Coach Gene Thompson, Six Times Hall of Fame Awardee
Keynote Speech Highlights, June 25, 2022 – VIA Banquet Charlottesville, Virginia

Greetings, I am the pinch hitter for your previously scheduled keynote speaker tonight. Greetings to the VIA membership, supporters and the inductees. To the enshrines, I am sure you are blessed with these four invisible factors of greatness. The first invisible factor is Pride. I am somebody! Steer your life in the direction you want to go. Believe in yourself. The second invisible factor is spirit. Develop the wishbone to dream big dreams. Dream a dream of things that aren’t and ask yourself: Why not? The third invisible factor that we want to develop is love. Never put your hand out in life unless you have something in your hand to give. Learn to care about someone else in your life besides yourself. Learn to give of yourself. The fourth and final invisible factor is togetherness. Hand in hand we can win as a team. We have to learn to join hands together and walk together. A team is only as strong as its weakest link. These factors make your community a better place to live.

The VIA will never die; our school will never die; our city will never die; out state will never die; and our country will never die if we join hands together. So take the four invisible factors and make the world a better place to live.

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