Over the years I have had the pleasure of meeting some pretty amazing people. Some were captains of industry, others were politicians, scientists, professional athletes, engineers, artists, celebrities or brilliant thought leaders.
Each, in their own way, was at the top of their personal game and it showed, not just in their accomplishments, which in some cases are legendary, but in the way they treated people. Each one was a class act. Read the rest of this entry »
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Leading by example | Tagged: Class Act, corepurpose, Dave Krieg, Dave Nemeth, Herb Kelleher, joan koerber-walker, Leadership, leading by example, Regis Philbin | 
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Posted by Joan Koerber-Walker
Back on January 9th, I shared a story about how we all got a wakeup call when shots rang out on a sunny Saturday morning in Tucson, Arizona. After that day, as a nation wondered, waited and prayed, a group of friends were sharing ideas on what could be done to remember the fallen, bring the community together and begin the healing process. The result is a new collaborative project called The Healing Trees Humanitarian Program.
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet earth’s flowing breast;
I think I was about Christina Taylor Green’s age when I first read “TREES” by Joyce Kilmer. Like trees, people gain their strength from the world around them. They hug the earth, draw nutrients from it, and reach for the sun. They often stand together, but they can also stand alone. They put down roots, grow, and give back in many ways. There is something both magical and mystical about a tree.
A tree that looks at God all day
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.
“Trees” by Joyce Kilmer at Bartleby Online
Healing Trees Humanitarian Program: “Heal Our Communities, Offer Remembrance and Celebrate Life.”
Less than one month later after the Tucson shootings, the project has launched and is growing daily. Beginning on February 14th, Arizona Statehood Day, The Healing Trees Humanitarian Project will plant trees in Tucson and Phoenix and many additional locations throughout Arizona, the US and around the world. In the process they will be bringing communities together and demonstrating a shared desire to be to be instruments of peace, understanding and compassion in our communities. (You can see the growing list of locations at www.healingtrees.org.)
Each time a healing tree is planted there is a ceremony to…
Participants come back together again 11 months later to hold themselves accountable and to reflect on how they acted as instruments of peace and will continue to do so.
Recording the Tree Plantings
In addition to the individual trees and the gatherings when they are planted, the GPS coordinates of each tree will be recorded and tracked on the Healing Trees website and will include each Healing Tree’s story, its donors’ experience, intentions and ceremonies. This allows the participants and others to visit whenever a boost of inspiration is needed and will provide stories of what we and others are doing to create deep and lasting roots.
It started on January 8, 2011, but it does not end there…
Annie Loyd of The FUSION Foundation put it like this:
“As a direct response to the incidents of January 8, the Healing Trees Humanitarian Program: “Heal Our Communities, Offer Remembrance and Celebrate Life.” was created. The FUSION Foundation, the Arizona Community Tree Council and Tucson Clean and Beautiful are working together to heal our communities, offer remembrance, and celebrate life with the planting of Healing Trees across the state and across the country. Healing Trees are a visual life-giving memorial commemorating the lives of those who died, honoring those who were injured and paying tribute to the outstanding actions of forgiveness, compassion, understanding, kindness and love we witnessed in the wake of the tragedy by so many in the Tucson community. This is our time to do something significant to celebrate life and promote new growth- like planting trees. Through this a life-giving and earth-serving community act, together we can make a difference.”
Leading by Example
On January 27, 2011, I shared the stories of big companies and caring individuals who are leading by example. The Healing Trees Humanitarian Program is yet another one. It was born out of tragedy and a shared desire to respond with an act that would not only honor those who died or were injured but also to provide a visual support to their families, neighbors, friends and strangers whose lives changed on that fateful day. It is the work of people coming together to proactively create a stronger community that is committed life, growth and collaboration.
We each have opportunities to lead by example.
Sometimes we create them and sometimes they find us. We lead by example when we…
Thanks for stopping by. Stay Tuned…
Joan Koerber-Walker
About the Joan:
An entrepreneur, author, speaker and corporate advisor, Joan Koerber-Walker’s journey has spanned from corporate America to entrepreneurship and non-profits as well as to community leadership and into the halls of Washington D.C. Her past career includes two decades on the team at Avnet, Inc. and service as Chairman of the Board of Advisors to Parenting Arizona. Today, she serves her community as the Chairman of the Board of the Opportunity through Entrepreneurship Foundation and as an advisor to The FUSION Foundation and The Healing Trees Humanitarian Project. To learn more about how CorePurpose and the CoreAlliance can help you grow your business in 2011, you can contact her by clicking here.
To learn more about The Healing Trees Humanitarian Program:
The Healing Trees Humanitarian Program is a collaboration led by The FUSION Foundation and founding partner the Arizona Community Tree Council and its southern Arizona partner Trees for Tucson | Tucson Clean and Beautiful.
The funds are being managed by the Arizona Community Tree Council, a 501(c)(3) organization with more than 20 years of experience dedicated to the care and planting of trees and promoting the education and exchange of information about trees and the essential role they play in the well being of all Arizona communities.
