As many of you know our community lost a giant in March, when Dr. George Branam passed away.
You may not know, however, that George was a founding board member of Shafer Leadership Academy.
Coffees with George
In fact, George was a part of the board who hired me. Over the years George and I would meet regularly to discuss leadership, talk about the community, and engage in spirited debate about politics. He would often tell me that if you aren’t a liberal when you are young then you don’t have a heart and if you aren’t a conservative when you’re old you don’t have a brain. I usually responded by saying I wanted to have both.
No matter what we discussed, or when we agreed, I always looked forward to my coffees with George. George had a passion for leadership. He said, more than once, that leadership is everything. He felt that future of our community hinged on the quality of its leadership, and on that point, we always agreed.
At some point in our conversations George would recommend a book or article for further exploration. George was a voracious reader and a lifelong learner. He wanted others to continue learning as well. George valued self-improvement.
A Book from Branam
So, I was delighted when his wife, Linda, reached out to me a few weeks after his passing to offer books from his leadership library. I visited their home, had a lovely conversation with Linda which felt a little like the conversations I used to have with George, and left with a trunk full of books.
It took a while to figure out what to do with them.
Eventually, I realized I should do what George always did with his knowledge– I should share it.
So, in honor of George’s spirit, and memory, we offer you a Book from Branam. We invite you to follow in George’s footstep by contributing to his legacy of leadership.
We gave many of these books away at our Annual Meeting on Monday but we have a limited number still available at our offices. Many of the books have handwritten notes from George in them, along with underlines and highlights. George didn’t just own these books, he consumed them.
We invite you to visit our offices, take a book, read it, and then pass it on. Just as George always passed his knowledge on to all of us.
George may be gone, but his legacy lives on.
Contact me if you’d like to schedule a time to select a book.
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About the author:
Mitch Isaacs was named Shafer Leadership Academy’s Executive Director in May 2015. In this role, he works closely with the organization’s board of directors to fulfill the mission of the organization. He is responsible for creating vision, connecting with stakeholders, administering program offerings and leading the organization in meaningful ways.