Page 132 - How We Lead Matters

So Honored

There is a magical time in childhood—after the training wheels and before
hormonal distractions—when children seem to be the most open to the
world. It’s a prime teaching moment. My husband and I have made it a tra-
dition to take all our grandchildren at the age of twelve anywhere in the
world they would like to visit.
Our grandson, Alexander, feeling a special name kinship with
Alexander the Great, chose Egypt. Perhaps nowhere on earth is the human
effort more grandly commemorated in monuments, tombs, and statues.
There in the desert, we came across the gigantic stone legs of a once-power-
ful Egyptian ruler, its massive torso long lost to the ultimate leveler—time. It
was a heroic effort to immortalize the mortal within us.
In my lifetime, I have had the opportunity to build a caring corporate
culture, to fight for children’s rights, promote women’s equality, serve my
community, and advance the tourism industry as an economic driver and
platform for peace. As a result, I have been honored with numerous awards.
I am grateful for each and every one and display them proudly.
In time, my contributions no doubt will be diminished, perhaps even
forgotten altogether. In spite of this, perhaps because of this, I treasure the
recognition not for the prize, for I know it will not endure, but as an affirma-
tion that I answered the call when I could, I gave it my best, and it mattered
to someone in our time together. Beyond? Only the sands of time will tell.

Marilyn Carlson Nelson 115