52 Cups of Coffee: 417 Edition - Cup 48/52 - Brian Fogle

Here's the weekly boilerplate intro if you've already read anything from past cups of coffee skip ahead to the cup of coffee below the name!

After hearing about the book 52 Cups of Coffee on a Podcast, I thought it sounded like a great opportunity to connect to people in my community. Initially, my plan was to just have coffee once a week with someone I know. I was thinking of friends, family members, or colleagues with whom I could spend some quality time. But the opportunity to engage with my community is always in the back of my mind. So I thought it might be interesting to ask the same set of questions to a diverse cast of influential and interesting people in the 417 area and share them here on my LinkedIn page. At the end of the year, who knows what we'll have... at the very least it's 52 interesting conversations. It's a loose plan. I don't have any real intentions and I think that's the beauty of it. Curiosity. Community. And a chance to learn a little bit from each person. A big thanks to the folks at Travellers House Coffee & Tea for being willing to provide a place to chat and several cups of coffee throughout the year!

**I don't like taking notes while having coffee and conversation so I've trusted Otter to do the transcribing. Any editing issues are my own. I'm not a professional. :) I've included a list of books we discuss throughout the conversation at the bottom.

Brian Fogle - 48/52

Without Brian Fogle 's constant community endeavors over the last several decades I truly believe this town would look quite a bit different. I'm not just talking him up either, even though I'm certain he would tell me to leave that out if I ran this by him. :) A long career in banking while being focused on community issues led to finally retiring from banking and taking on these community initiatives full time leading the team at Community Foundation of the Ozarks then "retiring" and getting involved at Drury University as an Executive in Residence. All of this while serving on several boards and finding time to read and go watch live music... you're probably seeing a trend here. Retirement isn't slowing down Mr. Fogle. I was honored to get some time out of his busy schedule to talk career, purpose, family, and here some truly touching stories about learning to be a better person all the time. This is a great read.

Oh I forgot to mention, aside from all of the other activities, did you know he holds a scoring record for Aurora basketball? Put that in your Springfield trivia bank.

I hope you enjoy the read!

Rhett Roberson?

What is the CliffsNotes version of the story of you??

Brian Fogle?

Okay, well, I grew up in Aurora. I had a small town, idyllic childhood. There was a show called The Wonder Years back in the day and that was truly my childhood growing up in a small town, back in the 60s, when small towns were vibrant. The only complaint I ever heard about Aurora was there was no place to park downtown, and that's not an issue anymore. Certainly that contributed later in life and in my career. I played basketball for Aurora. I thought I would go and actually go to play in college. I had a couple offers, but I had two knee surgeries and missed my junior year for those.

That was a blessing in disguise, in that I was so focused on basketball, nothing else mattered. Sitting out that year I was thinking, "Maybe I need a backup plan if I'm not going to go to college and play basketball." So, perspective has certainly been a great teacher for me over the years. I went to, then, SMS for two years, really, to walk on to play basketball, and then decided not to do that. I had a great two years there, but decided I wanted to do something else. So, I went to Ole Miss. I literally picked it out of a catalog, didn't ever visit. It just looked like a good place. I didn't know anybody there. First time I saw the campus was the day I drove up to enroll. And it was really weird. Culturally, it was very different than small town Missouri, but a great, great experience. Then thought I would stay in the south, and had a couple of offers, one in Memphis, one in New Orleans, one in Birmingham in banking. My dad was a banker in Aurora, and that's what I wanted to do. So, my grandmother, this was back before cell phones and internet and all that, we actually wrote letters back and forth. I told her that I was going to accept this job in Memphis and I was home for spring break that year, and she said, "That really surprises me, because you always talk about how you miss the rivers and the lakes and the hills." There's not rivers and lakes down in northern Mississippi that are fresh. There's a lot of mud, right? And that got me to thinking, "Yeah, I have already said that." So, I ended up taking a job at a bank here in Springfield at Boatmen's Bank, and started in 1979. I was at that bank for 20 years. Then went to Great Southern Bank after that. Then, you know, I took a totally different path. My predecessor at the Community Foundation, Gary Funk, who was a really good friend of mine, approached me back in 2007 and said he was going to be moving. He talked to the board and wanted me to follow him. "Gary, I'm a banker." I still remember his comments, he said, "No, you're a community developer that has just happened to work for a bank for 30 years." So, we talked for several months, and I started with Community Foundation on September 1, 2008. Totally different career change and I always have shared with Gary that I appreciate that he saw something in me I didn't see. And I loved, I mean, I loved banking. I still love banking, but I absolutely love the community outreach, and it was a blessing that he gave me that opportunity.?

