“My dad was always a huge influence on me. He always used to tell us that it doesn’t matter what you do in life but just make sure you love doing it because if you love doing it, you’ll do well. He encouraged us to do anything. My parents did not care if I was a janitor or a doctor; they really did not care. Most parents have their ego wrapped up in the kids and so they do care about what their kids do. We really grew up in this environment, in this home, where there was not this expectation.”

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“I don’t think everybody completely understands what we’re doing on the Campus. I think in general most people when they are honest, and having a one-on-one conversation will talk about how drugs impact their family because most families are not unscathed by this. So, when you’re in one-on-one conversations, people are honest, and they talk about the impact that they’ve seen and they are grateful for treatment in the community. I think that most people don’t understand how prevalent this is and I think that we often sort of stigmatize the people that we’re helping.”

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“Over the last 21 years of my professional career, I have had the opportunity to live all over the country. Each one of these places have a unique culture that is special to our country and highlights our rich heritage and diversity. Community is not defined by a city limit sign, for me it is the place where we live, work, and play. A place where many people share common interests and goals. Being from a small town, I appreciate living in a community like Decatur where it feels like you know so many people and can count on them to help when needed.”

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“Push yourself out of your comfort zone. People are creatures of habit and will do what is easy and comfortable. This comfort can lead you to look at challenges and opportunity in the same light, time and time again. Moving away from what you know, welcoming diverse, differing opinions and being open to being challenged can spur creativity and innovation.”

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“All I ever wanted to do was play college baseball. My senior year of high school I blew out my knee in a wrestling match that ended my career in sports. For 18 years I knew sports was going to get me through college, but at that moment I realized I was now going to have to rely on my brain to get me through life. I had a very lost feeling for quite some time.”

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“My most memorable lesson would have come around the age of 12. My father had a customer enter his shop and was rather rude as they did not like the price of a part which they wanted to purchase but called it junk and ‘junk should be free!’ My father remained humble and expressed that he had natural overhead expenses of running a business as well as many families that depended on their business to sustain life. He replied, ‘Sorry, things are not free.’ This lady could not understand this but my father at that point showed me that he was not there to just make money he was taking care of those who took care of him.”

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“My first mentors were my parents. It’s hard to draw the line between them because they worked together so well. The messages and values they taught us were always consistent. They clearly wanted us to be grounded in faith, family and community. My mother was the kindest person I’ve ever known, but also one of the strongest. From my father, I learned about dedication, honor, and loyalty. He was very humble, but we were proud of his accomplishments. As a veteran, he literally put himself in harm’s way many times protecting the United States. An example like that stays with you always. The words of wisdom I learned from both ring in my ears every day.”

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“The High school football fight in 1999 at Eisenhower High school is my most memorable lesson. It illuminated the fact that God can allow a bad situation to work together for the good. It also taught me the power of prayer; trouble and perplexity drive us to pray, and prayer drives away perplexity and trouble. I believe that God used that moment in my life to direct me – God had to light a fire under me to motivate change. I remember Rev. Jackson saying to us, “Suffering breeds character. Character breeds faith. And in the end, faith will not disappoint. Faith, hope, and dreams will prevail.”

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“Don’t hesitate when you should act. In 2007, I was blessed with the opportunity to donate a kidney to my father. There is no greater blessing than to save someone’s life. This experience taught me that life is short and the future is promised to no one.”

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“Community has always been important to me. The people that you learn, work and live with make up the community. Decatur has the best people. Doing business all over the state as an Architect, I always had to defend the people and city of Decatur. The perception of Decatur was always wrong . I would ask the naysayers, ‘Have you ever been to Decatur?’ I always would get the answer no. I would challenge them to spend some time in Decatur and their perception will be changed. It is a beautiful city with great people.”

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