The excellent service that we just received from Woods Basement Systems has caused me to reflect on the lost art of customer service.  Seldom have I seen a more dedicated staff to the professional and expeditious performance of their job duties.  Four young men who did not waste a moment or a movement in performing they’re waterproofing task, while all the while…friendly and mannerly and courteous.

I was asked to be the Superintendent of Building Services at Southern Illinois University…many years ago.  I immediately decided that we must return to a singular dedication to customer service.  Being a Housekeeping organization, I wrote in our Handbook that , no one wants to hear why the cleaning person cannot clean.

I quoted, to the wonderful members of the department that I had been asked to lead, two of the old commercials that exemplified our dedication to customer service.  The first would be from the car rental company Hertz, where the television commercial showed the prospective driver of the sleek Hertz vehicle floating into the driver’s seat of the car with the motto, ‘Hertz puts you in the driver’s seat.’

The second commercial that I often sited was for the world renowned fast food restaurant, McDonalds, where their motto was, ‘We do it all for you!’

Mary Jane and I were frequent shoppers of the now defunct department store, Famous Barr, where the attendants were dressed in suits and formal dresses…and where they actually knew me by name and greeted me every time I entered their store.

Have you ever gone through a check out line at you local Walmart and not only not been greeted…but also when you say thank you to the attendant…they respond…no problem?

Have you ever felt that the store employees that waited on you had the distinct impression that they were doing you a favor?

Customer service and professionalism are a breath of fresh air and a ray of sunshine in a world that has coarsened.

I regularly told my Housekeeping Customers that if I did not have someone to address their custodial needs…that I would do so myself.  I often did just that!

There is a dynamic that occurs when we encounter excellent customer service.  We are reminded of the dedication to quality and outstanding performance that is still available…when those people that serve us…care about our experience…and the results of their dedication.

Southern Illinois University is once again dedicating their institution to the most precious asset of their community…their students!

I am expecting an influx of hungry humanity…looking for that spark of excellence…that drawing to the light…that separates the mediocre from the excellent!

‘ Big Things Are Coming’

‘ What happens when hundreds of Salukis come together for a cause?  Big things happen!

It happens thought the year because it’s what we do and who we are!  In fact, more than 3,000 students contribute more than 30,000 hours of community service on average each year.  What could we accomplish if we came together for one big day,’ according to the Big Event at Southern Illinois University.’

An integral and vital component of SIU has always been service to the Southern Illinois region.  I remember fondly McLeod Theatre’s student performers coming to my Grade School, at Eldorado, Illinois, to perform the most engaging performances.  I knew, at a young age, that Southern Illinois University was a special place.

Former SIU President Delyte Morris came to Southern Illinois Normal University, a Teachers College, in 1948.  ‘ He basically worked night and day for 23 years to promote SIU’s development,’ Visiting Professor Stephen Katsinas with the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute said.

‘ It was his life-and a manifestation of good social works embedded in his Methodist faith,’ according to Codell  Rodriguez of the Southern Illinoian.

From agricultural assistance with the Southern Illinois Community to help with Clean Coal Technology for the deteriorating, one time great, Coal Economy of the region.

SIU was in the forefront and one of the first Universities to offer handicapped access and disability support services.

The popular comedian and political activist, Dick Gregory, speaks of President Morris’s lack of prejudice, ‘ He was one of the first powerful white men to not call me boy,’ according to Gregory.  Mr. Gregory goes on to talk of having breakfast, after he ran track, with President Morris and his wife Dorothy in their home.

‘That’s exactly what we’ll do for the inaugural The Big Event: A Saluki Day of Service, the largest one-day, student-run service project in the history of SIU Carbondale.  We want to show our new and long-standing community partners how much we appreciate their support of our University,’ according to the Big Event.

Current Projects for the Big Event, to be held on April 1, 2017, are:

‘Carbondale Main Street – Volunteers will help beautify downtown Carbondale!  They will participate in a large cleanup and planting day initiative.’

‘Green Earth, Inc. – To preserve natural areas for the benefit of Carbondale, Illinois and to make these areas available for education and non-consumptive recreational pursuits.’

‘Touch of Nature – Camp clean up and preparation and trail building.  Volunteers will pick up trash an debris around the two camps as well as weather protect some of the outdoor wood structures.  Volunteers will also work with staff to clean and build trails.

‘Keep Carbondale Beautiful – City-wide clean up.  Volunteers will be assigned to locations across Carbondale to collect litter and recyclables.’

