Our speaker today was David Chadwick,
introduced by John Tabor. David is a UNC-CH graduate, where he played on the NCAA
Final-Four team and NIT Championship team for Dean Smith. He moved to Charlotte in
1980 and became minister at Forest Hills Church. He has served as the pastor to the
Charlotte Hornets. He hosts the "David Chadwick Show" on WBT. He is the author
of "12 Leadership Principles of Dean Smith." David has developed a seminar,
which is conducted at the William States Lee Leadership Institute. David's father,
Howard, is a member of our Club and his mother was a guest here today.
David
expressed gratitude that his parents met 63 years ago today. Without their meeting, David
would not have been present and David's children would not have been born.
"I want
to start off by talking about President Clinton, but do not want to make any
judgment calls about his actions, just want to say that I believe he governs more by polls
than by principles. This is important because it is critical to today's topic. This book
and Dean Smith's leadership are based upon principle-centered leadership.
"I played
for Coach Smith for four years, from 1967-1971. Coach Smith, during his career, had 879
victories, had 97% graduation rate of his players, and never cheated. Why?
"I spent
two years interviewing players, talked to fourteen of the fifteen players that I wanted to
talk with — only one, Number 23,1 did not reach. I talked with Matt Dougherty,
James Worthy, Bobby Knight and others. Bobby Knight is the source of another story to
be told elsewhere. Michael Jordan is too busy and has surrounded himself with so
many people that he is impossible to reach. All of these players talked about their times
with Coach Smith and what those meant to them. All had memories and appreciation of their
Tar Heel days.
"We need
to reclaim our principles. I am not going to talk about all twelve here today, but three
core values that encompass the twelve. I will talk through them and then we can have some
questions.
"First,
people are your most important product.
"We are a
part of the family and to this day I have Coach Smith's number by my bed. I know that I
did not play a lot, but I know that he is always there for me.
"Once King
Rice was accused of a crime a few days before a big game. At that point. Coach Smith
had not lost a game in the Dean Dome. Dean decided to start and play King, who had not
returned his phone calls. King did not play well and the normally supportive Tar Heel fans
showered him with boos. Coach Smith did not remove King from the game and the Heels lost
the game. Coach Smith refused to give up on his players.
"Second,
the team is more important than the individual. Coach Smith originated many traditions to
ensure that team members got the recognition that they deserved, like pointing to the
person who passed you the ball or applauding when a player comes out from the game. If
anyone failed to do so. Coach made the whole team run. One time Michael Jordan had
a little bit of a swelled head. Coach Smith put a chair in the middle of the court and
made the whole team run while Michael watched. He never acted that way again.
"To make
the team better, each player had to become better. More practice and more exercise made
the team better.
"Without
discipline we were our own worst enemy. When I went to pray with the Hornets before a
game, I asked the players in the huddle who was the hardest person to guard; one player,
Anthony Mason, said that he was. I thought, 'exactly.' If we cannot guard ourselves,
we cannot improve and we cannot help those around us.
"Coach
Smith understood the power of positive words and used words to encourage and inspire.
Pierce Landry went through months of training, guarding Jerry Stackhouse every
day, focusing on how to recover from being down one point, five seconds to go. Then, in
the ACC Championship game with five seconds to go, Carolina was down by one against Wake
Forest, and Coach Smith called down the bench to Pierce. He told Pierce to go in the game.
Seeing the nervousness on Pierce's face, tension in his hands, he encouraged him: 'Pierce,
this is what you have done every day for the past 21/2 months — keeping
Jerry from getting the ball. Just do what you have done for the past two and a half
months.' Pierce guarded, kept Wake from getting the ball, and Carolina won.
"Third,
personal character is important. • Your reputation is what people think of you;
character is what you think of yourself, or what you are when no one is looking. Learn how
to make failure your friend. Coach Smith had many successes and many failures. Both should
be a time of reflection. His divorce was a time of personal reflection. Coach Smith
encouraged us to learn and improve constantly.
"Coach
Smith also said that we will not lose a game because we are poorly conditioned.
"The name
of our program at Lee Leadership Institute is 'It's How You Play the Game.' We wanted that
to be the title of the book, but the publisher won."
David answered
a few questions about Michael Jordan and Bill Guthridge.
Bill Wood
presided in the absence of President Worth. Dale LeCount introduced guests and
visiting Rotarians. Chuck Lineberry led the singing of "When the Saints Go
Marching In."
Seated at the
head table were: John Phillips, Larry Sagehom, Bill Wood, John Tabor, Chase Saunders,
and Joe Penner.
Don't forget
the District Conference, which will be held in Greenville, S.C., on April 28-30.
* * * |
New
Member
JAMES
GILBERT MIDDLEBROOKS
Law, Education
Smith, Helms, Mulliss & Moore, L.L.P.
201 N. Tryon Street (28202)
343-2051
FAX 334-8467
James G.
(Gil) Middlebrooks is a partner in the Charlotte office of Smith Helms Mulliss and Moore,
L.L.P. Gil is a trial lawyer who concentrates his practice in commercial and educational
matters. He serves as the principal outside counsel for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of
Education and represents several local boards of education throughout North Carolina.
Gil and his wife, Carolyn,
have lived in Charlotte since 1986. Through his experience with his daughter who is
mentally handicapped, Gil has become quite active in the special education community and
has served on the boards of the Exceptional Children's Assistance Center, the Association
for Retarded Citizens of Mecklenburg County, and Carolinas Caring Connection. He is a
frequent speaker at national and regional conferences on educational topics.
Gil graduated from Emory
University in 1978 and from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1982. At Georgia,
he served as the Editor-in-Chief of the "Georgia Law Review." After graduation,
Gil clerked for the Honorable Phyllis A. Kravitch of the United States Court of Appeals
for the Eleventh Circuit. He then practiced for three years in Washington, D.C., before
seeing the light and moving back south.
Gil, Carolyn, and their two
children attend Providence United Methodist Church.
Welcome to Charlotte
Rotary, Gil.
* * *
DID YOU KNOW?
Lake Norman / Huntersville Rotary Club has
changed the location of their breakfast meeting. They now meet at 7:30 a.m. at the
Northcross Country Club. Directions: Take Exit 25 off 77N. Turn right onto Sam Furr Road
to Highway 115; turn right. About a block down, turn left onto McCord Road. Follow McCord
Road to the Northstone Neighborhood entrance; turn right and go about 1/4 mile; turn right
into parking lot of Northcross Country Club.
* * *
POWELL'S
OBSERVATIONS
POWELL MAJORS
Don and Jan Haack were recognized with the Community Spirit Award presented by
Royal and Sun Alliance and the Mint Museum of Art for their support of the Charlotte
Symphony Orchestra.
John Rogers has been
named a trustee of Davidson College — his alma mater.
Katie Tyler has received the
"Golden Hammer" Award for high standards in her firm, Tyier II Construction. The
award is given by the Professional Construction Estimators Association.
* * * |
