The Builder

“I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we, too, will be remembered not for victories or defeats in battle or politics, but for our contribution to the human spirit.”

~John F. Kennedy

I recently was afforded the opportunity to spend another week in Athens, Georgia for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Organizational Management program. This was my third year to attend of my four year certification.

While attending Institute, I am able to interact and learn from respected practitioners, consultants, facilitators and peers who are Chamber of Commerce and Association Executives from all over the country. This year there were even a few international participants that attended.

This program is great for those of us in the Chamber of Commerce profession and for those in community and economic development. It is amazing to be able to share Jones County’s story with people all over the country and to be able to learn about their communities, gather ideas and discover ways to add value to the things we offer here at home.

In addition to the very practical application of knowledge I learn while I am at Institute. It is also very rewarding to develop a deeper relationship with friends and colleagues who are as passionate about their community as I am about Jones County.

Whether you are in the business of Economic Development, Community Development, Chamber of Commerce, Main Street or a host of other organizations; when you are helping to create jobs and grow the community for the better, the people leading these efforts are very motivated by the work they do and they are very passionate about the differences they make. The ups and downs, the wins and losses and the successes we enjoy as a community affect us all greatly on a personal level. It is something very special to be surrounded by these like minded people.

One of my favorite moments of Institute each year is graduation night. During the graduation ceremony the fourth year elects two members to recap their experiences and leave a charge to the following classes. This year’s charge was as special as the years before. One selection in particular has stuck with me and the words spoken keep coming back in my mind again and again.

In his monologue, Randy Vivian, the President and CEO of the Victoria Chamber of Commerce in Victoria, Texas shared a passionate poem from memory. Without a single note and very few dry eyes in the crowd, Randy reminded us of our charge as professionals to be builders, not destroyers. As leaders of the community we are charged with laying the foundations so that others may realize their dreams. It is through the work we do today that builds a path so that future generations can realize the success needed to carry our legacy forward. You are a part of that legacy. You are a part of that leadership.

Each of us has a decision to make about our role in the community. I want to leave you with the poem Randy inspired us with, but as you read the words; I encourage you to make a choice. Which person will you be? Will you help to lay the foundation for others, or will you tear down what has been created? One way leads toward the path of success for our community, the other does not.

Today is a great day in Jones County. It is the best day for us to all start working toward a common goal and a bright future for the next chapter in our history. Won’t you join us and help lay a foundation (or two)? I am sure that if you do, your reward will be great and our community will be much better off because you did.

THE BUILDER

“I saw them tearing a building down
A team of men in my hometown. With a heave and a ho and a yes yes yell, they swung a beam and a sidewall fell.
‘Like the ones you'd use if you had to build?’
And he laughed and said, ‘Oh no, indeed...
the most common labor is all I need...
what takes a builder ten years to do.’
Which one of these roles am I willing to play?
Am I one who is tearing down as I carelessly make my way around?
Or am I one who builds with care, in order to make the world a
little better... because I was there?”

And I said to the foreman, ‘Are these men skilled?’

for I can destroy in a day or two

So I thought to myself as I went on my way...

---* This article was originally printed in the Sunday, July 7, 2013 issue of The Chronicle's "Planting Seeds" column.

It Pays To Pluck Chickens

A friend of mine recently sent me a story I’d like to share with you.

“Jesse was a chicken plucker. That's right. He stood on a line in a chicken factory and spent his days pulling the feathers off chickens so the rest of us wouldn't have to.

 It wasn't much of a job. But at the time, Jesse didn't think he was much of a person.

His father was a brute of a man. His dad was actually thought to be mentally ill and treated Jesse pretty rough all of his life. Jesse's older brother wasn't much better. He was always picking on Jesse and beating him up. Yes, Jesse grew up in a very rough home in West Virginia.  Life was anything but easy.

And he thought life didn't hold much hope for him. That's why he was standing in the chicken line, doing a job that darn few people wanted.

In addition to all the rough treatment at home, it seems that Jesse was always sick. Sometimes it was real physical illness, but way too often it was all in his head. He was a small child, skinny and meek.

That sure didn't help the situation any. When he started to school, he was the object of every bully on the playground. He was a hypochondriac of the first order. For Jesse, tomorrow was not always something he looked forward to.

When he got old enough, he joined the military. And even though many of his hypochondriac symptoms persisted, the military did recognize his talents and put him in the entertainment corp. That was when his world changed. He gained confidence.

