Gravel

It was a very interesting and educational week in my world.  I learned how much gravel it takes to cover my McCall driveway two inches deep. The formula is simple and easy to find on line.  There are a couple of ways to order the raw material, tons or cubic yards–yet another formula. In the end I let the guy I was referred to calculate, order the material and deliver it. Although he delivered 9.2 tons, I only needed 6 and therefore Karen and I got a lot of exercise moving the extra gravel in the wheel barrow. I think it was Reagan who reminded us to trust but verify.  Good advice.

I am privileged to serve on the Andrus Center Board for Public Policy. Each year we host a Women and Leadership conference at Boise State University.  This was a record breaking year with over 715 men and women in attendance. The quality of the speakers is impressive, check them out on our website. https://sps.boisestate.edu/andruscenter/events/women-leadership-conference/. I have to mention a few I was able to attend. Lisa Maatz is a VP of Government Relations at the American Association of University Women.  Lisa is a good story teller and woke up the first morning audience with her advocacy story from the third grade. I won’t tell you the whole story but basically she felt it was not fair that the girl’s restrooms did not have doors while the boys enjoyed more privacy. Lisa’s petition to Principal Ginke was required to get the expected outcome but her story reminded us that you need people to have your back when times are challenging.  Lisa gained the support of Mr. Ginke’s secretary, many male and female students and it turns out her Mother.  In the business world she reminded us to speak up for your co-workers or peers when they have a good idea and it is being ignored or borrowed. One of her guiding principles is knowing what your “line in the sand” is – you pre-make those important moral and ethical decisions and do not compromise. Most of us want to look in the mirror and feel good about the decision we made and be proud of our self image. It is a be true to yourself belief.

Many of you have seen the Hilary Swank movie called Conviction.  Betty Anne Waters was one of our speakers.  Betty Anne’s brother was wrongly convicted of a murder, when the appeals ran out and her brother’s hope was exhausted – he said he would hang on if she would get her law degree and work to free him. Betty Anne had a GED but it took her nearly 10 years to complete her BS and earn a JD.  The evidence that eventually exonerated her brother was DNA based.  The evidence that put him in prison was largely manufactured by the ex-girlfriend and leveraged by a police force anxious to close the case. After 18 years his release was cause for great celebration and to this day Betty Anne donates her time to the Innocence Project which has freed over 300 of those wrongly convicted. Betty Anne owns a Pub on the east coast as she recounted that she never wanted to be an attorney – that is a level of loyalty and dedication to her brother that brought tears to most of the audience. You need to join us next year – It is well worth the time invested.

I also spent some time with the Idaho Business for Education Board and Trustees. My specific interest is in early childhood education and that is a part of our focus. First things first though, we need to continue the progress made in transforming our current system.  The IBE held a breakfast meeting to hear Gordon Jones, Founding Dean of the College of Innovation and Design at Boise State.  Jones came to Boise from the Harvard School of Innovation. President Bob Kustra issued a guiding statement “College of Innovation and Design, CID, will leverage the speed, collaboration and risk taking of a start-up to re-imagine the way the university teaches, learns and conducts research at Boise State. Collaboration between faculty, industry, and students will yield new degrees…”  In the first year, Jones has  built a collaboration with Harvard allowing BSU students to take 9 credit hours of Harvard Business curriculum online supported by exceptional BSU professors. A degree in Gaming, Interactive Media and Mobile Technology is now offered and this collaboration between the Computer Science, Psychology, and Art disciplines is an example of innovation that would have been very difficult in the old paradigm.  This is a giant step forward and I encourage you to learn more if you are interested in where education is headed.

I am back in McCall for the weekend with Hank, he and I are pictured making a Zen garden of all of that damn gravel.  He loves digging and piling the small stones.

I continue to say, I am one of the richest people in this world. I have Hank, my family, friends, business associates and most importantly my soul mate. On the18th of September Karen and I will be celebrating our 45th wedding anniversary.  Must be the luck of the Irish.

Enjoy the week end.  Mike