Jackrabbit Tales
V.J. Smith is the kind of guy you'd like to have a beer with, maybe
spend the afternoon just shooting the breeze. Even if you don't drink beer. He's that kind of guy - calm, approachable , affable. He is a
master storyteller, a spellbinder when he hauls out one of his stories about the life and times of a small, South Dakota college. Cut him, and
he'll bleed SDSU Yellow and Blue. He wears his heart on his sleeve - as
well as the Jackrabbit logo - when it comes to South Dakota State
University. And that's not just because he spent almost half his adult
life on the Brookings campus. V.J. Smith really loves South Dakota
State University. So much so, in fact, that he's written a book about
it, "Jackrabbit Tales," and like its predecessor, "The Richest Man in
Town," it's already flying off the bookshelves . But unlike the story
of Marty Martinson, which has touched readers and audiences across the
country, "Jackrabbit Tales" is what they call a "small book," a labor
of love intended for a special audience: those who have shared the SDSU
experience with Smith.
"I told my kids, 'I don't know if
anybody'll buy this book, but it would kill me if we lost these
stories," he said recently. "If I don't tell the story, who will?"
Those who have read "Jackrabbit Tales" say it has all the emotional
impact of "Richest Man," and every student, every alumnus, every parent
and every person who has ever had anything to do with South Dakota
State will find something to treasure in Smith's slender volume. It may
be a cliché to say it, but this is a must-read book.
A native of Eureka, Vincent John Smith - he's always been called V.J. -
graduated from State in 1978, later returning to his alma mater to
serve first as an assistant athletic director and then, for more than a
decade, as executive director of the SDSU Alumni Association. Along the
way, Smith collected stories - triumphs , tragedies and memorable
moments, and he wove them into a 139-page , 26-chapter tapestry of
Jackrabbit life.
Smith shares personal stories about unforgettable people and
interesting events that shaped his experience at South Dakota's largest
university: the dean who couldn't resist picking up litter as he
crossed the campus, the president who kissed Smith on the top of his
head, the croquet games on the Campus Green.
According to Smith, "The book isn't about wins and losses. It's
something far more important - that being the indomitable human
spirit."
Smith was co-producer of another book about South Dakota State, "The
College on the Hill," a history of the school written with journalist
Amy Dunkle.
"I didn't actually write that one," Smith confesses . "Amy did. But this one I had to do."
Smith insists that he's not a writer - "just a storyteller" - but he
had to get down on paper the human side of the university. Not just a
golf tournament
"For example," Smith says, " Stan Marshall stands out. Most people
think he's a golf tournament , but he was a real person - and a giant
of a man. There's a reason his name is on a building. ... The irony of
his story is that for all his greatness , he wasn't much of a golfer."
As an alumni director, Smith was also a fundraiser. "But it goes way
past money. You enjoy their company so much," he says as he tells about
donors like the memorable Mildred White, who gave the university
millions. He talks of White's "wild cats" and the time he took her to a
burger joint for lunch.
One of the most moving chapters in "Jackrabbit Tales" tells the story
of two athletes, Dave Peterson and Doug Miller - sportsfield enemies
who became lifelong friends at State. The two had reunited in 1998 for
a Colorado camping trip, when Doug was struck by lightning. Dave was
hit, too, as he attempted mouth-tomouth resuscitation to revive his
friend. Doug's wounds were fatal, and he died on the mountaintop, but
that isn't the end of his story. Last year, at SDSU's Beef Bowl game,
Dave and Doug's family quietly walked to the 50-yard line at halftime
and, with no fanfare, sprinkled Doug Miller's ashes on the football
field. They had taken Doug home.
"That changed everything for me," Smith says. "Coughlin-Alumni Stadium
became a different place. Now, every time I go by the stadium, I think
of Dave and Doug."
Smith introduces readers to characters like Virginia V. Volstorff ("
3V" ) and her hat collection, and Cleve Abbott, a black student - in
1912 - who had never worked on a farm but managed to graduate with a
degree in dairy husbandry and became the second person inducted into
the Jackrabbit Athletic Hall of Fame. Abbott would go on to become the
most successful football coach in the history of the Tuskegee
Institute.
The writer doesn't pull any punches about his distaste for the
arrogance of some other South Dakota schools (namely, USD) who claim
superiority over the "cow college" but whose academic scores and
achievements rank them significantly below those of Brookings scholars.