1 Comment | Real World Inspiration, Leadership, Leading by example | Tagged: joan koerber-walker, corepurpose, Leadership, Leaders, Gabrielle Giffords, Fusion Foundation, Annie Loyd, leading by example, Healing Trees, Tucson Shootings, Arizona Community Tree Council, Community Action | Permalink
Posted by Joan Koerber-Walker
On January 26, 2011, Intel Labs announced a $100 million cash investment in U.S. university research over the next 5 years, marking a new model of collaboration for the organization. The Funding will support a number of Intel Science and Technology Centers; the first such center will be led by Stanford University and focus on next-generation visual computing. According to the Intel Labs press release, this new model of university-lead research is expected to provide U.S. researchers with up to 5 times more funding from Intel Labs compared to the previous approach, and enable engagements across a broader set of universities.
In the video below, Justin Rattner, Intel’s chief technology officer, explains the “what” and the “why”. For information click here
On the same day, Intel announced that forty high school seniors from across the country were named finalists in the Intel Science Talent Search 2011, a program of Society for Science & the Public. You can see more about people sharing their stories with the hope of becoming a catalyst for action and a voice for change in global education at www.inspiredbyeducation.com.
Leaders by Example
Intel has long been a strong voice in the choir of U.S. technology companies calling for a greater focus on science and technology in our schools and universities. They are doing more that talk about it. They put their resources behind it. “Intel has sponsored the Intel Science Talent Search and the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair for 13 and 14 years, respectively. Because Intel views education as the foundation for innovation, over the past decade, Intel and the Intel Foundation have invested more than $1 billion and Intel employees have donated close to 3 million hours toward improving education in more than 60 countries.”
Here in Arizona, Avnet, Inc., the worlds largest technology distributor, sponsors the The Avnet Tech Games (ATG) an annual college technology competition that provides students with an opportunity to apply what they learn in school to real-world scenarios and compete for scholarships.
Great Examples, but I’m not a multi billion dollar company…
Most of us don’t have the luxury of billion dollar wallets and thousands of employees who can volunteer their time and talents, but that does not mean that our leading by example is any less important. We each have skills, knowledge, and experiences we can share in the areas where we passionately lead. Here are some more examples:
Francine Hardaway of Stealthmode Partners combined her passion and experience in entrepreneurship with a desire to help at-risk individuals find economic self-sufficiency through entrepreneurship. By rolling up her sleeves, and recruiting many others (including me) to help both The Opportunity Through Entrepreneurship Foundation and the Arizona Entrepreneurship Conferences were created and continue to make a difference year after year.
Lon Safko’s passion is innovation. A celebrated inventor whose work appears in the Smithsonian, Lon’s study of the evolution and innovation in social media lead to the bestselling book The Social Media Bible was volunteering his time and sharing what he knew with a gathering of Arizona teachers, so that they in turn could share with their students.
Patti Blackstaffe has a talent for helping businesses grow and a passion for helping children. She combines these things as a volunteer to support Providence an very special place in Calgary with a mission to enhance the health and development of preschool children with disabilities & their families with early intervention and high quality health, education and therapy services within their community
Morris Callaman is an engineer,attorney, venture capitalist and entrepreneur. There was a time in his youth when as a teen runaway he dealt with the harsh realities of living on the street. Today he has quietly donated his time and talents to local organizations like OTEF and St. Mary’s Food Bank as well as providing legal assistance pro bono to those who really need a hand and could never afford his services. It’s his way of being the change he would like to see in our societies.
Gloria Feldt and Alex Barbanell believe in the power of women in changing our world. They created and sponsor the Women of the World lecture series at Arizona State University to inspire current and future women leaders. In addition, Gloria shared her experiences as part of a multi generational group of women leaders who took their show on the road to college campuses around the country to do the very same thing. Today, her new book: No Excuses inspires women of all ages to use their power to lead.
See, it’s not just companies like Intel. We can lead by example too.
Leading by example means putting your time, talent, and money where your mouth is. It’s not just something for “them” to do. It’s an opportunity for all of us.
Thanks for stopping by. Stay tuned…
Joan Koerber-Walker
About the Joan:
An entrepreneur, author, speaker and corporate advisor, Joan Koerber-Walker’s journey has spanned from corporate America to entrepreneurship and non-profits as well as to community leadership and into the halls of Washington D.C. Her past career includes two decades on the team at Avnet, Inc. and service as Chairman of the Board of Advisors to Parenting Arizona. Today, she serves her community as the Chairman of the Board of the Opportunity through Entrepreneurship Foundation. To learn more about how CorePurpose and the CoreAlliance can help you grow your business in 2011, you can contact her by clicking here.
1 Comment | Innovation, Leadership, Real World Inspiration | Tagged: Alex Barbanell, Avnet, Avnet Tech Games, corepurpose, Francine, Gloria Feldt, Hardaway, Innovation, Intel, Intel Labs, investing in the future, joan koerber-walker, Leadership, leading by example, Lon Safko, Morris Callaman, Opportunity Through Entrepreneurship Foundation, OTEF, Patti Blackstaffe, Providence | Permalink
Posted by Joan Koerber-Walker
