League Promotes 4, Hires 4 Over Summer
By Jeanne Acton, Journalism Director | Monday, August 27, 2012 5:35 PM
Like most school districts, the summer is a time for new hires and shuffling of staff. UIL is no different. This summer, the League had a variety of staff changes and new hires for the upcoming school year.
Heather Bollinger
Last year, UIL Executive Director Charles Breithaupt started a new mission at the League — archiving the League’s history and preserving it for generations to come. This year, Breithaupt is continuing that initiative and hired archivist Heather Bollinger in July.
“I am working on documenting the history of the UIL,” Bollinger said. “This includes organizing and preserving photographs, audio-visual materials, manuscript records, department records, fielding research requests, etc. I am currently working on digitizing the Leaguer and the Constitution and Contest Rules.”
Bollinger and her husband moved to Texas from Florida in 2011 so she could pursue her master’s degree in information science at the University of Texas at Austin.
“I graduated with a master's degree in history from the University of Central Florida in August 2011,” she said. “While I was there, I worked for the University of Central Florida Special Collections and University Archives, doing pretty much the same thing there as I do here.”
While she didn’t attend high school in Texas, Bollinger did participate in high school athletics — swimming and water polo — in Florida, which has a state organization similar to UIL.
“This year at the League, I am looking forward to learning more about the institution and seeing how it operates during a busy school year,” she said. “I am hoping to start building the archives to make the awesome materials we have available to staff and researchers alike.”
Her favorite part of her job so far has been “going through the old photographs and seeing how the UIL athletics and academics have evolved over the last 100 years,” she said.
“As a historian and an archivist, I get to experience the best of both worlds by not only studying the history of the UIL, but also working to preserve that history,” she said.
Jim Busby
This summer the UIL IT department hired Jim Busby as the desktop computer support specialist. Busby’s job includes troubleshooting, maintenance and just about anything computer users need to do their work.
Busby, a UT employed for about 16 years, said he has enjoyed the moved to UIL.
“Every workplace has its own culture, and I’m pleased to say this one is exceptional,” he said. “Evidence of this is the long tenure of several staff members who started working at UIL as student interns, enjoyed the experience, and essentially grew up here.”
When Busby was in high school he participated in UIL band and music contests. “It was a big deal to all of us,” he said.
In his spare time, Busby, who is married with two children, enjoys his pets — two dogs, two cats and four chickens — and hiking “when time allows and when I can find a mountain.”
Arlo Flores
UIL staffer Arlo Flores will be making the move from the first floor to the third floor in September. He will leave the finance department where he was in charge of accounts payable to become an administrative associate to the UIL administration.
“My primary duties are to assist the chief-of-staff and deputy director, handling building maintenance, assisting with human resource related duties and processing of open records requests,” Flores said.
His position is a new at the League.
“I am looking forward to evolving the post into a position that allows me to work closely with my fellow UIL staff members and provide the kind of care and support that is crucial to serving our member schools,” he said. " I am excited to take on this new chapter in my career and look forward to continue working for the students of Texas.”
Like so many UIL staffers, Flores was a UIL participant in high school.
“I attended San Benito High School where I was a member of the Mighty Greyhound Band under such great directors as Rene Cortez and Hughlen White,” he said. “I also competed in Current Issues and Events.”
Flores said his experience with UIL, particularly band, gave him the skills “that have been essential in most of my adult life.”
“Whether it was making sure you knew your drill for Friday night's show or having your solo memorized in order to advance to Texas State Solo and Ensemble you had to be dedicated; dedication not for yourself but dedication to whom you represent,” he said.
Lisa Hughes and Rebecca Quinlan
The athletic department will add two new assistants to the department in September — Lisa Hughes, who is currently the UIL receptionist, and Rebecca Quinlan, who was a UIL intern in 2011.
Both will give administrative support to the athletic directors and assist in the state tournaments.
“I am looking forward to working with the athletic department full-time,” Hughes said. “I love being a part of UIL and all that it provides to students across the state.”
Quinlan said she was “thrilled” to return to UIL.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent as an intern, and I gained so much knowledge about what it takes to coordinate a state-wide program,” she said.
When she attended Cypress Ridge High School, Quinlan played volleyball, basketball and participated in track and field.
“Participating in high school sports provided me with skills to work with a team, adapt to constantly changing situations and most importantly a drive to be the best,” she said.
Nancy Hembey
Since the middle of June, callers to the UIL have heard a new voice on the other end of the phone. Nancy Hembey joined the staff as a full-time receptionist June 18.
Her goal is to be “a friendly and helpful voice and first contact with visitors and phone calls to the UIL,” she said.
Hembey said in the beginning learning where to direct calls and putting names with faces was a bit of a challenge. But after two months, she has become somewhat of an expert on the staff and their duties.
Before joining UIL, Hembey worked on the UT campus at the Texas Union and Student Activity Center.
Hembey went to Wichita Falls High School where she played tennis, softball and participated in choir. "Music is my passion, particularly choir — all throughout school and church choir for many years, still going strong today," she said.
Jessica Lane
Another change in the athletic department is the promotion of Jessica Lane from an athletics assistant to an administrative associate in athletics where she will continue to assist in athletic events and also be in charge of all photo and video requests, including processing orders and providing customer service.
“As far as photos and videos, my goal is to create an efficient system and make the process as streamlined as possible,” Lane said. “I hope to make the sports that I work on the best they can be by bringing new and fresh ideas to our state tournaments.”
Lane, who said she is enjoying her new expanded job, went to Cypress Springs High School where she participated in One-Act Play for all four years.
“One-Act Play was great,” she said. “Most of the friends I made in theater I still talk to today. One-Act Play prepared me for the future by instilling me with confidence and creativity. I learned discipline and professionalism that translates throughout my life.”
Brooke Rousch
In August, Brooke Rousch was promoted from an athletic assistant to the UIL Event Coordinator.
“I'm really enjoying the challenge of something new and different within our organization,” Rousch said. “It's helped me to see a new perspective on who we are and what we do as an organization.”
As the event coordinator, Rousch will partner with hotels to provide convenient locations and affordable rates for schools and UIL staff throughout the year. She also provides assistance with League meetings and is the building manager for the office.
“Basically I hope to maintain the level of service and professionalism that was in place before me, and I desire to find new ways that we can help our schools to save money in regards to accommodations for our state meets and events,” she said.
Rousch’s relationship with UIL started when she was a student at Buna High School where she competed in UIL Marching Band, Concert and Sight-Reading, Solo and Ensemble (music and twirling), One-Act Play, CX Debate, Golf and (briefly) Prose.
“UIL allowed me the opportunity to better learn my strengths and weakness. It gave me the chance to compete and thrive in areas where I excelled,” she said. “Plus, a healthy dose of failure was good for my maturation process as well. I gained a lot of great friends through the UIL activities I participated in, and it's the basis for many of my best memories in high school.”
Rousch started her career at UIL as an intern when she was a student at the University of Texas at Austin. This marks her ninth year at the League.