As she spoke the words to Grambling State's alma mater, Ophelia Nicholson was moved to tears.
Her husband, former sports information director Collie J. Nicholson, had given 30 years to GSU and, in so doing, had been largely responsible for its national reputation.
On Friday, the institution recognized his towering contributions by officially renaming the press box at Robinson Stadium in Nicholson's honor.
Nicholson, who has experienced health problems in his early 80s, did not attend. But Ophelia and other family members were on hand.
She said Nicholson's abiding passion was promoting and supporting Grambling. "This is the fulfillment of that dream," she said.
She ended her brief acceptance speech with a few words from GSU's school song: "We love thee, dear ole Grambling."
The alma mater was written by former school president R.W.E. Jones, the visionary who hired a young Eddie Robinson to coach the football team and then Nicholson, a former Grambling student, to tell his story.
Nicholson was the Marine Corps' first black correspondent during the war years, a stint so impressive that Jones created the sports information director position for him in 1948.
Nicholson got to work, first by building a grass-roots network of 400 black newspapers nationwide that would carry his Grambling dispatches. He would then drive the 75 miles to Shreveport's Western Union station after every game to wire stories across the U.S.
"He was way ahead of his time in promoting players," said Grambling mayor Martha Andrus, who proclaimed Friday as "Collie J. Nicholson Day." "That resulted in hundreds of players going on to the pros."
The ledger is not limited to the gridiron, however - though, it's worth noting that each of Grambling's Pro Football Hall of Famers played during Nicholson's tenure.
Larry Wright, now the Grambling men's coach, said he would never have been able to make the leap from college to the NBA as a junior in the 1970s without consistent support in the form of press releases by Nicholson.
"He meant," Wright simply said, "everything."
Robinson took to calling Nicholson "the man with the golden pen."
He couldn't be contained by racism, lack of resources or smaller ambitions. Nicholson simply kept knocking until the door finally opened.
That led to a series of contests in Yankee Stadium, the founding of the Bayou Classic GSU's signature rivalry game against Southern and a first-of-its-kind trip overseas to play in Japan. So complete was his dedication that Nicholson learned Japanese so he could conduct those negotiations.
"He made these accomplishments during an era when there were many barriers," current GSU president Horace Judson said. "That's why they rise above accomplishment, to the level of genius. His impact will endure as long as there is a Grambling State University."
Nicholson received the Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association in 1990 and the College Sports Information Directors of America Trailblazer Award in 2002.
But recognition at Grambling took longer. Dr. Joseph Carter from the Shreveport alumni chapter and retired GSU professor Bessie McKinney were two driving forces who had consistently lobbied for this honor.
The measure was finally brought before the University of Louisiana System Board this year, where it was approved earlier this spring.
"It's nice to put closure on this and pay tribute to a great man," said Carter, who wrote a letter on behalf of the chapter to Judson in support of renaming the press box. "We are delighted this was done while the sun still shines on his life and while his family can share in it."
Scores of former teachers, classmates and friends crammed into the meeting room where the rededication was announced including Ernie Miles, a former Nicholson assistant who later succeeded him as SID.
Miles said Nicholson's savvy leadership style was evident even when the two were children growing up in Winnfield.
"He had a charisma, but even I never knew he'd have such an impact at Grambling," Miles said. "He not only deserves this honor, but the undying respect of every graduate of a black college in this nation."
Several items donated by Ophelia Nicholson including citations for excellence, a Royal typewriter and, yes, a golden pen were also unveiled in a trophy case in the lobby of the Support Facility where the temporary Robinson Museum exhibit is now on display.