Where I Stand — Brian Greenspun: Honoring a man’s spirit

Tuesday, Dec. 14, 1999 | 9:57 a.m.

Brian Greenspun is editor of the Las Vegas Sun.

'TIS THE SEASON ...

There is a spirit of peacefulness that captures most people at this time of year. Whether thoughts are turned to the religious significance of Christmas, the miracle of the Chanukah lights or the overwhelming feeling of joy and good feeling for our fellow men, the fact remains that people are just plain nicer during the holiday season.

That's the spirit I've tried to live by for some time now and, except for the moronic behavior of some people that tends to cause me to question my kinder, gentler attitude, I have managed to do just that. I was thinking about how happy I am and how much good cheer I'd like to share when the phone rang last week. The caller was Rebecca Madison and she wanted to talk to me about the Clark County School District.

Actually, what Rebecca wanted to talk about was her grandfather, Bud Albright, a man I had known for many years and a man well known to most Las Vegans during the early days. Her issue with the school district was that, basically, they wouldn't listen.

Those are my words, not hers. Her plaint was that she and the rest of her family had been trying without any success to convince the good people who sit on the school naming committee of the Clark County School Board to consider her grandfather as a suitable and deserving person after whom a school should be named. She wanted me to help out.

Now, I have long known that one of my many shortcomings is my lack of ability to remember people and events that occurred much before, let's say, dinner last night. But in Bud's case, I was certain I remembered him and his major contributions to the well-being of Southern Nevadans. That's why I asked Rebecca why she was calling me because, as I explained, certainly the naming committee understood the significance of Bud's involvement in making the Las Vegas Convention Center a reality against overwhelming odds. That alone, I suggested, made him a viable candidate for consideration.

Rebecca, of course, agreed. What she wanted me to do was to represent her family at the naming committee meeting Wednesday night. At first I was flattered that anyone would want me to speak on behalf of his or her family. It was only later that reality bit.

I explained that the meeting would be impossible for me because I had already over-committed but that I would think about how I might be helpful. In the back of my mind was a belief that Bud Albright was probably as deserving as anyone else under consideration given the well known public acknowledgment of his almost singular role in the creation and financing of the convention center and the role of that institution in the growth and well-being of the entire community -- including our schools.

When I hung up I went to the archives of the Sun, specifically the "Where I Stand" columns of my father, who I remembered had written some pretty complimentary things about Bud's efforts to bring a convention center to Las Vegas when the powers that were turned a deaf ear.

That's when I realized how bad my memory was. Certainly, there were the praiseworthy columns but in amongst the rose buds were a few thorns sent Bud's way while he was the director of the newly built convention center. Those barbs, of course, were meant not only for Bud but also the members of the then-Fair and Recreation Board who agreed with Bud's tactics, which had the effect of chasing more business away than they brought in the front door. The net result of my memory lapse was, I thought, a rueful feeling that Rebecca had called the wrong guy. Not only were Hank's words lacking praise, they were stingingly on point about Bud's sales shortcomings. And my Dad was not bashful in pointing them out. So how, I questioned, could I now seek to help his family gain the ultimate in public recognition ... the naming of a school.

The answer of course was right in front of me. And unlike the critics who pick and choose the words that fit their purpose, I read all that Hank wrote about Bud Albright in order to get the full measure of the man. And what I found in those columns was an individual who was deeply respected by my father and most people in the community for his forthrightness, his integrity and his determination in the face of great odds. I read of a man whose honesty was unquestioned and his vision unclouded as he fought for and won the support of the public in his quest to build what has become the best and, probably, the busiest convention center in the country. Clearly, he had the attributes we seek to convey to our young people as they advance through our school system.

So if I could attend the school naming committee meeting I would do two things. First, I would tell Rebecca that she doesn't need me or anyone else to speak on her grandfather's behalf because, as his granddaughter, she is more than capable of telling Bud's story. And second, I would suggest to that committee that the members should pay attention to the man's grandchild. From the way she talks, it is a certainty that she is as strong-willed and determined as he was and that she will not take "no" for an answer, either.

There will be plenty of schools built in this community over the next few years, many of them a direct result of the convention center that Bud built. Certainly, there is one that should bear his name.