Elder Neil L. Andersen Elder Andersen was the featured speaker of the Spring 2001 Founders Conference. He began his speech by showing great appreciation for the founders' wives for keeping their husbands on course and maintaining an enternal perspective. For the most part, "Women determine the spiritual heights of a busy enterpreneur," he said. That is why, as a mission president, Elder Andersen encouraged all of his missionaries to "marry way over their heads." Elder Andersen also expressed his deep respect for the skills and talents of the Entrepreneur Founders, as well as some words of caution and instruction. First, he highlighted five attributes that every leader should have: Courage Creativity Integrity Persistence Focus He also reminded the founders group that Christ encompassed all these attributes. "Christ is the central figure of human history, yet He had little prosperity while here on earth," said Elder Andersen. "We musn't become so entangled in the affairs of the world, that we lose our focus. We must be ever engaged in our quest to become like Christ." Elder Andersen gave a list of five transformations that would help entrpreneurs to accomplish this goal: 1. Seek to move from a constant state of independence to one of trust. 2. Execute mercy and forgiveness once in a while. (not everything has to be an eye for an eye) 3. Our responsibilities include more than just being a builder of businesses. They also include becoming a patriarch over our posterity. 4. Seek to become a steward of those with whom you associate and not just the "owner." 5. Move from a spirit of goodness to one of sanctification. Elder Andersen noted, "In the end, many of life's choices aren't between wealth and poverty or popularity and obscurity, but between good and evil. If we stray from the path and choose evil, God will let us know." To illustrate this, Elder Andersen quoted President Packer's gentle reminder at a stake conference they attended together. President Packer said, "I am nobody," and then turning to Elder Andersen he added, "and you are nobody. And if you forget it, God will remind you of it very quickly." In conclusion, Elder Andersen suggested that successful business professionals have the same enthusiasm for the gospel as they do for their businesses. "We should remember that our temporal blessings are given to us by God, in hope that we will share them with those less fortunate," he concluded. Peter Vidmar Peter Vidmar, Olympic gymnast champion, was a favorite presenter at Spring 2001 Founders Conference. He shared several words of inspiration and encourgagement. He also told quite a few jokes. One of the areas he focused on was personal productivity. "We must choose an aspect of our lives that we want to make better, and work on it everyday for 15 minutes. That's only 91 hours a year," he noted. Vidmar counseled, "We should also look to others for help and self-improvement. If we 'trip' over a new skill, we need to pick it up and use it. We must constantly improve ourselves for that is what God expects of us. If we want to be the best we must pay the price everyday. Many people quit because they 'don't feel like it.' It's at that exact point when the best take over and keep going. Hey, they don't feel like it either but they find a way to get it done. "Our drive to achieve perfection can be realized if we practice as if it were a competition, and compete as if it were practice. But no matter how hard we work, our effort should always be centered on one goal; our family and the Lord's Kingdom." Vidmar's personal experience with the Olympics has given him much insight into the nuts and bolts of competition. His presentation was both refreshing and motivating. Read more about Peter Vidmar at www.vidmar.com. Gary Crowton As BYU fans say good-bye to LaVell Edwards, new head coach Gary Crowton is gearing up for the 2001 BYU football season. Crowton's 15-year coaching career has taken him all over the country. He said he has been in various coaching positions at Snow College, Western Illinois University, University of New Hampshire, Boston College, Georgia Tech, and head coach at Louisiana Tech. Although he has enjoyed all the places he has been, as a native of Orem and a BYU graduate, Crowton said he is happy to be back in Utah. "Every place I've coached has a uniqueness about it. BYU is unique because it's in a community where the Church is really strong," said Crowton. "There's good education in the area and good people with good values." According to Jeff Reynolds, Director of Football Media Relations at BYU, the decision to hire Crowton was based on a variety of factors. "Certainly, BYU has a unique environment," Reynolds said. "If you're on the search committee, you're going to have to find someone that is familiar with that environment and build on it from there." Reynolds said that Crowton's past successes were also impressive. "Gary stood out because of the success he's had," Reynolds said. "He's been around the country and had experiences at different levels and in different leagues. He had a lot of big wins at Louisiana Tech and basically turned the program around down there." Crowton said that although all of his coaching experiences have been good, he really enjoys being head coach. "I like being head coach because I like having the ability to go totally in the direction that I have the vision to go in," Crowton said. "As a head coach, you're in total control, as assistant coach, it just depends on your head coach." Although the tradition of LaVell Edwards might be a hard act to follow, Crowton said he is honored to have the privilege to follow in his footsteps. "I'm very humbled to have the opportunity to coach and be the successor to Coach Edwards," Crowton said. "I'm also flattered that he would recommend me." Crowton described his coaching philosophies as similar to those of Edwards. "I really have a similar coaching philosophy of LaVell Edwards in a lot of things," Crowton said. "I learned a lot from him when I was a younger coach just by watching him and some of the things he'd done." Crowton said he cannot be LaVell Edwards. However, he plans on using what LaVell Edwards started and combine it with his own experiences to build BYU's football future. "I'm just going to try to take the things that Coach Edwards instilled and build from that," Crowton said. "I'll learn rom the history and use some of my own ideas to help us in the future." Shirley Johnson served as LaVell Edward's executive assistant in the football office and is now working with Crowton. Johnson said everyone seems to be excited about the changes that are taking place. "There's a real charged feeling. Everyone is excited and they've been working real hard to get everything fit for spring ball," Johnson said. "I think the players really respect him and are really excited. PHOTOS!!! Click here to check out some great action shots of the conference. You never know, you might be in here!