Rhett Roberson?

Absolutely. And to tie this to the family, I became friends with your daughter, of course we're both Parkview alums, but I'm a couple years older than her, but when she started running for her house seat, I was in her district, so I kind of got reacquainted during her first campaign. Since then, the redistricting happened and I'm in Stephanie's district.?

Brian Fogle?

Yeah, that happened to us too. We're not in Betsy's district anymore.

Rhett Roberson?

I bet that was kind of a bummer.?

Brian Fogle?

Yeah, it was, it was, I loved voting for her, but...?

Rhett Roberson?

That must be an awfully proud dad moment to go to the voting booth and mark your own kid's name!?

Brian Fogle?

Oh, it is, yeah. When Betsy first thought about it, I remember having that discussion. She came over to talk about it and I was like, "Betsy, it's a full contact sport. I just want to warn you about that." And I really, really admire her. I kidded that I've now become Betsy dad or Ellen's dad. Which makes me even more proud than anything I've done how all three of my kids have been successful, and care about the world, and just who they are.

Rhett Roberson?

That is a funny happening, becoming Betsy and Ellen's dad, because you have been involved with so much in this community. This is the first time I've sat down and had a conversation with you, but I see you at so many things that it doesn't feel like this is our first meeting here. I was talking to Erin Danastasio about LORE recently. She's involved in so many great things that are bringing up this community.?

Brian Fogle?

Oh yes, she is!?

Rhett Roberson?

But that was particularly really interesting to me. Then when I saw your name as a part of that as well, as I went to learn more about it, I was excited to get to talk to you about it. Can you talk a little bit more about some of the things you're involved with in the community??

Brian Fogle?

Oh my gosh. Yeah.?

Rhett Roberson?

It's a long list. (Laughs)

Brian Fogle?

It's a long list. A really long list. Again, I've been blessed to have opportunities. I moved here in '79, so I've just been here long enough! And it's interesting, on a side note, growing up in a small town, Springfield was the big city. I sort of always had this inferiority complex. I'm from this small town. Springfield, people are different than I am. And I had that coming to work at the bank. It took me a while to realize that we're all just people. So, it's just been a blessing to have all these opportunities. LORE in particular. Rhett, as you know, the Chamber started these community leadership visits back in the 90's, and I've been on something like 20 of them. I went on some of the very first ones. When we went to Northwest Arkansas, we learned the story of the Northwest Arkansas regional group and it was just so inspiring. We kind of kept waiting to see what was going to happen out of that, and nothing was moving. So, I reached out to Erin and said, "Erin, could we do something? You were so supportive of that and inspired by that." So, we hired Ted. Community Foundation helped fund Ted Abernathy coming in here to do the whole assessment and that really led to LORE. I'm really excited about potential for that and how we can work together because if you're trying to get business, people don't see city limits, they see a region. And that's what Northwest Arkansas demonstrated to us with the success they've had there. 30 people a day are moving there. It's incredible what's happened there over the last 40 or 50 years.?

Rhett Roberson?

It really is. There are times when I consider that Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers area, sometimes I even get where things are mixed up. They've done such a good job of marketing it as regionalism, that sometimes it's like all one thing to me.?

Brian Fogle?

They don't talk about individual communities, right? It's all northwest Arkansas. They've done a great job there. It didn't used to be that way. They all came together. The catalyst for that, Walmart and the Waltons being one, but the other is they didn't have an airport. Fayetteville had a small regional airport, but it was not attracting folks, and that's what really was the catalyst that got them together and created the regional group. And it's been unbelievable.?

Rhett Roberson?

When I talked to Brian Hammons, of course he's with the Chamber, and that's a big focus right now, that regional idea.?

Brian Fogle?

Yeah.?

Rhett Roberson?

I really love to see that expanding, because there's a richness and a robustness of this area that is more than just Springfield. While I'm a little bit partial, Springfield through and through here, there's a lot to offer in the surrounding area. What brings you joy??

Brian Fogle?

