I am going to try and catch everyone up on some massive changes that have occurred.
First, for a variety of reasons, we decided to sell our house in South Carolina. It is bittersweet in some ways because we really did think that would be our retirement home; but in the nearly three years since we left, circumstances changed and we just felt that this was something we needed to do.
I will be flying there this Friday to start cleaning out the house. The buyers have made our cleaning much easier as they asked to keep many of the bulky items which we were going to have to donate. Leslie Kegg Reed will fly out next Tuesday and we will leave Wednesday morning to head back to Oregon.
The second massive change is the reason we will not be able to stop and visit with anyone along the way: this is my last week with Kelly Services.
As many of you know, I was promoted back in January to Sr. Operations Manager. Shortly after that, however, our Director of Operations left and the culture shift predicated a need to consider all options. In late February, I began communicating with my former employer about a potential return. We were able to make a return work in light of my professional and personal growth.
Yes, I am returning to Roush. I was with the company for 10 years and left only to pursue professional growth. And so now I return.
The decision to leave Kelly Services was not easy. I sent my farewell note to my team at Kelly earlier this week.
It is never easy to leave a team with which you have grown close and this was certainly not an easy decision. Over the last 20 months, I have developed so many meaningful relationships with a lot of incredible people. As always, there have been good times and bad; but I always lean into the good times and let those bad flashes drift into the fading sunset of my memory. I will miss so many moments and so many people. No matter how much suffering we may endure, the memories are a treasure.
I have been thinking a lot lately about a couple of really important quotes. The first is from the Teddy Roosevelt ‘Man in the Arena’ speech at the Sorbonne in 1910:
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
Failure is a result of effort; and while none of us like to fail, the willingness to risk failure can create more value than unwillingness. I don’t believe anyone can be perfect; it may seem an admirable goal to seek perfection, but not a goal that creates inaction. We are often in that arena daily; we make decisions that matter even when they might seem insignificant. When I applied for this position almost two years ago, I had no idea it would redefine and shape my life in so many unimaginable ways. I had worked for many years and in that time considered the concept of a true career to be a mirage lingering in the distance – and then it found me rather than the other way around.
The second quote is from Omar Bradley – the renowned WWII General and first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff:
"No commander can become a strategist until he knows his men. Far from being a handicap to command, compassion is the measure of it. For unless one values the lives of his soldiers and is tormented by their ordeals, he is unfit to command."
I have done my best to lead with compassion; to lead with respect and dignity while never losing sight of the reality that, as a manager, there arise difficult decisions that must be made.
From the moment I started in August of 2020, I lived and breathed the Kelly Noble Purpose in every interaction. That we connect people to work in ways that enrich their lives was a driving force; it was my philosophy. I will always be tied to this vision: to be committed to uniting vital talent with great organizations where, together, we thrive. We have done that for so many of our workers and that reward will always stay in my soul.
Through it all, I have learned so much from so many people. Not just about this job or this industry; but also, about life and myself through others around me. I have tried to share whatever life lessons I thought mattered and could help others; I hope that those were not too overbearing at times.
I want to thank my team for their respect during those moments when obstacles precluded ease. What we do can be difficult at times. We are running 24/7 and that means some long days, some tired moments, and occasional frenzy. I will be a resource and colleague to all who feel the bond of compassion and passion.
I think I am a better person because of the efforts of everyone I have worked with during these last two years. I move on to a new challenge as I embrace a career I never envisioned in 2010. None of this would be possible without each and every one of you.
