A Matter of Commitment

When my wife and I got married we never made any plans as to how many children we would have. As a result we lost our membership in Planned Parenthood because we broke the mandatory 1 ½ child rule per family. (Actually we never belonged to Planned Parenthood). Five children came along and through difficult times we attempted to prepare them for adulthood. Each child took a different route. None followed in the footsteps of their parents as far as occupation was concerned. But each one took with him or her one outstanding characteristic for which I will gladly take credit. That characteristic is commitment.

Our children saw us struggle with Intermountain Bible College that never paid us very much to begin with and often were two or three months behind on salaries. Yet we stayed with the school until the doors closed. Not by word, but by deed we showed them that you need to keep your commitments. Likewise you need to be willing to make commitments and then carry through.

Our oldest son, Geoffrey, has always maintained that attitude on every job he has been on. Due to the changing climate of the business world he has had several jobs which is no longer to be considered unusual. But those who know him know that he learned to keep his commitments.

Our second son, Tad, entered the world of fast food while still in high school. By the time he was 17 Wendy’s decided he was ready to manage his own store. Corporate headquarters said it couldn’t be done because he was too young. But as soon as he graduated from high school he had his own store and sometimes was in charge of several stores at the same time. Tad is committed to quality in the fast food market. He kept his stores better than hospital clean and was highly respected by his employees. One employee moved to Nebraska and was hired by a Wendy’s there. She was shocked at the lack of cleanliness and when she told the manager, she said, “This is not the way I was taught to run a Wendy’s by Tad Paddock.” Unfortunately for her, the manager was not impressed and she was terminated from the position.

Tad would leave Wendy’s and go to Taco Bell. In a short period of time he was put in charge as the general manager of five stores in the Grand Junction area. They were in bad need of effective management. Tad would “clean” them up and make them some of the most profitable stores in the Taco Bell system. But one store, the one at Clifton, Colorado, seemed beyond hope. The owners of the stores came to Tad and asked him to take on just the Clifton store. His pay would remain the same, but he would only handle Clifton. Tad said he would do it on one basis: he be allowed to go to the other stores and choose the help he needed. The store managers gasped. What they saw Tad as doing was taking the best of their employees and using them to build up his own store. The owners told Tad that he could do what he requested. He went to the other stores and picked the worst employees in each of them.

Tad then took these people to Clifton and trained them to be good employees. Soon the Clifton store was doing over a million dollars a year in sales.

The last time I talked to Tad, he was telling about the lack of commitment that he sees in the white youth of America. They want enough money to get a car and then they are through working. Much of his help comes from the Hispanic community, which is being bad-mouthed by many. Tad says they will work and they are glad to have the jobs which white-people feel beneath their dignity. In September of 2007 there were 3000 jobs available in Grand Junction, Colorado and virtually no one to fill them. The fruit growers in the area lost must of their fruit because they could not get help.

Our third child is our daughter Rebecca. She married a fine young man from California who is the epitome of commitment. I will tell you that when I first learned of her desire to marry Seth Burt I had serious misgivings, but as I often am, I was wrong about him. They moved to Arrowbear, California in the mountains above San Bernardino. Many are familiar with this area because it has been on the news. Forest fires nearly destroyed this community, but for the second time in four years the fires stopped short of Arrowbear. Seth is one of the firefighters who helped control the fires.

Last summer Rebecca was dubbed “Queen of the Mountain” because of all the hard work she does in behalf of the community. She is highly respected and greatly loved because she is a woman of commitment. She conducts a very informal ministry to women on the mountain who need various kinds of encouragement. Rebecca is known for her commitment.

Our second daughter recently returned to her home in Alaska after finishing her law degree in Kansas. Friends immediately began to help her get reestablished. Some gave her furniture and televisions and dishes, pots and pans. Others helped her with projects around her house. Why were her friends so anxious to help her? Because she is a woman of commitment. She has been there more than one when they were in need from house sitting to dog-tending. Vicki has been the adventurous one. Moving to Alaska, sky-diving, open-sea kayaking, biking, volleyball and softball are just some of her adventures. Whenever some event is happening we jokingly correspond with one another that we will be on the next plane to wherever it is with our cameras and computers. We both have gone our separate ways, but still live for adventure. Vicki worked for a clothing manufacturer in Manhattan, Kansas. The owners never bothered to acknowledge the changes Vicki brought about and the money she both saved and earned for them. She didn’t need to do the things she did, but her commitment to excellent required her to do it.

Recently I met Tom Romig, dean of the Washburn Law School at a reception. We talked about Vicki and he expressed how much he appreciated her and what she contributed to the Washburn program. Very simple. Vicki was committed to doing a good job in her education. She didn’t go to play, but to become a successful lawyer. It’s all about commitment.

Last, but by no means least, we have our youngest son—Marty. In 20022 he went to work for Emmanuel School of Religion as their IT. Soon after he started their field representative was in Manhattan. He did not greet me but rather immediately began telling me how wonderful my son was. He went on for several minutes telling me the excellent job he was doing at ESR. We have visited ESR on several occasions. We never visit without being invited to the president’s office for tea. In the course of the conversation Dr. Wetzel would always say, “We want to thank you again for Marty. You have no idea how much he means to us.”

At a very important seminar the main speaker bumped his laptop computer and it fell to the floor and immediately ceased to work. The man’s notes were all on PowerPoint and the death of the computer was also the death of his lectures. Marty quietly took the computer to his office, dismantled it found a chip that had been dislodged; put the chip back in, and the computer sprang to life. The speaker was overwhelmed. But that’s Marty. Committed to excellence, committed to service.

As now as I look back, I can say with pride, that my wife and I did a good job. We taught our children commitment.