Thankful for Courageous, Intelligent, and Dedicated Leaders

 

"May I stress the need for courageous, intelligent, and dedicated Leadership… Leaders not in love with publicity, but in love with justice. Leaders not in love with money, but in love with humanity. Leaders who can subject their particular egos to the greatness of the cause.”

- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

I am preparing this PCOC Leadership Lens on November 8th, Election Day, early in the day, so I have no indicator of winners or losers. This is a day when we as a nation get to use our political voice by casting our ballots to elect our future leaders. As I contemplate the day and the results we will learn about soon, I can’t help but hope for leaders that would strive for the values set forth in the MLK quote above. Leaders that truly care about ideas and ideals and that put people and worthy institutions ahead of themselves. 

As we seek to find great leaders for our nation, we are now engaged in the same search for our association. As you probably know, Chris Reardon has tendered his resignation as Executive Vice President, effective November 18th. Chris is a leader that will be sorely missed. He was incredibly impactful as he helped captain the PCOC ship during the Covid storm over the past few years, and he has been extremely influential as we have worked hard in the regulatory and legislative arenas. Chris, thank you for your leadership. We will all miss you.

As you know, every setback comes with opportunity, and to that end we are searching for our next EVP. It is critical that we find the best possible candidate for this position and to help facilitate this the Executive Committee has created a Search Committee, compiled from a great array of great leaders in our Association. Thank you to Dean Wiley, Mike Bullert, Tom Graston, Mike McKenzie, Sylvia Kenmuir, Dave Watkins and Jim Steed for stepping up and taking on this important role. And special thanks to Jim Steed for chairing this committee. With the combined experience, connections, and expertise this committee has, as well as their strong commitment to the betterment of the association, I know we can all trust that no stone will be left unturned in their search for the best possible candidates.

As an association, I think it may be prudent to consider the wise words spoken by a great man, known for his intelligence and logic. 

Spock.

No, not Dr. Spock, but Spock from Star Trek.

"Change is the Essential Process of All Existence.”

None of us knows what tomorrow holds for our association. But I think it is empowering to know that we all get to participate in the creation of its future success. And here’s one thing I know- That success will heavily depend upon great Leadership. It will depend upon you.

If you are reading this and would like to take on a bigger Leadership role within PCOC, you have many options. You can speak with your District’s Leadership Team and let them know you’d like to help. You can consider chairing one of the statewide committees. You can work behind the scenes, supporting endeavors that are important to you. You can help with fundraising. You can provide encouragement. There’s a lot you can do. PCOC will always need fantastic leaders, and you can be one of them.

By the time you read this, the nation-wide elections will already be decided. As a city, state, and nation, we will know who our elected leaders are. I pray they will be courageous, intelligent and dedicated leaders.

We probably won’t yet know who our next EVP for PCOC will be. But I am confident that the right person is out there and that we will find them, and we will move forward stronger than ever, with courage, dedication, and intelligence. If you know of a potentially great candidate, please forward their info to a member of the Search Committee, or to a member of the Executive Committee.

I’m looking forward to the future! 

"Everything Rises and Falls on Leadership.”

- John Maxwell

If you have Leadership ideas you’d like to share, or a topic you’d like to see explored in a future PCOC Leadership Lens, I’d love to hear from you. 

All the best!

Travis Mickel
Regional Manager
Clark Pest Control
(831) 262-8025
tmickel@clarkpest.com