Well, my family, number one. There's nothing ever been said about me that matches the joy I get from hearing people talk about my kid. All three of them, just who they are, and what they've become. It is an absolute joy. Betsy probably shared with you, we now have an instant grandson, and that has certainly been a joy to have him in our life. We skipped the baby phase and went straight to a middle school boy, but that has been certainly a joy. And then friends. I've been blessed with many, many friends here in Springfield and Aurora and Ole Miss that I continue to keep in touch with. And again, I do love reading. I read a lot, and I think I got it from my grandmother, who lived to be 101, and probably read until the day she was no longer on Earth. She was always curious about things, and that was passed along to me. I also love music. I love to listen to music. I still go out and listen to music. Those are some things that bring me joy, for sure.?

Rhett Roberson?

I'm a big music fan myself, especially local music around here. I have played almost all my life in some capacity or another.?

Brian Fogle?

Probably a big time Boris Yeltsin fan (Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, A band founded in Springfield in the early 2000's).?

Rhett Roberson?

Yeah, I kind of grew up in the scene as that was all really hitting. So, it was really huge while I was growing as a musician and getting into the local scene.?

Brian Fogle?

Betsy and Ellen both have big crushes on Phil.?

Rhett Roberson?

I'll be happy to put that into this article for Betsy. She'll love that.?

Brian Fogle?

Yeah, they were great.?

Rhett Roberson?

What do you do when you need to recharge??

Brian Fogle?

I read probably. That is a big thing. When I need to escape, I kind of jump into a book usually. That helps a lot. Since I retired, I walk every morning. Since I kind of retired, I walk every morning, and that's a good way to clear my mind. I go out and walk through Phelps Grove Park and through there, so that is a help. And then my friends. There's a group of us, Rhett, that have met every Friday for 25 plus years, when we can. It's kind of a way to end, and share a pin ale, and talk about the world, and I look forward to that each week. So, that's a way to help recharge as well.?

Rhett Roberson?

Certainly. Sounds like a nice tradition. How would your colleagues or your Friday friends describe you??

Brian Fogle?

That's a good question. I would like to think engaged, maybe. Yeah, engaged in the community and maybe engaged in that friendship. They probably get tired of me sending them things to read. (Both laughs) That's another thing, when I read something I'm always like, "Who would like to read this?" So, I share a lot that way, but that's probably one to ask them.?

Rhett Roberson?

That's a common response.?

Brian Fogle?

Yeah.?

Rhett Roberson?

I think people are maybe a little afraid to put words in people's mouths. (Laughs)?

Brian Fogle?

Right, right!?

Rhett Roberson?

I'll let you give me the short list of people I should ask to be sure they say the nice things. (Laughs) Can you describe the work that you do? That's kind of a loaded question, because now that you're "retired," you do a lot of different kinds of work.?

Brian Fogle?

Yeah. The main thing I'm involved in, again, is at Drury, and the way that I ended up there was through John Beuerlein, who was the interim president there. I've known John for years, and when I announced my retirement, John reached out and said, "I want to get you at Drury." He suggested several things. I was like, "John, I don't want to manage anybody." I don't think you understand retirement that well! (Laughs) Yeah. I've had this goal in Springfield of having this nonprofit undergraduate degree and approach MSU back in the late 90s, and again, probably 11 or 12, years ago. I talked to Drury about it 10 or 11, years ago and I shared that with John. I said, "John, I've had this long term goal. The nonprofit sector employs about 10% of the workforce nationally, even more than that here in Springfield, and we don't have really a career path for that." People get into the nonprofit sector full of passion, full of that commitment to the cause, but may not have that toolkit on how you hire people. How do you read a balance sheet and budget? How do you advocate politically? All of that. So, that's what I'm working on now, is creating that. If all goes well, we'll have that first cohort ready to go next fall. We're making a lot of progress on that, and I'm really excited about that. I think it will, I've used the term, "professionalize" the nonprofit sector. I think that will help us do that. So, that's the main thing I'm working on. I am on too many boards right now. I'm chair of the Rural Schools Collaborative, which is a national organization that is focused on rural schools and providing capacity there and helping support. I'm also chair of the Missouri College Access Network board or MOCAN. Which is about attainment and persistence of graduation to get people into higher ed degree quality credentials and higher ed degrees. I'm also on the Missouri Scholarship & Loan Foundation board and several others. I probably have over committed on boards. I think I'm on seven right now, but that's always been important to me, trying to help our little slice of the world, our corner of the world be better.?

Rhett Roberson?

You kind of talked about it a little bit there, but the question is, how did you get into this line of work? When you were in banking, were you heavily involved in this nonprofit world??

Brian Fogle?

