Gary Stevanus has announced that he will be retiring from being the Athletic Director at BHS after a 20-year career; he will remain the Athletic Trainer.
“Serving the student-athletes and coaches at BHS has been very rewarding,” Stevanus said. “While most of the job duties of the AD are behind the scenes, knowing that I have been so involved in the success that teams have had is incredibly satisfying.”
Baldwin will be hiring a new athletic director next year, there are many important characteristics it takes to be an AD.
“I think that the most important quality needs to be the ability to multi-task,” Stevanus said. “I’m constantly changing what I’m working on, and rarely am I able to complete a task from start to finish without interruptions. The work day is constantly changing from minute to minute.”
Many coaches and staff have worked with Stevanus for over 20 years and they have built great relationships with him.
“I have known and worked with Gary for many years at Baldwin and I really appreciate how many years and all the many hours he devoted to our programs and student-athletes,” BHS teacher/coach Kit Harris said. “He has been a huge part of the ton of success our school has achieved, he has been behind it all. He really cares about us and has always had a lot of Bulldog pride.”
Stevanus had a true passion for BHS sports teams and was always there to support student-athletes and coaches.
“One of my favorite memories was when we shared a BIG bear hug immediately after our Girls Basketball Team upset a top ranked team at sub-state,” former BHS girls basketball coach Eric Toot said. “That hug ended up being a picture in the Lawrence Journal World! It just showed Gary had as much pride in the success of our teams as the players and coaches.
Stevanus worked very hard at multiple different jobs and had a great work ethic.
“G put in so many hours working, what is, two full time jobs,” BHS boys basketball coach Donald Blanchat said. “His care for our athletes from the training side as well as the AD office was great.”
“Gary was great to work with because he cared about the coaches and players,” BHS head softball coach Chad Scoby said. “I didn’t always agree with the decisions he made, but I respected his position and knew he was trying to do what was right for our students. Another thing I appreciated about G was his willingness to work with me to develop a competitive schedule for our team. Each year the situation can change and Gary would always listen to my thoughts or ideas, which showed a true sense of partnership.”