YEARS ACTIVE: 1968-2004
TWU SPARTANS HALL OF FAME 2003
- Servant Leadership award named after Melles in 2004
- Facility Manager for Physical Education (Human Kinetics) Retired: October 7, 2004
He passed away last week and his family is holding a closed service on Thursday morning this week.
How much is it worth to a student to have a staff or faculty member remember his or her name? To have someone ask, “How are you?” and then take time to really listen to the answer, and pray about your needs? The answer is that it makes all the difference in a student’s day—in a student’s life.
Bahta Melles was such a person. In his 24 years (1975-99) as Gym Facilities Supervisor, Bahta took the time to care about countless students, many whose lives were touched by Bahta’s faithful prayers and encouragement. “I pray for you” was his frequent answer after patiently listening to another story of student frustrations or stress over exams. “Bahta has the nature of a servant,” says Spartan men’s basketball alum, Bob Lee. “He was always smiling and welcoming.”
His caring also extended to those who worked around him and his humorous sayings and habits are memorable to many. Gym staff will recall Bahta’s frugality and how he would frequently buy new towels or equipment and “hide” them in nooks, doling them out only when absolutely necessary. Says Steve Scholz, Associate Director of Athletics at TWU, “Bahta was a good steward of the Department’s resources, he was never wasteful. But what set him apart and made him so unforgettable was his humble attitude and his care and concern for others.”
Though he left in 1999 to go on long term disability, Bahta continued to be fondly remembered by all who knew him. He officially retired on November 22, 2001.
A passion for students is what set Bahta apart. As a Gym Supervisor he performed his work we, however, it was his little chats with students and staff, the relationships he formed throught daily or weekly contact with these people, that made Bahta Melles exceptional and worthy of recognition as a “builder” and a special contributor in the TWU’s Spartan Hall of Fame.
Thank-you Bahta, for impacting student lives in a very special way and for being a significant contributor to Spartan Athletics history.
Bob Lee – “He was the beacon of the gym. When you thought of the gym, you thought of Bahta.”