Yeah, so interesting story. Back in the mid 80's, LSU had a School of Banking of the South, and it was a three year continuing ed program. It was the first time I'd even ever heard of this, but they had Myers-Briggs. We took the Myers-Briggs Personality Inventory, and I was in a class of about 140 of us from across the country. They went through the different personality types. They went to the ISTJ and most of the folks held up their hands, and then they got to my personality type, and there's like five of us. I remember the professor, who was a psychology professor, said, "You five need to get out of banking." He said, "You need to be in the ministry or in the nonprofit sector." That haunted me for a long, long time. I stayed in banking another 20 plus years.?

Rhett Roberson?

Did you just think of it every time you had a bad day??

Brian Fogle?

I did. I was a lender for a while, a commercial lender, and I ended up in court over people suing you when the loans went bad, etc. I did not like that at all. Fortunately, in the early 90's, I had the opportunity to get into community development. And community development in the banking world is really part of the Community Reinvestment Act, CRA. It's working with low to moderate income people, bringing services, investments, and loans to that economically underserved population. I loved that, and I had that opportunity to do that with Boatmen's. Then Boatmen's sold to NationsBank/Bank of America, so I was on the national initiatives team for Bank of America. I ran the rural initiative for them and loved it. We were in 22 states and I got to travel those 22 states and work on rural issues. Which, again, was very important to me growing up in a small town and seeing what happened to my small town, being under invested, disinvested, etc. And then one of my lessons in life, you think your job is forever, and in 1999 Bank of America went through a whole series of cost cutting and there were five of us on the national initiatives team, and they did away with our jobs. So, after 20 years with that same organization I suddenly didn't have a job anymore. They were very gracious in their separation agreement and severance and all of that, but that was a lesson learned. You think you're indispensable, and I realized I'm not so indispensable. But that gave me a lot of experience, a lot of connections across the country, on rural that have continued. I've still kept a lot of those relationships on rural issues across the country, and even at Community Foundation. So that kind of melded my personality and focus into banking, and then I went to work at Great Southern and started their community development department there. Joe Turner, their chairman, was a friend and he reached out to me. I would have stayed there the rest of my career, I think, had it not been for this opportunity at the Community Foundation. But again, what we did at Community Foundation was community development, just philanthropically, not in the financial sector.

Rhett Roberson?

Sure. Who is the best boss or leader you've had the opportunity to work with and what made them so good??

Brian Fogle?

I think you can learn as much from bad bosses as you can from good bosses, and I've had both. Joe was a great boss. He is a great human being. He cares. And again, I look at what that bank has done, they're over $5 billion now. When I started, they were a little bit over a billion. Just to see their growth in the Midwest has been remarkable. Joe's been a great boss. The other one was a guy, Jay Burchfield. Jay came to Boatmen's in 1987. He came here from another bank over in Cape Girardeau. I remember he went to every meeting, and he would sit in the corner and take notes. Even to the point that after a few months, people were like, "Why are we paying this guy? He never says anything. He just sits there." After about six months, he started making some really big changes within the organization, but he would always say, "You said in this meeting..." So, he did the listening and the understanding. He understood the strengths and weaknesses of our organization, and with Jay's leadership we conquered the world.

Locally, we became the largest bank in Springfield. We were the most profitable bank in the Boatmen system. And the thing about it is, we worked awfully, awfully hard, but we also had fun. He brought fun into the workplace. Every year we had something called the Power Party, and it would be this big old party. We might be pantomiming for one, it was different things, and it was just hysterical. That goodwill he created, we still have all these years later. We still have reunions. Boatmen's reunions. We had one three weeks ago, and people still come. And if you look in the world of banking, so many of the people that are presidents of banks that came up through the Boatmen's system. I think a lot of that was because of Jay's leadership and we won. It was great growing and being profitable, but we also won because we were having fun and enjoying each other.?

Rhett Roberson?

I think it says a lot about a leader that a culture exists in a way in which, years later, people still gather. This isn't a metric that you could ever track, really. But when you have a culture that exists in such a way that people have reunions, that says a lot about the culture, and probably about the leadership.?

Brian Fogle?

Yeah. It was announced in 1996 that we were selling, we sold in '97, and a lot of people were displaced from that merger, but there's a fondness for almost everybody that ever worked at Boatmen's. If you ask them about it, they'll smile.?

Rhett Roberson?

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up??

Brian Fogle?

I wanted to be a professional basketball player, and that didn't work out so well, but my dad was a banker in a small town, and I always admired him, and I think other people admired him. He was involved in the community, and he was a role model for me. So, one of the reasons I went to Ole Miss is they actually had a banking and finance degree, and so that's kind of what I wanted to be.?