‘Autism Society of Illinois-Southern Illinois Chapter – Kick off Autism Awareness Week at Kroger and Walmart.’

‘Boys and Girls Club of Carbondale – Volunteers will help with 5K.  Duties will include set up/registration, water stations, activity stations and clean/up.’

‘Humane Society – Animal care, painting, yard work and cleaning.’

SIU’s Leadership Development Program – Volunteers will help move the tree saplings to correct location, dig the hole for the tree, plant the tree, or reseal the hole around the roots.’

‘For Kids Sake – Volunteers will help prepare for the 17th Annual Art Auction.  Responsibilities will vary.’  All listed on the Big Event at Southern Illinois Universes Web Site.

The fabric of Southern Illinois is inextricably woven with the fabric of Southern Illinois University.  You cannot untangle them!

We in Southern Illinois rely upon our beloved University as the Beacon of Hope for our entire region.  To speak of underfunding the brightest light in our area of relative economic darkness…is to turn your back on a significant portion of the Sate of Illinois.

The positive good…that SIU provides for the southern section of the Illinois…is a bargain!

Over the past week Jonathon, Aaron, and I have been preparing our basement for waterproofing.  This preparation included the disposal of many items that had not been seen in at least sixteen years.

It is amazing the things that your save.  Many times possessions that seemed extremely valuable in one decade…have apparently lost some value in the ensuing decade.

We uncovered my first Bible…that had been purchased for me by my Mother on my thirteenth birthday.  In those days I wrote in my Bible…a lot.  My carer aspiration, as a young man, was to be a minister.  The handmade leather cover on my first Bible was made by my old friend Michael Topple.  Reading my thoughts and impressions, at that time, transported me back to my life in 1970.

We also found some black and white polaroid photos that I took in the sixth grade.  One of my classmates and good friends at the time, Jeff Colmeyer, was in one of the photos.  Also, a lovely picture of my Mother…in her thirties…healthy and happy and not afflicted with Alzheimers Disease.

We happily discovered some little figurines called ‘Old Salts’ which are nautical in nature.  They provided happy memories…from long ago.

We found many of my work-life items from my carer at SIU.  I recalled fondly my great years with the University and the intrinsic part that it played in my life for over thirty-two years.

Who we are…our identity…our life experience…our memories…provide our uniqueness.

Life contains chapters…that often are good to re-read for their richness and value and the context the they give to our present and future.

Also life brings us experiences that need to be placed in the rubbish bin.  The decision is ours to make.

The great patriot, Patrick Henry, is attributed with first uttering the phrase, ‘Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their party.’

The Washington Post calls, ‘the new Republican health-care plan is awe-inspiringly awful.’

The first cost analysis of the Republican Health Care Plan is that it will be the most costly to rural Americans that are 60+ years old and have an income of 20 – 40 thousand dollars annually.  The analysis also illustrates that Americans making 75 thousand plus annually are the greatest beneficiaries of this Obama Care replacement.

The majority of President Trump’s supporters, who’s votes carried him to the White House, are age 60 and over and are rural Americans who’s annual income is 20 – 40 thousand annually.

President Trump and his staff insist that, ‘there is nothing to see here,’ as facts continue to emerge regarding the Russian connection with the President’s Campaign and his Presidency… persist.

President Trump woke up last Saturday and accused former President Obama of taping his phones in Trump Tower during the Presidential Campaign…and that perhaps, President Obama, was, ‘sick.’

Governor Bruce Rauner tells the citizens of Illinois that he wants a state budget but that the Democratic Senate and House must agree to some of the concessions that he demands before he will sign a budget.

The Grand Bargain, crafted by the president of the Illinois Senate, seemed to hold out at long last hope for the millions of Illinoisans who are suffering under the weight of not having a state budget for almost two years.

It appears that hopes are dimming for this ‘savior’ plan due to the intransigence of both the democrats and republicans to compromise…which is the entire theory and construct that our government is built upon.

‘Nero fiddled while Rome burned!’

The damage being done to our beloved Southern Illinois University is almost irreversible…now!

In our governing officials quest for a leaner budget in Illinois…they have succeed in balloning the budget by billions of dollars and lowering our credit rating to Junk Bond status.

During the political Inquisition, that the United States is currently undergoing,…would it not be refreshing to have elected statesmen and stateswomen that would tell us the truth?  I am not referring to ‘my truth’ or ‘your truth’…I am referring to the truth.

