to see what you, Erik, Maria and Lauren can accomplish. I’ll be rooting you on and available to help any way I can.
To those who have thought about getting more involved with APSE: Consider this an official nudge. Join a committee. Attend a region meeting. Offer to judge one of our contests, be a mentor or be part of a panel discussion.
Whatever you do – big or small – it will strengthen APSE, it will be a fulfilling experience, and it will be appreciated.
And finally, before I officially become a past president, I want to give one more heartfelt thank you for the chance to serve APSE.
The honor was mine.
