Please say a prayer for my sister-n-law Daphne Wyches mother. Shes in the hospital right now fighting for her life after an apparent stroke. Its ironic. All day, Ive been thinking about my mentor, friend and confidant, Joseph E. Robert, Jr.. He passed away in December 2011 after a long and courageous battle with cancer. There are a handful of people I owe my career success to. Yes, I worked hard to get to where I am but none of us accomplish what we do alone. Everyone who knew me during my days of leading Fight For Children in Washington, DC and working closely with Joe know how much this man meant to me personally, to my family and to my career. He believed in me and gave me an extraordinary opportunity to work with him and a number of other great people who I still love and miss to this day. He and Rita Harmon (RIP), who I also miss dearly, hired me on the recommendation of my friend Kelly Amis to lead a unprecedented initiative to transform educational opportunity for children in Washington, DC, and later to transform his organization as well. We had a lot of success and fun together, and a lot of interesting and tough experiences working on major legislation and with Washingtons political elite. There were also those many Joe side projects; major events that few thought we could pull off (but the ladies of Fight For Children were awesome and made us look exceptional). Joe was a one of a kind leader; someone who comes around once in a generation. It would take me a book to write about every great deed this man did that I know about. What he meant to me was immeasurable. He told me several times during our work together that he loved me; and I loved him. Enjoy this song that Baby Face wrote in his honor and sang at his funeral. I only wish I could have been there, but it was just a few days before the big vote for our charter school, Madison Preparatory Academy. On that day, my friend was laid to rest and my dream (the school) was put on hold by the School Board. Its a day I will never forget. Joe, you and your family are always in my thoughts and prayers. I will always be thankful for everything you did for me. Jim Gibson, thanks again for sharing this song with me. I miss you too, bro. One of the best things Ive learned as Ive gotten older and wiser, is how most of us come to realize that our personal relationships with people matter much more than anything else we might accomplish in life. To all of my friends and family in the DMV, God Bless you and wishing you much continued success.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Sep 2014 06:11:44 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015