Sometimes Moments of Awe Can Occur Even When Things Go Wrong
September 13, 2018
Last week, I expected to be awed. After all, I was traveling to the 2018 Safe States Alliance Annual Meeting. Safe States is near and dear to my heart. While it is the professional association I’ve been a member of for more than 20 years, it also serves as the vehicle that introduced me to some of my closest friends. For the past 11 months, I had the privilege to serve as the chair of the committee tasked with planning the 2018 meeting. The planning committee was filled with bright, energetic people – some of whom I had personally recruited; others had volunteered. As an added bonus, 2018 marked the 25th anniversary of Safe States. The committee and the amazing Safe States staff had worked long hours to plan a celebration worthy of the anniversary, while ensuring the meeting would be stimulating and informative.
I had high expectations for the meeting. The keynote speakers we had selected for the opening and closing plenary sessions had inspiring messages. The abstracts selected for oral and poster sessions featured information about cutting edge and promising injury and violence prevention strategies. The meeting was being held in picturesque Charleston, South Carolina at the historic Francis Marion Hotel on King Street. I expected to spend time with old friends, as well as with new acquaintances. Plus, there were nine of us from “Team Texas,” as well as three other Texans attending this year’s meeting, so that added to my anticipation. Although rain was forecasted for the week, it didn’t dampen my excitement.
When I caught a glimpse of the palette of colors through my hotel room window caused by the sun and scattered clouds on the first day of the 2018 Annual Meeting, I was hopeful. As the first day progressed, my hope continued to soar. The pre-conference sessions proved to be enlightening, as well as instructive. The opening plenary on servant leadership was a mixture of warm southern soul combined with motivating challenges to become the leaders we envision. I proudly watched as my “Team Texas” friends and colleagues shared their presentations on our efforts to make Texas safer. At the reception on Wednesday evening, we enjoyed a friendly competition with Colorado and Iowa attendees to see which state could raise the most money for the Safe States Policy Fellows Program.
As Thursday dawned, the 2018 Annual Meeting was exceeding my expectations. But, at 8:45 a.m., while watching my friend Stewart’s presentation, I received a group text message from Safe States staff that our closing plenary speaker, which was scheduled for Friday morning, had cancelled due to a family emergency. Ahh, the best laid plans . . .
I immediately left the session where Stewart was presenting and huddled with a few of the staff. We began discussing whether we should try to find a last minute replacement speaker or cancel the closing plenary session. None of us wanted to cancel the closing, nor did we want to take a chance on getting a subpar replacement speaker. As we brainstormed, it became obvious that we needed to reach out to other staff and attendees who might have ideas and contacts. We had originally planned to use Charleston’s history and the Francis Marion Hotel’s proximity to Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church to have a “comfortable conversation about an uncomfortable topic – racism and violence.” On a Sunday morning in 2015, a white supremacist opened fire in the church killing nine worshippers. We wanted to honor those who had lost their lives in one of the many hate crimes that still plague our country by having an open and respectful conversation about how to bridge the divide in our country.
As we brainstormed options for the closing plenary, no one in our small group panicked, raised his or her voices, or blamed anyone for the predicament. We calmly started to brainstorm, and the ideas started flowing. We quickly realized that there was talent within our midst to pull together a last-minute closing session on the same topic and theme. One of Safe States’ Board members, who is an excellent moderator and knowledgeable about how racism and violence affects public health, agreed to facilitate a “Let’s Talk” conversation with a couple of other attendees (one of which is an 18 year-old college freshman) who had presented during a concurrent session on the role of racism and inequality. We reached out to our South Carolina attendees who helped us secure a clinical psychologist in Charleston who provided assistance to surviving congregation members of Mother Emanuel. We asked my friend, Courtney, a trauma nurse at Parkland Hospital in Dallas who had experience with the July 7, 2016 shooting of Dallas police officers, to be prepared to ask a question of the panelists.
Within an hour of learning about the cancellation of the original closing speaker, we had pulled together a comparable closing session, that in the end, proved to be as powerful and thought provoking as we had hoped for originally. I was exhilarated.
But my exhilaration wasn’t about the success of the annual meeting or even the closing session. It was because I witnessed what can be accomplished when a group of intelligent individuals from diverse backgrounds with a common goal combine their talents.
Granted, we weren’t trying to solve this country’s ills – poverty, homelessness, hunger, etc. We were just trying to put together a last-minute replacement closing plenary session for a national conference. But, the actions of that group inspired me. We were not a homogenous group. We represented different disciplines and different experiences. We understood that not one of us alone could “fix” the problem, but as a team, we could.
As the program chair, I didn’t have any grandiose illusions about my individual competency. But, I had confidence in the competent team we had assembled. Sometimes, the best course of action is for the leader to have the humility to let the team succeed. And when they do, it is awe-inspiring.
Thank you Michelle, Eva, Julie, Jamila, Sharon, Rich, Mighty, Julian, Dr. Wendel, Dr. Best, and Courtney, as well as the 2018 Annual Meeting Planning Committee, Safe States staff, and as always, Team Texas!