Rhett Roberson?

Very cool. What book has had the most profound impact on your life??

Brian Fogle?

There have been so many. A couple of profound ones that I still go by back and read through are Stephen Covey's Seven Habits (https://a.co/d/bvfU91n), that has endured over the years. Mine is dog eared and worn out, and I still go back and look at it. Another one was Victor Frankl Man's Search for Meaning (https://a.co/d/8ruhpSh) that I continued to go back and read. And again, it's his observations. Another one is Leadership Is an Art by Max De Pree (https://a.co/d/eaEIwsL). That helped me a lot in managing people by going back to his advice there. So, there's been so many, but those are three that stick out.?

Rhett Roberson?

Yeah, that is a loaded question for an avid reader. I'm glad that I'm doing the questioning,

Brian Fogle?

Right, right.

Rhett Roberson?

because that would be a tough one for me to answer. What is the most important lesson you've learned so far in life??

Brian Fogle?

Perspective. One other book I would say, Rhett, that had a profound affect at the right time is a book called Half Time by Bob Buford (https://a.co/d/0keQ1tC). A friend of mine had recommended that, and I read it in the summer of 1999. Buford talked about owning a big cable company in Dallas back in the 90s, eventually he sold it and that was kind of his half time in life.?

Rhett Roberson?

Ah, gotcha.?

Brian Fogle?

And it was like, "Now, what do I want to do?" The premise of the book was his move from success to significance. There comes a point in all of life where you said, "Is this enough?" I've got a title, I've got all this, but this isn't enough. I just happened to read that when I lost my job at Bank of America, and it certainly gave me perspective. I'm starting to think maybe I don't want to be president of a bank. That tug at me is more about significance than what I thought success was. So that was a profound one, and that helped bring me perspective. Again, those things I mentioned already, my knee injuries when I was so focused all in on basketball. That's all that mattered to me, and then facing that is like, "Okay, I'm not going to be an NBA player probably." It helped me be more well-rounded. Losing my job certainly brought perspective. Having children that has a way of bringing perspective into a life. So that that has been a life lesson, to keep things in perspective.?

Rhett Roberson?

I can certainly second that last one. We never really thought we were going to have kids.?

Brian Fogle?

Same here, same here.?

Rhett Roberson?

And boy, has it shifted everything.?

Brian Fogle?

It changes your life.?

Rhett Roberson?

Absolutely, profoundly.?

Brian Fogle?

It changes your perspective, profoundly. And I would tell you, Rhett, it only gets better.?

Rhett Roberson?

I don't know how it could, we're having fun, but yeah, I'll believe you!?

Brian Fogle?

Those three landmarks as a as a parent for me were kindergarten, because all of a sudden, they're going off.?

Rhett Roberson?

Yeah, I have a feeling I'm going to be a little bit of a mess that first day.?

Brian Fogle?

For Renee and me, it was like, "Oh my gosh!" Then the driver's license that was kind of a mixed blessing, because all of the sudden you're not hauling them around everywhere, but you're also worried about them. Then college, especially with Andrew, our first one, and he went to Washington DC to college. And it's like, "Oh my gosh, I'm not going to hear his footsteps coming up those stairs anymore." That was a hard one, but it only gets better and then all of a sudden it becomes that you don't have to worry about being the parent, you can also just have those relationships, and that has been an ultimate joy for those three. No longer am I trying to mold them, I can just truly enjoy them.?

Rhett Roberson?

Yeah, I'm looking forward to that time in life, but still remaining aware of the fact that now is very precious and fleeting.?

Brian Fogle?

It is. And you know, those days, the days last forever when you're living them. They don't sleep and all of that, but you'll blink and it's over too quick.?

Rhett Roberson?

We're kind of on topic already for the next question. The next question is, what advice could you offer young people entering the workforce? So, as your children go to college and enter into the world you may have had these discussions before, but what would you say??

Brian Fogle?

