Wayward Son

One of the many perks of being a human resources professional is all of the training and certifications you can receive.  Learning and development is one of my favorite categories underneath the HR umbrella (L&D and recruiting at the top, benefits administration and employee relations at the very bottom), and I have been fortunate to be certified as a customer service and help desk coach (two certifications; AchieveGlobal and STI Knowledge).  Leading these courses is a lot of fun, not just teaching a room full of eager minds, but also to share facts.
Did you know only one out of three people who receive poor service ever complain?  As soon as I learned that, I began speaking up every time I had a bad service experience.  Companies want to retain their customers and they will go to great lengths to apologize, even to provide free gifts and coupons.  I can't tell you how many discounts, free meals and cups of coffee I have earned along the way.  Along the same line, I am infamous for leaving small or no tips to restaurant wait staff that don't give me the time of day.  A habit that causes many of my friends to hang their heads low.  Hey, if I want bad service and bad food, I can stay home and cook for myself.  Now, that's bad.
But, even fewer customers commend the good service received.  Tonight, I had such an experience.
A Comcast technician arrived at our new apartment on Monday morning to set up our internet service, but failed to make sure our laptops were actually connected.  (We've been "borrowing" from the neighbor's Wi-Fi.)  Tonight, I was on the phone with a Comcast customer service representative by the name of Edgar, for at least half an hour.  I could tell he was still in training, and receiving coaching from an anonymous mentor in the background.  That said, Edgar was patient with me.  Additionally, he was courteous, conversational, thorough, said "please" and "thank you," and did not make me feel technically-deficient (which I am).  In summary, Edgar is a professional.  At the end of our call, I asked to speak with his supervisor, to whom I applauded Edgar's efforts (even though we had to schedule for the technician to visit our home, again).
As it turns out, because I spoke highly of his customer service skills, Edgar will receive Comcast service points (something of a reward for Comcast employees) and a positive boost in his 90 day review.  I hope he goes home with a smile on his face, and a skip in his step.
The next time you receive good service, take a moment to commend the person.  Leave them with a smile and a sense of pride.

Who da man?  Who da man?  The fat lady sang, and Kansas beat Memphis 75-68 to win the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship.  Woo hoo!  Those are my boys!  (Dear friends, I'm warning you now... I will be obnoxious for at least the next week.)

Take that!  That's right, on Saturday evening the University of Kansas men's basketball team beat the University of North Carolina in the Final Four.  Monday night, they play in the championship game against Memphis.  To all the UCLA Bruins out there; Ha Ha Ha, sorry we won't be seeing you in San Antonio!
It's only given that the Jayhawks are headed to the final game, after all, Kansas did event the game of basketball.  (Dr. James Naismith; look it up.)  Monday night, there won't be one television in the state of Kansas that won't be tuned into the big game.  We Kansans are the biggest college hoops fans on Earth.  Rock Chalk!
How about a little bit of traveling music to carry us on to ultimate victory?

This week, the Kansas Epsilon Chapter of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity (Emporia State) celebrates it's 40th Anniversary during the annual White Carnation Formal (Founder's Day).  It's not just any celebration.  Oh no!  The festivities include the dedication of the new chapter house, upon the same corner lot of the Chapter's first home at 14th and Highland Streets.  After twenty years in a 19th Century Victorian, it was time for brand new digs.  Of course, landscaping will follow soon.  At this time, the yard is nothing but dirt.  Since I cannot be present for the events, I've been very appreciative of Flyover People for documenting the build.
I was a freshman during the Chapter's 25th Anniversary during the 1993-1994 school year.  I just dated myself, didn't I?  There will be another celebration, later this year, when the entire brotherhood commemorates it's 160th anniversary; founded at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio in December 1848.

"Here's to Phi Delta Theta.  Long shall we honor her name.  With true zeal and deepest fervor.  Bound until death, we'll serve her.  Here's to our loyal brothers, Phi Delta Theta men.  Honor is theirs, every brother who wears a Phi Delta Theta pin!"

My brother Stephen arrived, with U-Haul trailer in tote, in his new home of Star, North Carolina on Friday evening... sight unseen.  This morning, I opened my email to find a short note from him; "Star!  Where in the hell did I move to?"  The following picture was attached.
I've considered flying out to visit him, later this year.  Given this information, I'll need to purchase overalls and a John Deere hat to pack into my suitcase.  Chin up, Little Brother!  It's only for two years.  I wonder if he will get to meet Andy Griffith.

And now, on to a story that sheds a more favorable light on the State of Kansas...
It has been exactly twenty years since Danny Manning and the Kansas Jayhawks won the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.  I remember that night in March 1988 very well; I skipped my piano lesson in order to watch the televised championship game.  The Jayhawks have made it to the Final Four numerous years since.  Very few, VERY FEW, college teams can claim that same successful track record.
This year, it looks like KU is the team to beat.  March Madness is beginning.  Anyone care to place any wagers?

