Corps to the core: Myers' Marine-style 'ah-ten-hut' to detail lets him leave HCC in better state

Bo Myers would like his career to be summed up in one sentence.

“I just want to be known for getting something done,” the Hagerstown Community College athletic director said.


But to do Myers any justice, his time in the Washington County educational system is best signified by two words:

Hooray and Oo-Rah.

They are the best adjectives to describe the paths and methods he chose to follow in his life, as an advocate for education and a coach of track disciplines. He has attacked each with passion.

And he has “done something” by drawing from his experience in the U.S. Marine Corps, which fuels his demand for focus, discipline, order and teamwork.

Myers, 64, will end his long educational career on June 30, when he retires as HCC’s AD and chairman of the school’s Physical Education and Leisure Studies department. He announced his intentions in January, trying to keep any fanfare to a minimum.

It’s the Marine Corps way.

“I care about my staff,” Myers said. “The key to the whole thing is that I take responsibility for their success. I’ll get them all they need so that they can be successful. What we do is simple. It is personal interest and communication and I monitor it all. It is KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid.”

Basic Training

Myers’ Marine background is the thread that keeps his ideas and purpose together.

He is straight forward and looks people in the eye. Without saying it, the approach demands order, belief, focus and teamwork.

It is a civilian and educational version of the Corps mantra: “Leave no man behind.”

“(The Marines) was obviously a big part of my life,” Myers said. “It taught me first, that leadership is a simple thing and if you have an objective and that when you go into something, know what you are going into and research it. The key is to have the right people.

“I have to understand they have the ability to do the job. In the Marine Corps, there is always turnover. So, everyone is trained the same and everyone is able to fill in. Things go wrong when you don’t have the right people. Programs fade because a lack of firm leadership.”

In the trenches

When Myers steps down, he will be ending his second stint at HCC — this one lasting seven years.

Research and leadership, along with a Marine approach, have carried through his career.

Myers, who graduated from Shepherd College in 1972, returned to the area after ending a three years of active duty in the Corps in 1974 and receiving his master’s in educational administration from Pepperdine. He served as a captain in the Marines from 1968-79.