We had a consultant come to the bank one time. So, this goes back probably 35 or 40 years. It was all about team building and he talked about the most important equation in the universe. He says, "It's not E=MC squared, it's E+R=O. E is the event, R is the response, and O is the outcome." He pointed out that we can't control the E. The only thing we can really control is the R, and that makes all the difference in your happiness in life, your joy. Controlling that R has everything to do with the outcome. Not long after that, I was bank manager at this bank, right over here at the corner where MSU now is. That was the old Boatmen's Bank building. We had a very difficult customer come in, and he was screaming and yelling at the tellers, and so I got him over and sat him down in my office. He's screaming and yelling at me, and I remember saying, "Okay, I'm not going to scream and yell at him. I'm going to be this R. I'm going to take this to heart and control my response to his event. And we had a really good conversation. We had been at fault in some things we had done, and not treated him well. I still remember him as he left, he calmed down, he apologized, and in his parting comment, he said, "You know, if your bank wasn't so screwed up, I think you and I could be friends." (Both laugh) I remember that distinctly.

Another story that has stuck with me, too, in that same realm, we have something called the Good Community Committee, and it still goes on. I'm chair now, and it's a group that we formed back in the mid 90's, and we call ourselves a group of activists not an activist group. We meet every month, and the idea is to look at issues affecting our community and learn about them, but we as a group don't do anything about it. We just take that information and take it to our organizations. So, the city is part of it, universities, the school system, nonprofits, etc. Back in the 90s, we had this big project called The Values Project. We asked ourselves what values in Springfield do we want to pass along to our progeny, the next generation? So, we did all these surveys. The NewsLeader, back when there was a big circulation, The NewsLeader did all of these surveys. We had 1000s of surveys, and we used the health department. The director at that time, Harold Bengsch , was a big part of our committee, and Harold volunteered, interestingly enough, Kevin ( Kevin Gipson ) and Clay ( Clay Goddard ), who both became directors of the health department, as our data people. They looked at all of these things. We didn't want to be prescriptive, so it wasn't like "You choose this box." it was like, "You just tell us." So, several themes came up, and they were things like hard work and fairness. But there was kind of this whole thing called live and let live. Let people be. Don't be nosey. Don't be getting into your neighbor's business, all that. And they used the term "tolerance" as that fifth virtue, or value to pass along. Little did we know tolerance was a trigger back then to certain lifestyles and it blew up on us. That was in 97 or 98 and we all met at Hammons Performing Arts Center. We get there on a Saturday morning, and we have this panel, and it's full. The first floor is full. I go, "Oh my gosh, this is great!" Well, it turns out it was a very conservative church that got all their people there, and it was all about "tolerance", and how we're passing along sin and all of this. It blew up in our faces. And I was co-chair of that whole values project. I started getting calls at the bank, I would get letters. One was I was being used as a pawn by the Trilateral Commission.?

Rhett Roberson?

(Laughs)?

Brian Fogle?

I mean, it was just a really bizarre thing. One day this elderly man showed up in my office and said he wanted to see me, no appointment or anything. I invited him in, and he just starts in on me about how we're ruining the community, and the sin, and the LGBTQ issue was the primary one. He just got louder and louder and more upset and finally I was getting ready to ask him to leave, and he just paused, and he hung his head. He got tears at his eyes, and he said, "My son died of AIDS." And it was, he's no longer this bigot, he is a very wounded, hurt father. That has stuck with me. Understanding again, perspective. We all feel the way we feel based on life experiences. And I've always remembered that and tried to remember again that "R". Fortunately, I did not ask him to leave. So, perspective, yeah.?

Rhett Roberson?

Of course, that sticks. What a profound moment, a profound human moment.?

Brian Fogle?

Yeah, right, yeah.?

Rhett Roberson?

I can see how that would stay with you. Talk about driving the lesson home, you know??

Brian Fogle?

Absolutely, yes.?

Rhett Roberson?

Thank you for sharing that. That's a really lovely story. What are you most proud of??

Brian Fogle?

Easy. My kids. Who they are, what they've done, and how they care about others in the world.?

Rhett Roberson?

I can see that one in action regularly! Final question, my favorite question, how do you hope the world is better for having you??

Brian Fogle?

I hope some of the things that I've had the blessing of being a part of endure. From what we've done at Community Foundation, to so many of the nonprofits I've been part of. Some of the ones I've helped to start like I'm on the Restore SGF board. Certainly, helped being a part of the creation of LORE. So, I hope all of those endure and make the world better, our little slice of the world.?

Rhett Roberson?

Awesome. Is there anything I didn't ask you that I should have??

Brian Fogle?

No, again, I'm honored for your interest in reaching out to me and all the other folks that you're doing this with, that's just a cool thing.?

Rhett Roberson?

Well, I'm grateful that you could make the time, and grateful that the project's going like it is.

Books:

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey

Man's Search for Meaning - Victor Frankl

Leadership Is an Art - Max De Pree

Half Time - Bob Buford