When he got old enough, he joined the military. And even though many of his hypochondriac symptoms persisted, the military did recognize his talents and put him in the entertainment corp. That was when his world changed. He gained confidence.

You know, folks, the history books are full of people who overcame a handicap to go on and make a success of themselves, but Jesse is one of the few I know of who didn't overcome it.  Instead he used his paranoia to make a million dollars and become one of the best-loved characters of all time in doing it!

Yes, that little paranoid hypochondriac, who transferred his nervousness into a successful career, still holds the record for the most Emmy's given in a single category. 

You know, folks, the history books are full of people who overcame a handicap to go on and make a success of themselves, but Jesse is one of the few I know of who didn't overcome it.  Instead he used his paranoia to make a million dollars and become one of the best-loved characters of all time in doing it!

Yes, that little paranoid hypochondriac, who transferred his nervousness into a successful career, still holds the record for the most Emmy's given in a single category. 

Yes, that little paranoid hypochondriac, who transferred his nervousness into a successful career, still holds the record for the most Emmy's given in a single category.

But, he had dreams. He wanted to be a ventriloquist. He found books on ventriloquism. He practiced with sock puppets and saved his hard earned dollars until he could get a real ventriloquist dummy.

He found that he had a talent for making people laugh, and laugh so hard they often had tears in their eyes. Yes, little Jesse had found himself.

The wonderful, gifted, talented, and nervous comedian who brought us Barney Fife was…

 Jesse Don Knotts”

How many truly talented people do we have in our community standing in chicken lines? Sweeping our floors? Bagging our groceries or answering our phones? Do you know what their dreams are? Do you know what they are afraid of? Is there someone you can think of right now that you could ask today “how can I help you”?

Who knows, you may be the link that lights a fire under Jones County’s next shining star. Take the time to get to know the people around you and those you interact with every day. 

When you invest in others, you will only be blessed with so much more and our community will be better because of it!

Words of Wisdom

“When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.”

~Mark Twain

Happy Father’s Day! I hope you are having a great day enjoying friends, family and the fathers in your life. If you are fortunate enough to still have your father in your life, make sure you tell them just how important they are to you.

Father’s Day and Mother’s Day, Grandparent’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Boss’ Day and the like are always difficult days for me. They are supposed to be the one day of the year when you remember to tell that special person just how important they are to you.

Well… I just wasn’t raised that way. I was taught you tell the ones you love just how much they mean to you as often as you can because we never know how long we have to share together.

This has been a great philosophy for me and served me well over the years as I have lost friends and loved ones along the way. I hope my love and respect for my friends and family never goes unspoken.

As I have been preparing for this Father’s Day I have thought a lot about my dad. I know I write a lot about my family but it is because we have always been so close. Even now I speak with my parents almost daily. They always know what is going on with Ethan and they usually know what Rebekah and I are up to. I still use them for sounding boards of ideas of things I am thinking of pursuing and I am always looking to them for advice; especially from my dad.

I think daddy really likes giving advice, although he never just comes out and says what is on his mind. Some of my favorites he has given me over the years are: “Bad company corrupts good morals”, “Lay down with the dogs and you wake up with fleas”, “Nothing good happens after midnight” – (and for my family members who will read this story online, you don’t need to comment on that story), “You can’t soar with the eagles if you stay out with the owls”, “Keep it between the ditches” and many, many more.

My favorite advice I’ve gotten from my dad was the day we had “The Talk”. We were riding back to town from our cabin across the levee on the river. He said, “I want to talk to you about something” – as he sometimes did. I said, “Okay”. He turned the radio down and said, “Son, keep your pencil in your pocket.” There was a moment of silence. Then he said, “You understand?” I said “Yes sir” he turned up the radio and we never spoke about it again. – Of course now we laugh about it all the time.

Fathers are good for giving advice, they are good for teaching life lessons and they are good for helping us grow to better ourselves and those around us. As I am preparing to raise two little boys in the coming weeks (Noah is expected to arrive in July), I read a lot of articles and blogs online to help me be a better father and raise our children the way Rebekah and I were raised. I heard this great story the other day. I hope it helps you too.

There once was a little boy who had a short temper. His father decided to teach him a lesson by giving him a bag of nails and telling him that every time he lost his temper he was required to hammer one nail into the backyard fence.

Over the next several weeks the little boy had driven in 47 nails! As the weeks progressed he was driving in fewer and fewer nails as he learned to control his temper.