Are you weary of hearing our politicians speak ‘double talk’ to us when we ask them questions that often are life and death issues that deserve plain and constructive speech.

How do our political leaders utter their complete contempt for someone they are running against…only to later enjoy dinner with the contemptible person…who is now the President?

We, thus far, still live in a representative democracy.  Perhaps now…we must become involved in our government…before it is to late?

I have been an especially strong mood to write about the greatness of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois.  The University is under severe budgetary pressures due to the lack of a state budget, in Illinois, for the past nearly two years.  This is the result of intransigence on the part of our Republican Governor and our Democratic Legislature.  Higher Education, as well as many other worthy state institutions, are suffering from the dysfunction in our political family.

The blog that I wrote yesterday, ‘Where is the Opportunity,’ has received comments from other career employees of SIU…who relate their wonderful stories of the transformation and carer growth that they received at Southern.

It was my privilege to witness the metamorphosis of many great individuals…who simply needed someone to believe in them…into confident professionals.

My colleague, Jamie, who is deaf, transformed from a person who found opportunities few…and not consistent with her abilities…to becoming a respected supervisor in the Building Services department.

My friend, Brad, went from a student employee…to the Director of Plant and Service Operations.  Brad is a man who cares about people along with being extremely qualified to manage this diverse and complex area of responsibility.  His departed father…who I knew…would be so proud of him!

My friend, Glenn Poshard, was a three degree graduate of SIU.  He was a member of the Civil Service Staff…early in his career.  He was a member of the United States House of Representatives for many years.  He was the President of Southern Illinois University for nine years.

SIU is an agent of positive change…for all people.

I listened to my friend, Dr. Seymour Bryson, speak of what it was like to be African American during the days of Jim Crow. He spoke of life in Carbondale during Jim Crow.  At that time African Americans were forced to set in the balcony area of the local Varsity Theatre.  He was a graduate of SIU.  He was a Basketball Star at SIU.

Dr. Bryson..as well as many African Americans benefited from the non-biased and forward vision of Dr. Delyte Morris and SIU as regarding African American admittance and inclusivity.  Dr. Bryson is a famous figure on Campus…the circle drive in front of the Student Center is named after him.  Dr. Bryson was a tireless advocate of racial equality and was a Vice Chancellor for many years.

My friend and former colleague, Cyndy, is a two degree graduate of SIU.  She is a Civil Service employee.  I have not see anyone that cares more about helping people…than Cyndy.  She works tirelessly…often without pay both to ensure that her job is performed in an excellent manner and to assist those who are less fortunate.

Southern Illinois University is a miracle worker…hidden next to the Shawnee National  Forest and in the midst of the villages and hamlets of Southern Illinois.  We must preserve it…as the job that it performs incapsulates the beauty and wonder of life.

Yesterday I wrote of my affection for the Civil Service Community at Southern Illinois University.  As a young man of twenty years old…with a high school education…and often being admonished that I was not cut out of college; I wondered where the opportunity was for me?

When I began at SIU…I knew no one…and was sure everyone ‘was my better.’

When I encountered Professors I did so in reverence.  I knew that somehow they had ascended to a lofty position that I probable could never aspire to.

The thought of even seeing the Chancellor or President of the University…was similar to encountering the President of the United States.

Slowly, I understood that the opportunity of SIU was available to me.  I began taking a course or two each semester…and found the most encouraging Professors…and it seemed that perhaps…I was cut our for college.

A wonderful Professor, Dr. Carol Burns,encouraged me to study for anything that I desired as she knew that I had the ability to succeed in whatever field that I chose.

As the years progressed my Director, Duane Schroeder, told my supervisor that he believed that I had the unique qualities to be named to the Employee Assistance Program.  This Program was designed to direct employees having emotional or mental struggles to the resources that could assist them.  I loved serving on this Board and was sad when it was discontinued.

I then placed my name in the voting for a seat on the Civil Service Council…which I was sure that I would loose.  No one was more surprised than I…when I won a seat on this important Board representing Civil Service Employees.

The Council opened the ‘Global Understanding’ of the University to me.  Through the years I was asked to serve on two Chancellor Search Committees…and became good friends with one of the Chancellors that resulted from the Search that I was a member of.

Towards the latter years of my carer I was friends with the President of the University and he asked me often for my thoughts on Campus issues.

I began my time at SIU as a rather unfamiliar person with people from across the world…I left as a lover of all humanity…and with respect for all diversity.

