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Mentors, Mentees and Stand Up
By Geoff Smith
This may sound hard for you to believe, but I was stood up a couple weeks ago for a breakfast meeting I had scheduled with a Realtor here in Roswell. That is, unless you are a mortgage lender and know Realtors.
To be fair, the Realtor got called away at the last second, as Realtors often do, to show a house. The life of a Realtor is one where you have to be nimble and ready at a moment's notice because when it's time to buy, it's time to buy. Even if you have a breakfast planned with the great Geoff Smith.
It turned out to be fruitful for me anyway because he ended up referring the buyer to me for the loan! I'll be happy to get stood up like that anytime. It also turned out fruitful because I ran into my good friend, Dave Schmit. He asked me to join him and that turned into this article. Success again!
Dave is a developer and has worked for and alongside some pretty amazing projects here locally and around the country. I've known him a long time as a pillar of our Roswell community and am always interested in talking real estate shop with him. But this time he was more introspective, so we talked about that.
Dave just published a book, he told me. It's called Five Men: The Transformative Power of Mentorships. He told me it was loosely about his life and the men who helped to shape it. To be nice, I told him I was interested, so, to be nice, he smiled, gave me a copy and said "I'll be anxious to hear your thoughts."
Gulp.
Now I had to read it.
And I did. All the way through in about 4 days.
I honestly found the book to be a very interesting read of another man's interesting life. Dave isn't Theodore Roosevelt. He didn't scurry up a group of Rough Riders and storm San Juan Hill. He wasn't born a Kennedy, so there's no juicy details or behind-the-curtain reveals of that family. Dave is a guy who walks among us. Who became a success at not only his career in the construction industry, but at balancing that with his career as a family and community man.
His work ethic and worldview was forged working in his father's car repair shop. Many of those core values were expanded and driven home while playing baseball for an impactful coach who, as Dave paints the pictures, was a master at teaching discipline, teamwork, leadership and mental toughness. He took all that to college where opportunity happened to be looking for someone with just those humble talents - right man, right spot.
A professor got him enthused about construction, took him under his wing, and fostered a relationship that lasted a lifetime. Who keeps up with a professor after college? Successful guys like Dave do.
I don't want to give the entire book away, but Dave went on to work with people who showed him how to navigate a professional life, and was blessed with a great Irish-Catholic priest who nurtured his faith and personal life.
The book was an easy read about something very tangible. I say Dave wasn't a celebrity, but he has done some great things. He's worked with some huge developments including The Assembly in Doraville, and helping to rebuild the downtown of Auburn, GA, to name a few you may have seen. He's a past president of the Roswell Rotary, which is one of the most successful Rotary clubs in the world, and has quietly been involved in helping to shape our community. He had professional opportunities to run worldwide companies, but ultimately opted for a career that allowed him time to focus on family and community.
What I found in his book was an easy read of a successful guy who I think kind of wanted to say thank you to those who positively impacted his life, and to preach the values of mentorship to anyone else looking for a leg-up. I think this would be a great read for anyone starting college, or for anyone in a leadership position.
It took on special interest for me because I am involved in the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce's mentorship program. The chamber had been a place where I kind of grew up in my professional career. I first joined it in 1999 as a very young newspaper reporter and it watched me grow from that to a general contractor and for the last 13 years, as a mortgage loan officer. I learned a lot from the men and women there over the years. When I first joined, in my eyes, they were the pillars of the community. I was petrified to go to the meetings. But my then-boss and editor, Hatcher Hurd, thankfully shoved me out of my cubicle and into that circle. He taught me there are no shortcuts to writing good, honest stories.
I grew a lot at the Chamber and eventually served on the board and even chaired some committees. But I was still surprised when current-president Kali Boatright called me and asked if I'd be interested in participating in it's mentor program - as a mentor! Turns out I'm now one of the old guys.
It's been an inspiring program for me. Kali is very intentional in how she pairs mentors and mentees and I've been fortunate to be paired with some really bright and inspired individuals.
Tukker Penrod works for the non-profit, Saprea, working to raise funds so they can continue to heal those recovering from child sexual abuse(I was shocked to learn how prevalent that is). I thought I had it tough getting people to listen to me talk about mortgages. Tukker really believes in this mission and has made himself a fixture in our community.
Cimarron Carter is my current mentee and works in cybersecurity. He's a really bright young man who seems capable of juggling many, many projects at once.
I'm excited about both of their careers and while both came seeking guidance and reassurance in one way or another, I have learned a lot from them and their passion and hard-work. And it gives me hope and excites me for their generation of leaders.
This article wasn't supposed to be about me and my life, but reading Dave's book really did make me think about it. I have mentors including my mother and father, who I still learn from. And I remember my old coaches - Coach Bill Waters showed me how to love and embrace competition. I still get chills thinking about the way he said the word "foot-ball".
We are all in a position to help and be helped. If there's any inspiration to come from Dave's book, it's that we all have to first be open to both. You may not think you need help. And if you do, you probably do. Conversely, you may not think you're in a position to help. You are.
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