"I Act With Respect"

Brian Hart

"Ever since the Act with Respect Always presentation, I have made it my goal to treat everyone I interact with kindness and respect."

My name is Brian Hart and I am a senior at Saratoga Springs High School. I am fortunate enough to be a player on the Saratoga Boys Varsity Basketball and Baseball Team. I have committed to play baseball at Marist College in the fall of 2018 where I plan to study Mathematics and or Business.

How did you meet Coach Rich Johns?
I have known Coach Johns for many years now. Coach Johns previously coached many sports at the high school that I attend. From the time I saw him at sporting events and Coach Johns introduced himself to me. He continues to support my growth as person and an athlete.

How did you hear about Act With Respect Always?
The first time I heard about Act with Respect Always was when I was in middle school. I would always see banners hanging around the middle school and high school with the words “Act with Respect Always.” I would see the signs all the time but never really understood the message Coach Johns was trying to portray. During my sophomore season of basketball, Coach came in during a practice to do a presentation. He explained to the team that we must treat others with respect under any and all circumstances.

How has the Act With Respect Alway mission effected you personally?
After Coach Johns spoke to my basketball team that day, I have continued to follow his mission of treating people with respect always. The idea of treating others with respect would seem so simple to most, but some would be surprised how often people need a reminder to treat others with the respect they deserve all the time. Ever since the Act with Respect Always presentation, I have made it my goal to treat everyone I interact with kindness and respect.

Please share with us how you have, or will in the future “Pay it Forward”
Through involvement in athletics, I have had many opportunities to “Pay It Forward”. Two examples of this was when my baseball and basketball team helped people like the Frolish brothers and Tracy Hogben. In 2016, my baseball team did a fundraiser and sold t-shirts and all of the profits went to the Frolish family to help make their home handicap accessible. For those who don’t know the two brothers both have Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a disorder that weakens their muscles. Another time my teams showed kindness was with Tracy Hogben, the mother of one of my baseball teammates. Mrs. Hogben was diagnosed with a brain tumor late in late 2016. During the 2017 year, both my basketball and baseball teams were fortunate to have the opportunity to raise money by selling t-shirts in honor of the Hogben family.

How would you describe the Act With Respect Always mission to others?
The mission of Act with Respect Always is to help highlight the importance of teaching and possessing positive character traits. The mission can even start with just one person being respectful to another. If one person shows respect to another, the other may go and show the same respect to another person. One person just trying to be a good person, could eventually affect an entire society in a positive way.

Would you recommend Rich to speak about Respect to others?
I would highly recommend that Coach Johns continue to speak about respect to various groups of students. His presentations are both informative and beneficial for any group. He can engage any audience by talking about his experiences because they are interesting to any team, class or group of people. For example, during his presentation to my basketball team, he mentioned how he got to meet the Duke Basketball team, which was both relevant and captivating to a group of basketball players.