Terrace Talk

Notes for July

Sunshine, Sparkle, and Second Helpings

“Ah, July—when the sun shines brighter, the lemonade tastes sweeter, and our calendars fill up with family visits, cookouts, and patriotic parades. It’s the month when we celebrate independence with fireworks and maybe a little extra independence from our diets (yes, we saw you go back for that second helping of potato salad—no judgment).

For many of us, July brings warm memories of long summer evenings, fireflies in the yard, and maybe even the hum of an old fan working overtime. Whether you’re staying in the cool indoors or braving the heat for a stroll, take time to savor the season.”

SPECIAL NOTE: I confess, I did not write this. Just for fun, I asked Chat GPT (a free app) for a short article on July for senior citizens. This came back within a second (seriously), and I am amazed and appalled. Just thought you might want to see an example of A.I. at work.

-Karen Waitz

I Remember Group

I Might Have Learned All I Needed to Learn About Leadership in a Study of Exodus in Sunday School.

By Foster Watkins, Ed. D, Professor Emeritus, Gainesville State College

After I retired from a 55-year-plus career as a professor of Industrial Engineering and Educational Leadership, I became more of a student of the Bible. I participated in a small Sunday school class and started seeing the Exodus story in a new light. Combining the values of leadership which I had formulated and taught, I came up with this correlation:

Personal Selection is Important (Moses by God and by the tribal leaders)

Mentoring is Important (God as the Grand Mentor of Moses; Moses as Mentor of Aaron; Aaron mentoring the Tribal Leaders)

Negotiating Skills are Important (Moses “negotiates” with God on behalf of the people)

Importance of Self-Assessment (Moses’ understanding of his own strengths and weaknesses)

Acceptance of Developmental Feedback (The suggestion that Moses might reach out for assistance)

The Formation of the First Leadership Team (Moses and Aaron)

The Initial Bureaucratic Steps (Levels of sub-leadership based on the size of the tribes)

Importance of Communicating clearly ( Constant struggle to keep the masses informed)

Importance of Understanding and Following the Laws/Rules (Consequences of not doing so)

Short-term Memory of the Masses (Repeatedly forgot past blessings and oversight from above)

Importance of Personal and Collective Accountability (Move from dependency to personal accountability)

Importance of Cultural and Racial Understandings (Importance of diversity and accepting differences)

Importance of Being Goal-Oriented (Know where we are going and why as opposed to wandering in the desert)

The Early Importance of Location, Location, Location (Water, fertile land, etc.)

The Importance of Meeting Basic Needs (Food, Water, Shelter, etc.)

Importance of Persistence (Staying the course)

It is my belief that we must take a supportive/family-like approach in our lives, inside and outside the organizational world. That approach must be based on accepting personal responsibility and accountability for our actions, being well aware that such personal power may become a blessing or a curse depending upon our use of it.

-Foster Watkins