Leaving the house at 5:30 AM this morning reminded me of my earlier working years in St. Louis. Back in the day when I worked in downtown St. Louis, or even in St. Louis County in Maryland Heights, Missouri, I would leave the house that early each day to avoid rush hour traffic. Today, I did it to join 500 of my closest friends for breakfast at Little America Hotel and Resort in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
It was a privilege for me to be a judge when the Boys and Girls Club of Cheyenne were selecting the Youth of the Year. The panel of judges chose Tommy Valencia as our local winner. Tommy went on to win at the state level as well. He will now go on to the regional competition in Dallas, Texas later this summer. It was amazing to see how much his presentation skills had improved since the original competition. That young man has a bright future.
The Keynote speaker, Gian Paul Gonzalez, was quite inspirational in his message. He has quite a story and I was blessed to hear it. One line I wrote down for future reference is this: "Fame is what we do for ourselves. Greatness is what we do for others."
The Keynote speaker, Gian Paul Gonzalez, was quite inspirational in his message. He has quite a story and I was blessed to hear it. One line I wrote down for future reference is this: "Fame is what we do for ourselves. Greatness is what we do for others."
No one touched my heart this morning like Mr. Justin Pendleton, Chief Executive Officer for Boys and Girls Club of Cheyenne. This man truly understands the sacred dignity and value of each human being in our midst. "There aren't bad kids. There are bad circumstances." Justin, thank you for your service to the community. I am beyond fortunate each time I get to partner with you on an endeavor to enhance our community. Your inspirational leadership and your kindness is a blessing to us all.
Finally, I had some fun hanging out with a couple of basketball players from the University of Wyoming. It was nice being eye-to-eye with some folks for a change. Take note--I was not the tallest person in the room this time.
It was great to be in attendance at an energized event, even if it did have to start at 6:30 A.M. The nearly 500 people in attendance for this fundraiser demonstrated the wonderful attributes of the Cheyenne community. Don't let the negativity of the evening news wear you down. There is a lot of good still happening in our society. Mr. Justin Pendleton and the staff of Boys and Girls Club of Cheyenne demonstrated that in a big way today. Congratulations on a fantastic event!
It was great to be in attendance at an energized event, even if it did have to start at 6:30 A.M. The nearly 500 people in attendance for this fundraiser demonstrated the wonderful attributes of the Cheyenne community. Don't let the negativity of the evening news wear you down. There is a lot of good still happening in our society. Mr. Justin Pendleton and the staff of Boys and Girls Club of Cheyenne demonstrated that in a big way today. Congratulations on a fantastic event!
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