Only from Kansas, do stories of the weird and wild make national headlines.  Most of the citizens of the Sunflower State are of sound mind.  It's an unfortunate curse, but as soon as a story involving trailer parks, tornadoes or, in this case, a toilet reaches the Associated Press, the national media gets a good laugh and can't help themselves but to publish the stereotype-enhancing story.
Oh, how sad.  It's days like this when I shutter to proudly proclaim myself as a native Kansan.  Enjoy the story while I hide underneath a rock.

My "little brother" Stephen, the artist, not to be confused with our "baby brother" Marc (the youngest of the three Protheroe boys), is moving from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Star, North Carolina in two weeks for a job opportunity that he cannot (and should not) pass up.  His coworkers at the Pittsburgh Glass Center are throwing a big farewell soiree for him on March 12th.  Oh, how I wish I could attend.  I'm so proud of Steve-O.

You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy.
For all the grief I give small-town folk for having a love affair with NASCAR, today I've reverted back to my old ways to watch with fanfair the 50th Daytona 500.  Thanks to my father, my brothers and I have been longtime fans of auto racing.  Dad owns a sprint car, as do friends of the family, and Dad's cousin owned a race track.  And, I have had the opportunity to meet several racing champions, including Jeff Gordon... before he was famous.  It's in our blood; the roar of the engines, the roar of the crowds, and the ultimate rush of speed.  Words can't adequately describe this feeling to those who have never experienced a race.  All I can compare it to is watching a major-league baseball game on TV, and then actually seeing the spectacular event in person at the stadium.  Well, therre is no comparison.
Today, one of the reasons I am watching the televised race is to cheer on fellow Emporian Clint Bowyer, who drives the #07 Jack Daniels car.  (Earlier this weekend, I found a photo of him in one of my yearbooks.)  I can only surmise, but I would would bet all televisions back home are tuned in to the race to root for him.  So, let me yell out, "whoo hoo!"

I have to give thanks to my friend Cheryl at Flyover People for reminding me of a very important anniversary that passed on Sunday; the birthday of William Allen White.  WAW turned 140 years old.  William Allen Who?  William Allen White, my personal hero.
I suppose any town that one grows up in allows him the opportunity to intimately learn the biography of a local citizen who has made or will make history.  In Emporia, Kansas, Clint Bowyer is championed as our most recent celebrity, a NASCAR winner a few years younger than myself (I attended school with his older brother).  But, Emporia also is proud to proclaim itself as the home of William Allen White, editor of The Emporia Gazette, author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, confidant and lender of opinion to several American presidents, and an American moderator.  A true professor of American rhetoric.  Who would ever have thought a "simpleton" from The Great Plains would make such a grand and everlasting impact on this nation?

My lifelong adoration for this humble journalist lies in the fact that he had the persuasive ability to articulate the thoughts and opinions of small-town America upon a national and international level (he was present for the signing of the Treaty of Versailles that ended WWI).  With his typewriter, he translated the concerns and ideas of "regular folk" into massive editorials printed from coast to coast that pulled opposing sides together.  Mr. White prevented apprehension to convictions by providing careful definition.  He took pride in his community and his nation, never seeing a difference between the two.  And, even more impressive, American leaders listened to him.  President Theodore Roosevelt was frequently a guest at the White home on Exchange Street (a.k.a. Red Rocks), philanthropist Jane Addams frequently exchanged ideas with him, and FDR would correspond with the editor prior to the president's infamous Fire Side Chats.  Make note, those whom he captured the ears of were Republicans and Democrats!
Retrospect is a favorite word of mine, allowing us a meditation to past events.  And, in retrospect, I believe the skills of William Allen White would be welcomed in our modern age.  When so many of our citizens feel their voices are not and cannot be heard, his influential ability with pen and paper would be embraced in the 21st Century.  America needs, as it did during the many difficult times of the first half of the 20th Century, another gifted American Moderator.
One of the reasons I began my blog was, I suppose, in a way to emulate Mr. White's abilities to provide an understanding and eventual collective rallying of Americans, their beliefs and their hopes for the future.  (Of course, I could never hold a candle to this maverick.)  He spoke for those who did not have the ability to create a coherent sentence, for those who shared the purpose of America's democracy that we all embrace.  A referee, a mediator, a poet of the working man, the editor wore many hats.  Wouldn't it be a comforting change in 2008 for political foes, rather than shouting out their inflexible viewpoints, to earnestly offer up, "okay, well, let's sit down and discuss this"?  Mr. White would.
On a side note, Mr. White was a member of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity, just like me.  And to that I say, Happy Birthday Brother White!

“If each man or woman could understand that every other human life is as full of sorrows, or joys, or base temptations, of heartaches and of remorse as his own . . . how much kinder, how much gentler he would be.” -- William Allen White