Eventually the boy had learned how to control his temper most of the time. His father was proud and suggested that he pull out one nail for every day that he had completely controlled his temper.

Many days had passed when the boy went to tell his father that all of the nails were gone.

The wise father took his son by the hand and they walked to the fence. He said, “Great job son, you have done really well, and I am very proud of you! But I want you to notice the holes. This fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, you leave a scar just like you have left in this fence.”

From that day forward the boy was determined never to lose his temper again.

Great fathers know how to allow us to learn without having to spell out everything we need to hear. Just like the lesson this little boy learned from his father, I have learned many lessons from my father. I am still learning from him.

I sincerely hope that you have a father or a father figure in your life who constantly challenges you, loves you and teaches you. If you are the result of having a father teach you to be a better person, repay the favor. Teach your children, teach the kids in your neighborhood, teach the kids in your church and in your community. Let’s be a community of positive role models who build each other up and grow the next generation better. I am sure that if you take the time to invest in others, our whole community will be better because of it! I know it will!

Love you pop!

---* This article was originally printed in the Sunday, June 16, 2013 issue of The Chronicle's "Planting Seeds" column.

Our Members Are Good For Nothing

Wait, wait, wait… before you pick up the phone to call or start to fire off a nasty email, hear me out.

I was in church… that’s right, I said church… when my pastor, Mike, shared this nugget of wisdom with me. Mike was talking about how he, as the pastor, gets paid to be good (figuratively) and we as the congregation have to be good for free, with no compensation. Hence, our members are good for nothing!

Now I realize, and I hope you do too, that Mike was just joking. He does not think that just because he gets paid to be the pastor that it means he is any better than anyone else or that he is any less a sinner than any of the rest of us. (Sorry Mike). But this story is not about Mike. This story is about you, our Chamber members.

The reason why his statement resonated with me so much is because the same could be said of you our members and of our community. I guess you could say that I as the Chamber Director get paid to be good and am paid to be the cheerleader of the community. But you, however, don’t necessarily have to be good. But you are. And you are in such a way that the effects of your good behavior, your generosity, your hospitality and your love of this place called Jones County is seen and witnessed all throughout the state and throughout the southeast.

I can’t tell you what a joy it is for me as I travel to different parts of our state or to our region of the Southeastern part of the country and hear people exclaim, “Oh, you’re from Laurel? I love Laurel. You have a great museum!” Or to hear them talk about our quaint downtowns, Landrum’s Country, Boga Homa Lake, watching their kids play baseball at the Sportsplex, swim at the Natatorium, play a round of golf on “one of the toughest courses” they have ever played, or they have enjoyed some of our beautiful parks during family gatherings or other events.

In addition to having been to Laurel, many either are from Jones County, lived in Jones County, know someone in Jones County or have known someone from here. There used to be a popular theory called six degrees of separation in which it was stated “that everyone and everything is six or fewer steps away, by way of introduction, from any other person in the world, so that a chain of ‘a friend of a friend’ statements can be made to connect any two people in a maximum of six steps.” Of course in the South, and more specifically in the case of Mississippi, I think we can change that theory to “two steps away from ya’ mamma and them”.

But my initial statement stands true; it’s because of you and your love for this place we call home, that people know about Jones County. We don’t say it enough to each other, but THANK YOU. Thank you for promoting our community. People are hearing about all the good things taking place in Jones County. People are interested and people want to come see what we have to offer. It’s because of you.

So I would like to leave you with this final charge. Keep doing what you are doing. Keep telling people about our local restaurants. Keep telling them about our new and unique shopping opportunities. Keep telling them about our cultural attractions and the historical significance Jones County has played in the development of our state. Tell them about our robust and thriving economy. Tell them about our schools. Tell them about our events.

But, don’t just tell them… invite them to join in the fun! Together, if we continue to share our message, others will come to experience our hospitality and how great Jones County is. They will come and they will love it too. Then they will help us share our story with others and our community will be even better because of it! We have a lot of great things happening in Jones County, but I know the best is yet to come!

PS – Now if you want to call me out on my title, go ahead.  – I deserve it.

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

"Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest, Sun, moon and stars in their courses above, join with all nature in manifold witness to Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Morning by morning new mercies I see; all I have needed Thy hand hath provided, great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!”

