Harold Gash

I met Harold Gash at a conference in Chicago in 1970. He was a successful businessman from Atlanta and I was a young entrepreneur eager to learn from my elders any lesson I could as I sought my way in the world.
Harold was wearing a suit that cost more than the car I was driving at the time. In fact, that may still be true. But that’s another story.
Over the years I have learned that we tend to remember bits and pieces of information and events. Not whole days or long stories. My mind at least tends to retain small snippets much better than large chunks. And I remember well Harold’s lesson that day.
Surprisingly it is relevant to Marietta’s choice about building new schools for our community. About focusing on the future and doing the right thing.
Harold talked about magnanimity. Generosity. So what’s the magnanimous perspective on new schools? Easy. Our students deserve the latest and best technology. They will soon be in the work world and asked to compete for jobs with students from around the world who have had access to that technology. Our kids need to measure up.
Our teachers deserve the best we can provide in terms of teaching environment to maximize the lessons they teach as well as to maximize student interest and learning. Buildings should be heated and cooled to facilitate learning. Technology should assist those lessons in every way possible. It’s happening in other places, we should make it happen here. It’s magnanimous.
Then there’s safety. Our current buildings do not allow security that meets today’s standards. To retrofit them would be cost prohibitive. And it still would not measure up to modern day threats. We should provide a safety level worthy of the lives we are protecting.
Okay, so much for magnanimity. What else did Harold cover that day? Selfishness. How does that relate to Marietta in 2009?
Just this way. It would be selfish to wish for our community to grow and prosper. To assure that growth takes a solid community foundation. Modern schools are at the base of that foundation. Providing them would serve that selfish desire.
It would be selfish to hope that employers who would employ our kids so they can get good jobs at home would stay in and come to our community. Good schools are a basic requirement of those employers.
It would be selfish to want our students to graduate and be able to compete against students from the best districts in the country for entry into the best trades, services and colleges in the country.
It would be selfish to act on the fact that property values are based in large measure on demand for our property. When we are ready to sell, we need a pool of eager buyers. That requires good schools.
It would be selfish to note that in communities where schools are not supported well, extras disappear. Athletics, clubs, bands, choirs, all the things that make up a well rounded school experience contribute to the value of housing in those communities.
Even if we are not anticipating selling our properties in the short run, it is best to maintain and increase our property values for the long run. It’s a sound investment. It’s the selfish thing to do.
So what was it that Harold Gash said all those years ago that caused me to remember the lesson? As with most lessons worth learning and remembering he distilled it to such simplicity that even I could not forget.
If you can’t be magnanimous, be selfish.