Growing up in the sweltering heat of Austin, Texas, home of the research-oriented academia, University of Texas and the legendary Texas Longhorns, Rusty Wire never could have imagined she would one day be working as the athletic program coordinator at Bellevue College.
Wire began her career after graduating from Texas State University, where her degree in journalism landed her a spot as a feature writer for the Boulder Daily Camera. While raising two daughters, she worked in Port Townsend as a legal secretary for the Jefferson County Prosecutor’s Office, Superior and Juvenile Courts and as a legislative aide for the Washington State House of Representatives. After serving for two sessions, Wire and her family moved to Wenatchee where she worked as a program coordinator for the Wenatchee Valley College athletics department for a decade. Feeling it was time to retire, Wire planned to live a relaxing life in Port Townsend, but upon leaving her previous job felt as if a part of her was missing. So in 2006 when she received a call from an old employer about an opening as the athletic program coordinator at Bellevue College, she could not resist her desire to aid student athletes facing the challenges of college, so she took the position.
Wire has one of the most crucial responsibilities in any organization, which is managing the budget and monitoring the spending and ensuring the financial security and growth of the BC sports programs. She also gives athletic scholarships to students with stellar academic and athletic achievements and advocates for the program’s funding by presenting yearly reports to the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges and the Federal Government.
Not only does Wire tactfully manage the program’s finances and athletic scholarships, but she also acts as an invaluable colleague and supporter for the student athletes.
Wire is such a vital part of the program that BC Athletic Director Bill O’Connor considers her to be “the most important person in the athletic department who goes out of her way to help individual athletes.”
Coaches and athletes consider her to be hardworking, loyal and a pillar of the program. Leah Francis, the head softball coach, “relies heavily on [her] for input, insight and guidance,” acknowledges her as “a rock for which [she] can always count on,” and attributes much of the ever growing success of the softball program to Wire’s hard work.
Watching the BC student athletes develop leadership skills and achieve personal goals in their athletics and academics fills her heart with an immeasurable amount of pride. A self-proclaimed number one fan, she brings guidance, support, dedication, gratitude and a loving personality to the program and those in it.