He tells the secrets of jackrabbit-tossing , too (the cheerleaders
smuggled them into games in their megaphones). Stories must be
preserved
It was important to get these stories down, Smith says. "Important events in our lives need to be remembered."
"For selfish reasons, I wanted to record some memories about people and
events … at SDSU," he writes. "I didn't want them to get lost with the
passage of time."
Smith, 54, would happily have served as alumni director for the next
decade and into retirement - an SDSU lifer - but the phenomenon that
became "The Richest Man in Town" took off for him in 2006.
He won a national marketing affiliation and began getting so many
speaking invitations as a result of that book that he decided to step
away from his first love - SDSU - and persue his second as a
professional speaker.
"If you chase two rabbits," Smith says simply, "both of them will
escape. It's an incredibly different focus to my life, all these
requests to speak. I've gotten to live a dream."
"The Richest Man in Town" is based on the life of Marty Martinson. It's
a moving story about a guy who ran a Walmart cash register and a guy
who worked at the college. The cashier taught life lessons about what
is really important in this world, and the college guy listened.
The book touched a chord with readers and became an instant classic,
and because of that, Smith found himself with a new full-time career as
a motivational speaker.
He's no neophyte behind the microphone. Smith got his start with
Toastmasters International in 1988 and honed his platform skills there
- he was a two-time finalist in Toastmaster's World Championship of
Public Speaking.
In his first year on the lecture circuit, Smith made 152 appearances -
a grueling schedule. Last year, he had 113 shows, and now he'd like to
trim that number of appearances to about 85. Travel and recovery time
is taking its toll, he says. He's been from Rockport, Maine, to Las
Vegas spreading the word about his friend Marty, the Brookings cashier.
"I never expected this," he says, "and we created more work than we
ever thought could happen . I can't believe the places I get to go - I
spoke to a crowd of 5,000 in Fayetteville, Ark., and I shared the stage
with country music star Gretchen Wilson. It's a thrill to be in those
environements." Although he uses four speakers' bureaus that handle
some of his events, Smith says he prefers to do the booking himself.
Wife Julie, who travels with him some of the time, handles the business
end of things. Smith seems genuinely surprised by the reaction of
people - particularly children - to his message. "I don't preach to
people," he explains, "and I don't lecture. I tell stories. And they
reflect on their own stories while I'm sharing mine." "This does have
an impact with young people, because they understand the simplicity of
Marty's story. I've gotten thousands of letters from them." Thousands
of hugs Over the past two years, he has told Marty's story to more than
75,000 kids in South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska. Marty was a
hugger, and hugs are always part of Smith's reward at school
presentations. "Young people relax with me - maybe they identify me
with grandpa," he says, "but I've never been hugged so much in my life.
In fact, at one appearance I was hugged en masse and spontaneously by
400 kids. Teachers were crying." Marty's story continues to bring in -
literally - thousands of letters and e-mails , and Smith reads and
replies to each of them. "People share with you on a personal level
about their own situations. Some are looking for direction, and I
always respond."
He received three letters from soldiers in Iraq, he recalls, and all
three turned out to be SDSU ROTC grads. They all shared Marty stories
with Smith.
"And last week," he says, "I got an e-mail from Bombay (Mumbai), India." Echoes of Marty
Smith doesn't always talk about Marty - he has four major presentations
he delivers - but he has taken his "Richest Man" message to
corporations across the country, from Walmart to Wells Fargo and from
US Bank to the American Bankers Association.
His other topics echo Marty's message - talks about exceptional
employees, simple choices and big rewards, and the personal journey of
goal-setting . Soon, he'll roll out another platform presentation ,
"Your Pants Are on Fire."
All are filled with humorous anecdotes, simple stories told as only a
master storyteller can. And at the heart of each is the message he
shares in "Richest Man" and "Jackrabbit Tales" : That by doing what
matters most in life, moment by moment, you'll find real success."
"Are you making each moment count?" he asks. "Jackrabbit Tales" is
available locally at Cover to Cover, the South Dakota Art Museum, the
SDSU Alumni Center and University Bookstore and at Barnes & Noble
in Sioux Falls. Both "Jackrabbit Tales" and "Richest Man" are available
at Smith's Web site, www.lifesgreatmoments.com.