~Thomas O. Chisholm 

This past Monday I had the bittersweet pleasure of returning home to the Mississippi Delta. It was bittersweet because we laid my great aunt, Amelia Turpin Beckham, to rest. She was the last of my grandmother's four siblings to pass. She lived to be 100 years old, born in Shaw, MS in 1913. She, along with my grandmother's other siblings taught our family about faith, family, love, togetherness and what to do in times of uncertainty; turn to God and turn to your family; everything else will come out in the wash. Amelia is survived by her two children, seven grandchildren, seventeen great grandchildren and six great great grandchildren.

As sad as the occasion was to return, I love going to the Delta. I know it sounds strange to most, but to me, the Mississippi Delta is home. Just as people from all over Mississippi love the Gulf Coast, Pinebelt or other parts of our beautiful state, I love the endless rows of cotton and beans, the heat, the smells and the "flatlands". My mother is a fanatic for red clay dirt, rolling hills and pine needless from when she grew up in Quitman on the boarders of Clarke County. (She is a Shirley, if you’re wondering.)

Instilled in him from his mother, daddy taught us to understand family is not simply belonging to a group of people; it is belonging to a place. From the time I was a little boy my daddy always taught me about HIS home, the Delta. When we would take trips out of town whether near or far, he would always build the excitement for when we returned home. Even now when I return to the Delta, when I hit the bridge over the Yazoo River just north of Yazoo City or come around the last hill from highway 82 just outside of Greenwood, when I see that flat dirt and miles and miles of fields, I know that I am home. My emotions get a mix of the excitement of Christmas morning, family gatherings and holding on to a loved one that you haven’t seen in a long, long time.

As I drove through the small Delta towns I have known all my life and relived many of the experiences of my childhood, I thought a lot about how things have changed in the few years that I have been away. Mississippi, and the Delta, is a very unique place. For all the change and progress we have made, we have also remained magically the same. There is a romance to a place like Mississippi that you don’t find anywhere else. We’ve held on to who we are, we cherish our foundation, we cherish our memories, we love our families, we love our churches, we lift up our heroes – both big name and small town, we nurture our children and we leave lasting legacies.

It was very interesting and gratifying that in my great aunt’s eulogy the minister said that if he had one word to use to describe Mrs. Amelia, it would be faithfulness. She was faithful to her God. She was faithful to her family and she was faithful to her friends. Aunt Amelia saw many things change in the course of 100 years but the thing that remained the same was that she was faithful to her values and faithful to her family, friends and community.

As I look at my own life and the two boys Rebekah and I will soon be raising to be gentlemen and valuable members of society, I have to take a long look at what am I faithful to? What is my legacy? What things am I purposefully teaching them? What am I teaching them that I don’t know I am teaching them? Will they love their family the way I love mine? Will they love their church? Will they love their community? Will they take after their grandmother (Gin Gin) and love the red clay dirt, rolling hills and pine needles?  I have to make a conscious decision to be faithful to them in what I teach them and demonstrate to them so that they will get the most out of life. I want them to get the most out of their experiences, their friendships and their community.

What about you? If you were to make it to 100 years, what will be said at your eulogy? What is your legacy? Is faithful the word that would be used to describe you? I hope so. I hope that it will be said of each of you reading this article that you were great men and women of faith, devoted to your church, devoted to your family, devoted to your community and devoted to the betterment of your fellow man.

Just as the farmers in the Delta plant seeds and then remain diligently faithful to them to nurture them and see that those plants grow to their full potential so that another will get the full benefit from all the crop yields, I hope you too are planting seeds of faithfulness in our community and being diligent in the nurture of others. I know that if you are, our community will see bumper crop yields time and time again.

---* This article was originally printed in the Sunday, May 26, 2013 issue of The Chronicle's "Planting Seeds" column.

(I Don’t Need) Nun of Your Complaining

Sister Mary Katherine entered the Monastery of Silence. The Priest said, “Sister, this is a silent monastery. You are welcome here as long as you like, but you may not speak until directed to do so.”

Sister Mary Katherine lived in the monastery for 5 years before the Priest said to her, “Sister Mary Katherine, you have been here for 5 years. You may speak two words.” Sister Mary Katherine said, “Hard bed.” “I'm sorry to hear that,” the Priest said, “we will get you a better bed.”

After another 5 years, Sister Mary Katherine was summoned by the Priest. “You may say another two words, Sister Mary Katherine.” “Cold food,” said Sister Mary Katherine, and the Priest assured her that the food would be better in the future.

On her 15th anniversary at the monastery, the Priest again called Sister Mary Katherine in to his office.
“You may say two words today.” “I quit,” said Sister Mary Katherine.

