Leadership Lessons
Building Community
This month’s Leadership Lesson is authored by Kim Myrick.
As a higher education professional, I have served in several communities. After about 15 years in Colorado we moved to Georgia and then to Arkansas where we have lived for about 15 years. Finding where you fit personally and professionally can be challenging. Moving to a new community or position is exciting as well as potentially stressful and unsettling. I have learned over many moves and more years the importance of building community. While this note takes more of a storytelling approach, I hope you will be encouraged to build community by valuing our colleagues, sharing yourself, and investing time in our shared priorities.
When Danny and I moved our family to Clarksville, Arkansas from LaGrange, Georgia, we were unsure what sort of community we would find. Our boys were just starting elementary school, and our daughter was still at home. We moved mid-year (which I vowed never to do again!) so we missed the beginning of school activities.
The first clue we received about our new campus and community was that even though we arrived after the holidays, my cabinet colleagues and admission team left presents on my desk. When I called Jana to let the team know we were safely in town I heard, oh we all know! Deb lives near you and told us all the moving truck was parked on your street. Jana let me know I should come by to pick up the treats others thoughtfully provided for us.
When our first campus visit event rolled around that spring, I thought about the unexpected gifts left for us by people we barely knew or had not met. For those weekend visit days faculty give up a morning to host sample classes, greet parents, and visit with students during informational fairs. I wanted to say thank you in a way that might mean more than an email sent out Monday morning. I decided to bake! Danny’s mom has a pumpkin bread recipe that we love. Danny went to WalMart to get the supplies while I was on campus Saturday. We baked pumpkin bread Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon. A labor of love for sure. Monday morning I took the wrapped loaves to campus then walked around with my basket delivering to each department with an in person thank you. I had no idea what I started, but let’s just say for years we baked bread after each visit day!
You see, we landed in a community where the joy of helping out your neighbor runs deep. Sharing the abundance of your harvest (whatever form it takes) is highly valued. Buddy Smith, math professor, would bring his watermelons to campus in the back of his truck bed and park in the shade. He would email everyone to say go pick out what you like. Others shared berries, corn, or homemade candy. Others showed up with chainsaws and tractors after a tornado damaged a nearby community and narrowly missed a colleague’s home. No one asked, they just came.
At Christmas, our first year in Clarksville, we decided we needed something different to share. Danny decided to make what we call “Damn Sweet” pickles. They are both hot and sweet. The good thing is these do not require the labor of actually pickling, you use already prepared whole dill pickles and doctor them up. Danny made several large jars and then we repackaged them in fresh Mason jars with bows. Danny delivered pickles to people we do business with, neighbors, friends, and the campus community. Lots of pickles! We were surprised when a few days later empty pickle jars were returned to us. We thought it was a polite request for a refill! When I asked a friend about it, she explained that Mason jars are dear to country people. During the Great Depression jars were hard to come by so the “mountain folks” near our town still treat the jars as small treasures. We gladly provided refills. Some friends over time began to get their own big jar of pickles. One local restaurant (in a gas station) serves these pickles with their BBQ. And over the weekend Danny started this year’s batch to share around town.
Building community takes time. It requires sharing some part of yourself with those around you—not big things even, just little things over time have a cumulative impact. The shared experiences of our team meetings, shared meals, and service to others build community over time. In turn, by knowing each other better and giving of ourselves, we become more closely knit to our shared purpose in connecting students with the life-changing benefits of education.
I miss not being with the team for the holiday festivities and service events. If I could, I would ship 35 jars of pickles to Lisle! Since that isn’t practical, here are a couple of my favorite recipes for gifts I have shared with campus and community friends.
Damn Sweet Pickles
Large jar whole dill pickles 2.5 quarts
4 lb bag sugar (You won’t use it all! Danny says he uses about 3 lbs in the 2.5-quart jar.)
Small bottle Tabasco sauce 2 ounces
Drain all juice from pickles and slice
Wash and dry the jar
Layer pickles into dried jar alternating with layers of sugar. The goal is to fill the jar with sliced pickles and sugar.
After filling jar with slices pickles and sugar, add the whole bottle of Tabasco to the pickles and sugar.
Close the jar with the original lid.
Leaving the pickles on the counter, shake or roll the jar each day or so for 3-5 days or until the sugar has dissolved. Move to refrigerator to enjoy or separate into smaller jars to share.
Russian Tea Mix
1 cup Sugar Sweetened lemon-flavored instant tea
1 cup orange Tang (don’t get mango!)
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cloves
Mix all together and store in an airtight jar.
Add 4-5 serving teaspoons to a mug of hot water, stir and enjoy.
