Board of Directors

OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO THE NEXT GENERATION

ONE OF MY FRIENDS AND MENTORS told me early on when I was a student leader that “The true mark of a leader is how well they develop those around them.” This has stuck with me throughout my college years and well into my professional career. Along the way I have learned a lot about what leadership means, but I have always anchored on this point.

In the past I’ve written about the example that we set—our role as influencers, people developers and setters of vision. As president of the Auburn Alumni Association, I have encountered many unique leaders during my visits to campus. These leaders have their own style and leave their own mark, but at the core of what they do is a heart for people, and for Auburn.

I look back on the legacies our past alumni association presidents have left, and the legacy current president Dr. Jay Gogue will leave when his tenure as president of our great university is over.

All represented forward progress, stability, collaboration and a knack for getting things done.

As I reflect on this past year, it has been one for unconventional leadership, one that has forced us to adapt how we execute. With it has come new ways of working, innovation and relationship building that require us to be even more intentional. But even with all this change is the promise of leaving the people and organizations we touch a little better than they were when we started. Better developed, and positioned, for the next challenge and opportunity.