“Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”― Martin Luther King Jr.
Serving and giving to others is one of the most powerful things a human can do. To serve and give freely from the heart is a power from God. In order to save this world, it is incumbent that we instil in our young people the gift of serving and giving of ourselves freely to help others. Before my father became ill, he and my mother had me doing some type of work–either around the house or with my father on his job.
I remember as a youth, at the age of 17, volunteering for the Handy Homes housing authority (housing projects) in Florence, AL. As a volunteer during the summertime, I handed out sandwiches and juices to the kids on the playground. It was also during this time that I was developing into becoming a star athlete in football and track & field. In addition to all of this, I worked several jobs with Mr. Grant and Mr. Long. These men also helped me develop my work ethic. They would have me working with them around their house or with them on their part-time jobs, especially Mr. Grant. With him I learned how to operate a buffer machine and commercial size lawn mowers. My father was bedridden throughout my high school years, so I helped my mother take care of him–from helping her bathe him and turning his body daily to avoid bedsores.
As I write this, it is amazing how I vividly remember that particular summer. Along with the refreshment duties, I helped oversee their play while they ran around the playground, slid up-and-down the sliding board, and enjoyed themselves on the swings. There was no organized program or any educational components, kids just running around laughing and having a good time. Back in those days, it seemed as though we had more family and more educational and societal values.
I shared this brief background on my life as an example of how sometimes it takes a community/village to raise a child. As far as the black community is concerned, we need the black man, old and young, to step up and fill-in the gaps in the lives of many of our youth–like Mr. Grant and Mr. Long did for me. Mind you, this is not a black thing, all kids, rich and poor, black, white and brown, need good strong upbringing. But the statistics reflects that in America, nearly 70% of our black kids are raised in single parent households…our black women need help!
But today, due to the lack of family, educational and societal values, our youth and families are less prepared to handle the negative challenges of life. Reality TV, sex, violence and vulgarity is the norm rather than the exception. With the new and advanced technologies and social media (selfies, Facebook etc.), it appears we are more concerned with “Me versus We”!
If we embrace how President Obama framed and used “We” in his recent Selma speech, it can inspire a consciousness of service to others. President Obama said, “Because Selma shows us that America is not the project of any one person. Because the single-most powerful word in our democracy is the word “We.” “We The People.” “We Shall Overcome.” “Yes We Can.” That word is owned by no one. It belongs to everyone. Oh, what a glorious task we are given, to continually try to improve this great nation of ours”. I believe in order for President Obama’s speech to be realized, we must prepare our youth so they will be prepared to take the mantle to care for others and be willing to serve and give freely from the heart.
Now when I return to Florence in the same neighborhood that I was raised in, can you believe the kids have fewer things to do now, than those kids of years past! This is the primary reason why I travel back to Florence during the summer months, so I can introduce the kids to the game of golf and give them something to experience that I didn’t have the opportunity to.
This is why it is imperative that our young people gain knowledge of and exercise the spirit of giving back and serving others. So when they get older and if the world hasn’t beaten them down too roughly, they will have the spirit of service and giving.
Having work ethics is a value that is best implanted in one’s formative years. Developing work ethics can be as simple as cutting the grass, doing the dishes, cleaning up you room, making up the bed, pulling weeds from around the house/garden; reading a book; writing a paper and other things that we take for granted. Completing a task and doing the best you can do develop work ethics. When I was a training manager for Wendy’s back in the early 80’s. I used to tell my high school employees that if they were given a task, to be the best person in the world doing that task. If they had to clean the toilet, be the best toilet cleaner in the world. That attitude and work ethic will continue and carryon for their entire lives.
Creating a program that helps families to develop and foster work ethics in young people is just as important as getting good grades. In many cases, good grades are attained by cheating and other means. But a kid with good work ethics will not cheat! My non-scientific hypothesis find that, at least 90% of the time, a good honest kids will mature into a good honest adult!
TVYGD is designed to help our youth develop their academic and golf skills. But if we can help our youth embrace good strong work ethics in their formative years, when it comes to mastery in golf, we have a better chance of developing them into a good golf player and a great person.
I would love to hear from you on how your work ethics were instilled in you!
Much love to Richard Crimes, for assisting me with my blogs.
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Howard Bankhead
Executive Director
Tennessee Valley Youth Golf Development
604 Jordan Lane
Huntsville, AL 35816 USA
256-604-8172
