GENROZT: a gracious act that creates a joyful ache every time it is remembered
by Dave Hilliard, President & CEO, Wyman Center in St. Louis and The Wyman National Network
Having the last word on a storyteller like Stephen Kahnert is an opportunity not to be missed. So, here it is: our always-bold storyteller is himself a paragon of that which he chronicles.
I know this because he has been both a friend and professional colleague since arriving some 20 years ago as the consulting partner of a firm we'd hired to resuscitate a flagging capital campaign ...[Stephen's] gifts to us were belief in people, and the potential of what might be when visionary leadership and caring, competent people with generous hearts are set free. He taught, coached, inspired, motivated, planned and persisted in service to a mission that became his as much as ours...
As I read through the life stories in these chapters, I've been musing on a few of the big questions about the nature of generosity ... And here's what I believe: we all have the capacity for generosity but its release requires cultivation and ignition... One of the most generous and happiest men I have ever known is Charlie Wells, a learning disabled maintenance man at Camp Wyman for 30 years ...
I believe Mrs. DeShon, Joan Southgate and Charlie Wells became Grand Masters of Generosity; it wasn't a character value but the spirit animating their lives.
In this collection, Stephen has presented us role models, a 'storied' approach to our spiritual selves, and a means toward mastery. I say let's practice, practice, practice. We and our world will be better for it.
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