Proud dad of UGA grad and all-around awesome kid. Lucky husband of a wonderful, patient wife. Oh yeah, attorney for emerging growth companies and big ideas!
Did you know that the FFA was founded at Virginia Tech in 1925 by four agricultural education teachers? Today, the National FFA Organization is a school-based national youth leadership development organization of well more than 850,000 students as part of the almost 9000 local FFA chapters in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. @NationalFFA #service #LeadershipMatters #UtProsim #FutureLeaders
In a corner of parliament at the far end of the Royal gallery a box lies permantly open containing sand from all five Normandy beaches -a reminder to both houses of the sacrifice & the cause of freedom fought for by brave service people on DDay June 6 th 1944. #DDay
If you care about southwest Virginia, please take 5 minutes to watch my chat with @coachfostervt
As Bud says, "Not everybody was blessed like we were."
If you are able, please consider donating to https://t.co/10UejADkPr
#Hokie nation please help me get the word out!
Going to a Tech game this fall?
Grab your free Cheat Sheet at https://t.co/yF6pjYt1gu and be entered to win a full guide for the ACC school of your choice!
The Emory & Henry football family lost a pillar this weekend. His legacy will live on within each player and coach he impacted.
We are deeply saddened, and send our thoughts and prayers to the entire Newsome family.
I went to Virginia Tech because it was a land-grant university that offered a strong, affordable technical education.
After growing up working on farms and construction sites, it felt like it was made for people like me.
So did the lunch pail.
@coachfostervt coached the Virginia Tech defense for 33 years. His players competed for the right to carry a beat-up coal miner's lunch pail each week.
It symbolizes blue-collar work ethic built into an object and became one of the most recognized traditions in college football.
In 2009, still coaching, he built the Lunch Pail Defense Foundation around the same idea, putting money behind kids in Southwest Virginia from families where college isn't the assumed path.
Since then the foundation has distributed more than a million dollars. Bud hasn't taken a cent, and the board are all volunteers.
Every dollar goes out the door into direct support for Southwest Virginia families.
Scholarships for Virginia Tech students, community college tuition for high school grads, healthcare for uninsured families, and direct support for families dealing with childhood cancer.
If you care about Southwest Virginia, please help me get the word out about the Lunchpail Defense Foundation.
Watch the video I recorded with Coach Foster below. Share it if it lands.
Please sign up to the mailing list at https://t.co/wyclgFM1cb.
This is what the lunch pail means off the field.
Unprecedented... in a bad way. Never in the history of Virginia has a governor taken such a heavy hand in shaking up leadership at state university boards of visitors -- UVA, Virginia Tech, George Mason, and VMI. The contrast with Gov. Youngkin couldn't be more marked. He played by the established rules... and as a consequence allowed universities to be run by Northam holdovers until his last year.
In case you missed it!
BRM caught up with @davidpollack47 to discuss the future of College Football, Virginia Tech's renewed financial commitment to Athletics, and making every day count.
https://t.co/zCbgm04tfV
I just had the craziest experience at the airport.
We are about to board a flight to Atlanta when the pilot from the incoming plane walks out of the jetway. Guy is probably late 50s, salt and pepper hair, military look. The kind of pilot you instantly feel good about seeing on your flight.
Pilot walks over to the counter, gets on the PA system, and starts addressing everyone. “Folks, I’ve been doing this a long time. Flying one of these jets is easy. The hard part is looking at 130 people and telling them their flight is going to be delayed.”
Audible groans throughout the boarding gate. Most people here are flying to Atlanta as a layover before another flight. 130 people just had their day become a complete mess.
The pilot goes on. “I get it, trust me. But here’s the deal: During our landing, we had a small mechanical issue. I’m not your pilot for the next leg, but I don’t feel confident the jet’s safe to fly until we have a mechanical team look it over, and I don’t feel comfortable asking the next pilots to fly you guys until we get confirmation.”
He points at the agents next to him behind the counter: “Now, none of this is the agents’ fault. Please be kind to them. I’m the one who made this decision, not them, so any inconvenience you experience is my fault. Just please know that I don’t do this lightly, and I’m only doing it because I believe it’s in the best interests of everyone’s safety.”
Now this is where the story gets crazy. The pilot puts the microphone down, grabs his suitcase, and all the people in the gate…
Start clapping.
I’m not joking, everyone starts clapping for the guy. 130 people who just had their travel plans ruined give an ovation to the guy who made the decision and delivered the message.
All because he addressed them with decency and transparency, took ownership of the decision, made it clear that it was necessary, and explained why it was in everyone’s best interest.
It’s honestly one of the best examples of strong communication—of strong leadership, for that matter—that I’ve seen in a long time.
@Delta, whoever your Atlanta to Wichita pilot was this morning, he’s one of the good ones. Please tell him the delayed passengers of flight 1637 appreciate what he did.