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Victor and Betty Blanco Farewell (1Jun93)
(from CTIO, NOAO Newsletter No. 34, 1 June 1993)

Tonight we are gathered together to celebrate and thank Victor and Betty Blanco
for their achievements and their contributions to this observatory and our
lives. In one way or another, they have touched all of us. Rarely in the life
of an organization can one attribute the success over such a long time to one
individual as CTIO can to Victor.

We feel sadness and a sense of loss because we will no longer have Victor and
Betty among us. However, we also feel tremendous pride and fulfillment from
our all having been participants in the work that constituted the greater part
of their lives.

Victor arrived at CTIO in July 1967 from the Naval Observatory.  Most of the
present recinto had not yet been bought. It did not extend down to Cisternas,
nor up to the top of the present compound. Most of these buildings which
surround us here did not exist; only the front part of the scientific office
building. On Tololo the peak had been flattened so it could receive telescopes,
but the only operating telescope was the 0.9-m. The 1.5-m telescope was under
construction.

The observatory had a small staff. Oscar Sa and Enrique Figueroa had not yet
arrived at CTIO. And, some of the current, younger employees had not even been
born yet! However, already in La Serena on the staff were people such as Teo
Ponce, Juan Cerezo, Jorge Briones, Manuel Miranda, Sergio Pizarro, Juanita
Munoz, Anibal Miranda, Juan Cortes, Ricardo Gonzales and others. Thus, Victor
took a fledgling organization and, more than any other person, turned CTIO into
one of the premier research observatories in the world.

Victor's secret of success at Tololo was based on two elements: people and
equipment. For people, Victor found such capable and loyal staff members as
Oscar Saa and Enrique Figueroa. Most important, he found Betty and immediately
granted her matrimonial tenure.

The change that Betty brought to Victor's life was dramatic. Those who have
known Victor both before and after Betty's arrival have told me that Victor
became a totally different person with her by his side. Suddenly, his life was
filled with sparkle! His scientific productivity went up, and they developed
a very successful scientific collaboration. Victor found a new value in human
relationships. Everyone agrees that he became a new person after he met and
married Betty.

It is difficult to pinpoint the importance of Victor to CTIO because his value
goes far beyond the achievements that one can quantify. Yes, one can point to
the 4-m telescope, and to a present staff of 145 people. But, how does one
quantify inspiration? How does one quantify vision? And wisdom? Victor
displayed all of these characteristics over a long period of time, during which
he built up a superb organization and infrastructure. The culmination was
the construction of the 4-m telescope. It was such a telling achievement that
none of the Directors that have followed Victor have been able to improve on
Victor's success: the 4-m telescope is still our largest telescope.

Of all the accomplishments of Victor, and there are many, if I had to single
out what I believe to be his most important, it is that he instilled the
spirit of teamwork within the staff. Tololo is famous the world over for having
unity throughout the organization. Unlike most other organizations, CTIO
is truly one unit, working together, where everyone supports the efforts of the
others. The Divisions do not struggle with each other for power. It was
Victor's leadership and character which first molded this tradition. The team
spirit still permeates CTIO to this day. This feature has made it easier for
Pat Osmer and me, Victor's successors, to serve the observatory. I personally
owe a great debt to Victor for having created the unique spirit of Tololo,
since this has been a source of much of my happiness in working here.

Of course, as important as an individual like Victor is, he alone cannot create
success in the observatory.  The workers must do that. Victor directed the
music, but all of you have played the notes. On this occasion, therefore, I
would like to salute the workers of Tololo----in Telops, Contabilidad, ETS,
Operations, and Scientific Staff. All of you have made this observatory great!
Please accept our thanks--the thanks of all the Directors who have served CTIO.

As we now end the era of the Blancos, we can look back with satisfaction.
Victor and Betty must feel tremendous fulfillment in seeing all around them
what they have helped to create. The rest of us are fortunate since we get to
stay here and enjoy what they have worked to bring about. We look forward
to their returning to visit us in the future. But, for the time being they
will now go to the United States to fill their lives with activities which
they enjoy: bicycling, woodwork, cats, opera, good food and wine, and looking
for the Green Flash a la puesta del sol.

Victor and Betty, when you do see the Green Flash in Florida, do remember
Tololo and remember us.  For certain, we will remember both of you forever.
Thanks so much for all that you have done for this observatory!

Bob Williams

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