Betsy Myers ONLINE
"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." - Maya Angelou
A New Kind of Leadership.
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General
One of the Best Women Leaders
May/06/10 03:19 PM
On May 4, I went to Kentucky to speak at a women’s conference for an organization called, Women Leading Kentucky. A former colleague, Janet Holloway, had a dream over a decade ago to start an organization for women to create networking, business and leadership opportunities. This was her annual conference. We had known each other during the Clinton Administration when she was president of the small business development centers. I was at the SBA with responsibility to oversee them. We hadn’t seen each other in several years and it was a treat to reconnect and support her organization - reminder of all the fabulous women leaders I have met across my life.
So here it was that I found myself standing next to former governor, Martha Layne Collins, Kentucky’s first and only woman governor. Memories flooded over me to the 25 years before. As part of the 1984 Olympic games Torch Relay staff, I was traveling with the torch relay through Kentucky that summer as it made it’s way across the country to Los Angeles for the start of the Olympic games.
It was a beautiful July summer night when the torch relay reached Frankfort, the Kentucky capitol, on its way to greet the governor. The night remains very clear in my mind. I can still feel the warm summer air and see the lights that lit up the governor’s mansion with its statuesque white columns and southern charm. I can still see the runner bounding up the marble steps while holding the torch with its golden flame and brilliance. There standing at the top of the steps in anticipation to greet the torch was then governor, Martha Layne Collins.
At this time in 1984, there had only been 3 women governors who had been elected in their own right. She was one of them and a role model for women everywhere. It felt like such a privilege to be actually standing there at the base of the mansion’s steps watching the torch presented to her. I was jumping out of my skin with excitement. The moment felt so historic and special to me and remained clearly in my mind 25 years later.
Governor Collins then invited the relay staff into the mansion for a small reception and gave us a brief tour. All these years later, I still remember her authenticity. She was a woman with power, stature and elegance yet she was also kind, charming, easy to be with and beautiful. She showed me what a women leader could look like.
I was just as excited to meet her today. She has continued to share her leadership with Kentucky over the past 20 years as a university president and participation on boards and organizations to numerous to count. She is still committed to bringing business and trade to Kentucky and currently serves as the honorary consul general of Japan in Kentucky. (As governor, she brought the Toyota plant to Kentucky and created hundreds of jobs in her state.) She is also the CEO of the Kentucky World Trade Center.
She also serves on the board of Women Leading Kentucky and how I happened to cross paths with her. At the end of the conference, the organization gave a prestigious award called the “Martha Layne Collins” Leadership award. During the presentation, a beautiful video was played honoring the former governor and her rich contribution to Kentucky over several decades. At the end, the audience (many with tears in their eyes, including me) stood up to give her a standing ovation. I was seated next her and experienced the same feelings of excitement, respect and awe to be in her presence as I did many years before.
That feeling is what leaders bring out in others. They lead by example, with purpose while including others. Like Governor Collins, they make us want to bring our best selves forward. She is example of what real leadership looks like and how it makes us feel. It is not just a momentary act or only exhibited when your authority is tied to a job or position, it is a way of being that continues over your life. That is the leadership that Governor Martha Layne Collins represents.
I left the conference with a smile on my face. Thank you Governor Collins for inspiring me 25 years ago and thank you for inspiring me today. You are a very special leader but most importantly, a very special person.
So here it was that I found myself standing next to former governor, Martha Layne Collins, Kentucky’s first and only woman governor. Memories flooded over me to the 25 years before. As part of the 1984 Olympic games Torch Relay staff, I was traveling with the torch relay through Kentucky that summer as it made it’s way across the country to Los Angeles for the start of the Olympic games.
It was a beautiful July summer night when the torch relay reached Frankfort, the Kentucky capitol, on its way to greet the governor. The night remains very clear in my mind. I can still feel the warm summer air and see the lights that lit up the governor’s mansion with its statuesque white columns and southern charm. I can still see the runner bounding up the marble steps while holding the torch with its golden flame and brilliance. There standing at the top of the steps in anticipation to greet the torch was then governor, Martha Layne Collins.
At this time in 1984, there had only been 3 women governors who had been elected in their own right. She was one of them and a role model for women everywhere. It felt like such a privilege to be actually standing there at the base of the mansion’s steps watching the torch presented to her. I was jumping out of my skin with excitement. The moment felt so historic and special to me and remained clearly in my mind 25 years later.
Governor Collins then invited the relay staff into the mansion for a small reception and gave us a brief tour. All these years later, I still remember her authenticity. She was a woman with power, stature and elegance yet she was also kind, charming, easy to be with and beautiful. She showed me what a women leader could look like.
I was just as excited to meet her today. She has continued to share her leadership with Kentucky over the past 20 years as a university president and participation on boards and organizations to numerous to count. She is still committed to bringing business and trade to Kentucky and currently serves as the honorary consul general of Japan in Kentucky. (As governor, she brought the Toyota plant to Kentucky and created hundreds of jobs in her state.) She is also the CEO of the Kentucky World Trade Center.
She also serves on the board of Women Leading Kentucky and how I happened to cross paths with her. At the end of the conference, the organization gave a prestigious award called the “Martha Layne Collins” Leadership award. During the presentation, a beautiful video was played honoring the former governor and her rich contribution to Kentucky over several decades. At the end, the audience (many with tears in their eyes, including me) stood up to give her a standing ovation. I was seated next her and experienced the same feelings of excitement, respect and awe to be in her presence as I did many years before.
That feeling is what leaders bring out in others. They lead by example, with purpose while including others. Like Governor Collins, they make us want to bring our best selves forward. She is example of what real leadership looks like and how it makes us feel. It is not just a momentary act or only exhibited when your authority is tied to a job or position, it is a way of being that continues over your life. That is the leadership that Governor Martha Layne Collins represents.
I left the conference with a smile on my face. Thank you Governor Collins for inspiring me 25 years ago and thank you for inspiring me today. You are a very special leader but most importantly, a very special person.