.. I will ... because I do that once a month on a Saturday (as opposed to a typical soapbox rant) ... in order to maintain a bit of balance in my life.
As you may have heard, over the recent holiday weekend, Hugh O'Brian passed away. Mind you, that fact is not the "rave", obviously. The rave is about what he stood for. The rave is about his foundation.
The Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Foundation (or HOBY, for short) was an important part of my past for about a decade -- from the moment I represented my high school as a sophomore back in 1987 on through my years of volunteering until I was old enough to be a counselor ... and then work with the alumni ... and finally serve on the board ... until I could no longer honor my commitment to the organization (due to some personal issues in the mid-90's).
The people I met .. the experiences I had ... the places I traveled ... the youth I advised ... for that decade of my life, I was honored and privileged to be a small part of a greater cause -- a cause that existed because of the calling that Hugh felt after meeting the humanitarian Albert Schweitzer.
With this as a mission statement -- "To motivate and empower individuals to make a positive difference within our global society, through understanding and action, based on effective and compassionate leadership" -- the organization will continue to serve and empower despite the passing of its namesake, and those whom were touched by the seminars and activities will carry some of Hugh with them, passing on his beliefs to others, allowing him to achieve a bit of immortality.
Although I wasn't lucky enough to actually meet the man in the decade I participated in the foundation, he gifted me, through that seminar and the people in central PA who ran it, with an appreciation for critical thinking, an understanding of the value of "the other", and an awareness of positive self-esteem at a integral point in my own personal development.
What an amazing man ... and what an OUTSTANDING legacy.
HOBY'S MISSION:
http://www.hoby.org/about/mission
HUGH'S OBITUARY:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/09/06/hugh-obrian-dies-at-91-wyatt-earp-made-him-famous-hoby-made-him-meaningful/
ON THAT MEETING THAT CHANGED THINGS FOR HUGH:
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/sep/02/entertainment/et-classichollywood2
No comments:
Post a Comment