Director’s Message

Dear Friends, This message is the final part of a three-part series highlighting leadership lessons from my mom. My mom turned 91 this past spring and continues in hospice care on our family ranch. These final lessons are especially dear to my heart and have impacted my own leadership style over the years. Lesson #5 - Be mindful. Mom is a stickler with notes and timeliness. Mom tuned into the fact that the small things make the most impact. A thank you card, a sympathy card, a dinner sent, or a note of encouragement were all staples for her. She is warm with words and really has a seventh sense of a person based on her association with that person and her genuine sense of care and empathy. Lesson #6 - Education. “Education is the mother of Leadership” – Wendell Willke. Mom attended college at the age of sixty-five years because she thought it was important to follow her own advice. She says the education of our times is equivalent to the six-shooter of the wild west. She encourages persons to attend college or trainings, and is a huge advocate of vocational technology careers. Lesson #7 - Faith, family and friends. Mom’s unwavering faith, her love and active and constant commitment to family and friends is the defining leadership legacy of her life. Leadership was the pinnacle of her life. Like Mom - our leadership requires action - remembering lesson #1. Lesson #8 – Brevity. Mom tells me that you do not have to feed the entire hay stack to one cow. Her point - get to the point and minimize it to the extent that you can. As you can see, brevity is a mom lesson that I have yet to master. I hope you take these lessons to heart and seek to find your own lessons from impactful leaders in your own life. We all are striving to better ourselves and I so enjoy seeing our community of continually growing leaders in Sheridan and Johnson Counties. With Whitney Regards, Patrick Henderson Whitney Benefits Executive Director

Return to Whitney Scholars

Return to Whitney Scholars

Director’s Message

Dear Friends, This message is the final part of a three-part series highlighting leadership lessons from my mom. My mom turned 91 this past spring and continues in hospice care on our family ranch. These final lessons are especially dear to my heart and have impacted my own leadership style over the years. Lesson #5 - Be mindful. Mom is a stickler with notes and timeliness. Mom tuned into the fact that the small things make the most impact. A thank you card, a sympathy card, a dinner sent, or a note of encouragement were all staples for her. She is warm with words and really has a seventh sense of a person based on her association with that person and her genuine sense of care and empathy. Lesson #6 - Education. “Education is the mother of Leadership” – Wendell Willke. Mom attended college at the age of sixty-five years because she thought it was important to follow her own advice. She says the education of our times is equivalent to the six- shooter of the wild west. She encourages persons to attend college or trainings, and is a huge advocate of vocational technology careers. Lesson #7 - Faith, family and friends. Mom’s unwavering faith, her love and active and constant commitment to family and friends is the defining leadership legacy of her life. Leadership was the pinnacle of her life. Like Mom - our leadership requires action - remembering lesson #1. Lesson #8 – Brevity. Mom tells me that you do not have to feed the entire hay stack to one cow. Her point - get to the point and minimize it to the extent that you can. As you can see, brevity is a mom lesson that I have yet to master. I hope you take these lessons to heart and seek to find your own lessons from impactful leaders in your own life. We all are striving to better ourselves and I so enjoy seeing our community of continually growing leaders in Sheridan and Johnson Counties. With Whitney Regards, Patrick Henderson Whitney Benefits Executive Director