Wind Beneath My Wings

The lyrics to Wind Beneath My Wings by Bette Midler proved to be the ultimate end to the eulogy that I gave when my father passed away on October 1, 2009.

Did you ever know that you're my hero You're everything I wish I could be. I could fly higher than an eagle, 'cause you are the wind beneath my wings. The reason I bring this up is in advance of Father's Day to reiterate the importance of having a mentor. A mentor by my definition is someone who will be brutal honest and not hold any punches back to see you accomplish what you set out to achieve. You can have a mentor for your personal life but you can have one for your professional life. I'm thankful for the impact that my mentors have had in my life including my father, who has left a lasting imprint and legacy with me. Wikipedia defines mentorship as:  Mentorship is a personal developmental relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps to guide a less experienced or less knowledgeable person. The mentor may be older or younger, but have a certain area of expertise. I recently attended the 2015 CoSIDA/NACDA/NACMA Convention and twice during the convention I was able to visit with job seekers. First, it was in my role on the job seekers committee on CoSIDA that I was able to impart my wisdom with the assembled individuals, who had came to the convention for a possible opportunity in sports information. The other time came, in partnership with Kristi Dosh, I met with some individuals to assist with various areas such as cover letter, resume and/or mock interviews.  Regardless of the situation and location, it was always important to communicate the impact of mentorship. Both NACMA and CoSIDA have formal mentorship programs, I'll be posting in the upcoming days on how to get involved with each.