“It's probably best,” said the Priest, “You've done nothing but gripe and complain ever since you got here.”

Do you ever feel like Sister Mary Katherine? You’ve got your nose to the grind doing everything you are told to do, you don’t rock the boat and when given the chance to make improvements in your performance you tell management a couple of “tweaks” to make conditions more favorable.

What about if you have a Sister Mary Katherine working for you? Every time you see THAT person and ask them “how’s it going” they take it as an easy opportunity to unload on you about how you could make things so much better for them. Aren’t they just being selfish?

Whether you are a manager or an employee, the big boss or just a peon, dealing with people, personalities and work environments is tough. Take a moment and look at it from the other side. THAT person may not be trying to make the situation about them, but may genuinely be looking to improve productivity in the work place. And, if you are the one offering the suggestions, make sure you are pointing out the good along with the bad.

If you are still having trouble “Dealing with Difficult Employees”, put September 18^th on your calendar for a Chamber seminar by Glenn Shepard who will help you identify and implement ways of communicating better with your employees and teams!

#ReThink Mississippi

"The ultimate measure of a (leader) is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." 

~Martin Luther King Jr.

The difference between successful people and those who aren't often boils down to pure persistence. It’s the desire to not give up that makes good leaders ultimately successful at accomplishing their intended goals. Great leaders carry on, even in the face of adversity and critics.

Mississippi has a lot of critics, many who are not fans of this great “land mass”. As I am writing this, we just concluded our inaugural summit of the newly formed Mississippi Young Professionals. This is a state-wide association of professionals from all fields throughout the state of Mississippi. We had an amazing turnout at the summit. Over 300 people under the age of forty showed up to listen, learn and be involved.

YPs care about our state and are concerned about its future. The mission of MSYP is to help stop the brain drain that is leaving our state as we promote its unique assets and quality of life, as well as ample opportunities for growth, so that we can retain our best and brightest talent.

Mississippi needs us and we need you. It’s time that we stand up for our state. It’s time for us to tell our story and stop allowing others to write it for us. We need leaders who are willing to be committed to doing what is right and putting in the work to help us keep our talent at home. You don’t have to hold and office, own a business or be a public speaker. Each of us can be a marketer of Mississippi telling one story at a time.

Here is a story that I particularly like sharing with my leadership program participants. As they are growing and transforming in to leaders and developing their skills, they need to be reminded of how struggles build character and help develop better leaders – don’t we all need to be reminded that lesson. This particular story also says a lot about what it means to be a Mississippian.

Two frogs were playing in the swamp one day and decided to go exploring. They hopped off in the direction of an old farm where there were lots of fun things to explore. They came across a pail of milk and immediately jumped in it for a swim. However, they soon found themselves in danger as they tried to climb out. The sides of the pail turned out to be steeper and slicker than they had anticipated.

Both frogs continued to struggle to get out - kicking, squirming and swimming the best they could. Finally one frog just quit saying "this is way too hard, it is hopeless, I quit." Eventually that frog disappeared under the milk never to rise to the surface again. The other frog wasn't going to quit so easily and continued to kick, squirm and swim the best a frog could in that situation. Finally when the frog decided to stop he noticed that he wasn't sinking. With all of his churning, the milk had been turned into a big hunk of butter! As a result he simply climbed out of the pail.

You can never quit. You can never give up on your vision and you can't give up on those you lead. As Mississippians, we are already starting in that pail. The perceptions of our past and of our people have put us at a slanted disadvantage. We may not have it all figured out, but we have to keep kicking, keep squirming and keep swimming until we get out of that pail.

Mississippi is at the bottom of a lot of lists (and a lot of pails) but the pride for our state is growing. Industry is taking notice of Mississippi. Healthcare professionals are noticing Mississippi. Our creative economy is growing through movies, books, artists and world class entertainers. Stories of hope during times of tragedy and disaster continue to help people realize the grace of a place like Mississippi. The world is watching Mississippi. Now is the time to tell our story and let us tell others why we call Mississippi home.

You can help. You can be our cheerleaders and it’s probably a lot simpler than you think. Craft your own story of why Mississippi is so great and tell everyone you know about why living in Mississippi and living in Jones County is better than living anywhere else in the world! We can do it. We can change the perception of Mississippi, but it can’t be done without you sharing your message.

http://www.msyoungprof.org

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* This article was originally printed in the Sunday, April 28, 2013 issue
 of The Chronicle's "Planting Seeds" column.