The Former President and First Lady help SLANT 45 get off to a rousing start

By Hy Cotton

September 21, 2009

Former President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura were among the more inspiring speakers Monday at a major announcement ceremony revealing an historic service-learning initiative in conjunction with North Texas’ Super Bowl XLV.

The President and Mrs. Bush are Honorary Co-Chairs of the SLANT 45 program, which will involve more than 20,000 North Texas students.

President Bush told the crowd that he had received a phone call from Host Committee Chair Roger Staubach.

“He said, ‘Troy Aikman and I would like to buy you lunch,” Bush recalled. “And I said, ‘Well, I’m looking for something to do.’”

Bill Lively, Host Committee President & CEO, also attended the lunch and invited the Bushes to participate in the SLANT 45 program.

“I said, ‘What is it?’ And they said, ‘It’s an opportunity to use the platform of the Super Bowl to make our world a better place. To make North Texas more compassionate and more hopeful by working with our kids.’

“We said, ‘Sounds like a good deal; we’d like to be involved’.” And so here we are, on the kick-off of a program that we both truly believe will be transformative.”

Pres. Bush thanked the large crowd for their participation.

“You see, the Super Bowl is going to be a fun sporting event,” he said. “And the Super Bowl is going to be a good economic event. But SLANT 45 is going to make sure it leaves behind better people.”

As he added later, “You can learn to read and you can learn to write in the classroom, and this program will enable you to learn to love a neighbor just like you’d like to be loved yourself. And realize that if you serve something greater than yourself, you improve your own soul.”

Pres. Bush urged all citizens to take the SLANT 45 program seriously.

Aikman, a most active participant in Host Committee doings, said afterward, “A former President of the United States has the opportunity to get involved in virtually anything and is very selective as to what he puts his name on. For he and the First Lady to get behind this is pretty awesome.”

The First Lady also spoke to the large gathering of children and civic leaders.

“Through this service, these young people will learn valuable lessons that will enrich their lives,” Mrs. Bush said. “And, they will fulfill their own responsibilities as citizens by giving back to their communities.”

Kevin Sullivan, who served as one of the top White House aides during the Bush Administration, also attended the event.

“He championed volunteer service as President,” Sullivan said, “so it’s a natural fit here for him to come back and work on a project that is as ambitious as this one.

“The thing that means the most to him and Mrs. Bush is that it will leave a lasting legacy. It has nothing to do with the money that will be made off the Super Bowl in North Texas, or the excitement around the game. It will leave better people.”