Archive for the ‘kalamazoo’ Category

At a time when more attention is paid to sports figures who are in trouble, we are reminded of some of the good guys, who exemplify the best in sportsmanship and leadership. Derek Jeter is such a person.

A home-town hero. I admit that Mr. Jeter was raised in the neighborhood of my adopted community of Kalamazoo Michigan. So I may be a little biased. The stories about him and his family (I worked with his mother and had occasional contact with her in a past corporate-life world) have always been surrounded in home-town values and the importance of close ties.

A positive role model. Beyond the status of hero in Kalamazoo, we benefit from his generosity and modelling “giving back”. His Turn 2 foundation supports our local youth with a program called Jeter’s Leaders, a youth leadership and social change program. Mr. Jeter occasionally visits Kalamazoo, making sure to spend some time with the children in the program and to visit students at his high school alma mater, Kalamazoo Central High School.

An example of humility. On Tuesday Derek Jeter broke Lou Gehrig’s record for hits at Yankee stadium. An Associated Press report of the record he broke indicated that the sellout crowd of 52,558 applauded him when he landed on first base, and kept on applauding. After about a minute, Mr. Jeter took off his helmet and waved it, and later said “I’m always a little uncomfortable in those situations.”

Manager Joe Girardi said that Jeter embodies what people want to see in a player: a guy who goes about his business, staying out of the headlines, does a lot of great things, is important to the community, and gives back all the time. Here’s to more sports icons who exemplify leadership at its best!

A new book entitled “Community Capitalism” by Ron Kitchens details the effects of community leadership pulling together to ignore the effects of globalization that have plagued many communities.

This book is about my community of Kalamazoo, Michigan. It is about making possibility real. I couldn’t be prouder of the place and the people who have made it such a wonderful place to live.