| It is an average soccer team picture with a younger man (me) as the coach in the center and two boys as teammates among their other friends as six-year-olds.
Both boys are now men.
Both are fathers, one with a daughter and one in the father-to-be category.
Both are well-liked by both peers and acquaintances.
Both are as fine of young men as they were fine boys.
Both are professionals, one serving clients as an advisor at RK, Sam Paganelli (back row, first on the right), and one serving our nation as a boatswain in the United States Coast Guard, Blake Eichhorn (bottom row, left).
Both have added a stop or two on their young career paths as they slotted into the roles that make the future look bright for each of their families.
Both care more for the needs and the prosperity of those around them than for themselves.
If it is true about the adage that what we plant today may be the tree that someone else takes shade in tomorrow or twenty years from now, then I am walking with a smile of satisfaction knowing that I had a part, small and big, in these two fine young men’s lives.
My son Blake can readily account for the dad-isms and the parental approach Beth and I applied as he lived with them for eighteen years at the house. Sam can recount as he did in his first interview in the hiring process here at RK how as his soccer coach, I sent him back to the field from the car after practice because he left behind his disposable water bottle, a lesson that stuck with him twenty years later. They are both in their mid-20s now, accelerating their careers and starting their families with probably still too much interjection from me.
They both work hard and serve well in their roles. The piece of them entrusted to me in their development was certainly my honor.
It matters what we do with our today because it does affect our tomorrow. Most people have one or two items on today’s planning list that need to be addressed. While it may be something small, it may surprise you the impact that it could have in the future. Please reach out to your RK advisor and get started on those couple of things.
It will make a difference, and we are here to help. |
