Executive Housekeeping Today - July 2008 - (Page 7)

homeless. Many of the guests of the center were in the audience; and these individuals had lost their jobs, careers, and even their families. I remember Lou telling us about the things that he was checking off on his list of things to do in his life. I am sure that as he nears item one hundred on his list, he will generate another. True leaders create lists of opportunity and one of Lou’s gifts is to encourage each one of us to look beyond the possible to the impossible and to generate a list of opportunities for ourselves in the future. It probably is time for this person to give up. He has done it all. He is a world statesman, a person that has reached the pinnacle of power, but he doesn’t give up. Last year, this individual was 83 years of age, had hip replacement surgery, but that didn’t keep him from skydiving. Former President George H.W. Bush parachuted, so he could attend the reopening of his presidential museum. True, he did not do it alone. As the article on CNN stated, “It was his sixth and the first since he celebrated his 80th birthday, with a jump in 2004. As in that one, Bush was strapped to an expert from the Army Golden Knights parachute team.” (http://www.cnn.com/2007/ US/11/11/bush.skydive.ap/index. html) Former President Bush could have given up, but he didn’t no matter what his age—80 or 84—he jumped! Former President Bush became the first president to skydive! As Joe Jennings (skydiving cinematographer) stated, “I took rear float on exit. The door was jammed with the jumpmasters— Tom, me, Kasey Kassens, Chris Needles, BJ Worth, and our student. I could hear no countdown, but saw his solid up down go and we were gone, George Bush, tall guy that he is, bumping his head on exit. His body position was stiff initially. Perhaps the bump shook him a bit, but he got things under control pretty quickly. I swung around front view to see him smiling. And he performed a very nice level 1 AFF jump, practicing rip cord pulls, smiling for the slew of cameras staring back at him, and communicating nicely with his jumpmasters. He was exceptionally air aware, most likely because of his experience as a combat pilot. And he pulled his ripcord for a nice snappy opening.” (http://www. joejennings.com/Bush1.htm) A former aviator and former president became a skydiver! In order to achieve this, he had to take a risk! He created the door, he knocked at the door, he went through the door (he actually jumped out the door), and he took a risk. At times, to achieve things on our life’s list, we have to take a risk. Faye took a risk, she started to paint, she didn’t give up. A young Irish lad could have wilted at the hands of the bureaucracy in the immigration offices, but he didn’t because of a vision of a higher education in the land called the United States of America. Former President Bush could have marked off his list that he had done it all (by being a world leader), however, he had another wish—to skydive. Our jobs and lives present us challenges each and every day; however, our ability to have a vision and to live out that vision is largely in your hands and mine. Today, let us grab hold of the anonymous admonition “If opportunity doesn’t knock then build a door!” Who knows? Tomorrow you might jump out of an airplane (with a parachute of course) or become a leader at your institution or even for your country! W © Copyright 2008. Alan S. Bigger and Linda B. Bigger. Alan Bigger, R.E.H., is the Director of Facilities at Earlham College in Richmond, IN, and President of APPA. Linda Bigger is a freelance editor. E-mail them at frugalperson@comcast.net. July 2008/Executive Housekeeping Today 7 http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/11/11/bush.skydive.ap/index.html http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/11/11/bush.skydive.ap/index.html http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/11/11/bush.skydive.ap/index.html http://www.joejennings.com/Bush1.htm http://www.joejennings.com/Bush1.htm

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Executive Housekeeping Today - July 2008

Executive Housekeeping Today - July 2008 Contents Executive Corner Inspecting a Different Way Quality in the 21st Century Frugal Housekeeper How Eliminating Nuisance Animals Can Increase Quality Healthcare Goes Green Feature Article IHW Product Information The Green Scene 2008 Call to Convention 2008 Convention Information Inside the Industry Product Highlights New Members Joint IEHA/ISSA Members CEH/REH Members Advertisers' Index Calendar of Events Inside I.E.H.A. What I.E.H.A. Has Done for Me

Executive Housekeeping Today - July 2008

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