By Jason Avery
News-Times Staff
EL DORADO - During his many travels, Rance Olison never had the opportunity to speak in front of local athletes.
On Thursday night, Olison returned to El Dorado, addressing a packed house as the guest speaker at the The Nexans AmerCable/News-Times Scholar-Athlete Awards Banquet.
That Olison was able to address the crowd is a testament to his perseverance, as he underwent open-heart surgery just two weeks ago.
A 1970 graduate of El Dorado High School, Olison played in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, but also had stints in the World Football League, the Canadian Football League and the United States Football League.
Olison’s football career has also taken him to stops with the New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys, and his message was one of sharing and kindness.
Just a few minutes into his speech, Olison paused and asked the audience to stand up and greet others.
Olison then recounted the experience of trying out for the football team as an eighth-grader, and having the helmet spin all the way around his head, drawing laughter from the audience.
But from that start, Olison found himself with eight offers for college scholarships after finishing his career at Compton (Ca.) Junior College.
Olison started the next phase of his college career at Oregon, but transferred to San Diego State.
Ernie Zampese, a longtime assistant coach with several NFL teams, recruited Olison to the Aztecs, which was the beginning of a decades-long friendship.
Although Olison said that his transcript looked like a road map and though he didn’t like it at first, those travels built lasting friendships at every stop.
Olison told several stories of his various stops throughout his career, but one topic he focused on near the end of his speech was being kind to others.
In 2010, Olison began a turkey giveaway that was later named in honor of his mother after she passed away.
After giving away 150 turkeys in its first year, nearly 1,000 pieces of meat — including turkeys, hams, hens, chicken leg quarters, ducks and game — were given away last year.
Olison also will be donating bicycles to top students at local churches and communities.
In closing, Olison reminded the audience to never use “I” in speech. He said the journey about life is about “we” and “us,” not “I” and “me.”