Southern Illinois University is an Oasis in Little Egypt.  It is a miracle in the midst of a very rural…poor…lack of opportunity…climate.

I was a member of the Civil Service Staff…but I ‘lived SIU’…and I still do!

SIU has enhanced every facet of my life…I cannot give back what it has given me!

My experience is instructive and indicative of the Civil Service Community at SIU.

I was a member of the Southern Illinois University Family for thirty-two years, three weeks and two days.  All of that time I was a Civil Service employee in the custodial department, Building Services.

During those very enjoyable years our department had upwards of 200 student staff that worked with us.  The student staff worked with our full time staff on over thirty housekeeping crews that were responsible for the daily and nightly cleaning of nearly 200 Campus buildings, including two satellite campuses.

Over those years it was my privilege to see the concern and care that our full time staff took with their precious student colleagues.

Have you ever wondered what happens to the SIU student who is; shy and homesick, afraid of the large brick and mortar SIU Campus, the student who is insecure and feels left out, the student who desperately needs a mom and dad figure to take an interest in them and care about them individually?

I have personally witnessed many of our Civil Service Staff bring food for their student  co-workers on a nightly basis.  Many of our students are hungry.

Many of our wonderful Civil Service employees take student members, of their crew, home with them on holidays to enjoy the festivities.

Gerald Davis, a Civil Service member of Building Services began a Thanksgiving Feast that has been celebrated on Campus for over thirty years .  This is a major event for Building Services student staff…from all over the world.  The look on their faces says it all!

Southern Illinois University is an academic institution…until someone bonds with and cares for them…then SIU becomes…in many ways…that caring person.

The great motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar said, ‘I really do not care how much you know…until I know how much your care about me.’

My friend Elizabeth speaks about her student colleagues as if they were her family…because they are!

My wife, Mary Jane, who is a two degree graduate of SIU, had such affection for her students when she was employed as a Civil Service employee, that she was invited to one of their weddings in Ohio.  We attended and it was apparent to me that this young woman loved Mary Jane.

My son Jonathon is a graduate of SIU.  Students are fond of him because of the time he has taken to bond with them and care about them.  When he was a greeter for the Food Service department…the students that he interacted with him began a fan club for him.

My former Boss and Director told me, when I retired, that he admired me and had endeavored to emulate me in some respects…such as my interest in every student that I encountered as to their major and them personally.  I was humbled by his sincere compliment.

I have spoken with student who were suicidal…they did not commit suicide.

I along with many of the Building Services Staff have talked students out of dropping out of the University.

I saw my dear friend Alfie’s mother yesterday in the supermarket.  She hugged my wife and I…which she always does when we meet her and thanked me for all that I had done for her son Alfie.  Alfie is now a member of the Grounds Department.  He is a roaring success and is loved by his department and his colleagues.  I am humbled by what support I was able to give him when he was a student…and his success remains one of my happiest moments.  I told him that, ‘he was my son but he just would not call me daddy.’  He responded that, ‘he would call me daddy.’  This unique phrase was first used by my beginning boss at the University, Jim Walls, who took an interest in me and was a mentor.  Jim told one of my co-workers, who had given me some minor grief, that,’ Brooks was his son but just would not call him daddy.’  The person knew to leave me alone or incur the wrath of my African American friend and boss…Jim.

SIU’s Civil Service Staff is the hidden treasure of the University!  There is no member of the full time staff that has more of a career mentality regarding the University.

The value of the Civil Service Staff does not completely show up on the Ledger Sheet.

Civil Service Staff is often the reason that SIU students stay at SIU.

I was a member of the Civil Service Council for fifteen years during my career at the University.  This elected group of representatives of Civil Service employees from across the University…love students.  Everything that they do is with SIU students first in mind!

Civil Service staff understand the horrible budgetary times that the state of Illinois has placed them in.  They accept, and know, that the not replacing of fellow staff that have left the University or retired is necessary…but please do not outsource their jobs or lay them off.  These employees are the glue that holds the entire institution that is SIU together.

The Civil Service Staff are the Hidden Treasure that the ultimate success of Southern Illinois University relies on…they are the bedrock that the great institution rests upon!

“The first Amendment to the US Constitution, says that, ‘Congress shall make no law…abridging (limiting) the freedom of speech, or of the Press…’Freedom of speech is the liberty to speak openly without fear of government restraint,” according to Wikipedia.

Last Friday President Trump’s Press Secretary Sean Spicer prohibited several news outlets from participating in the daily press briefing.  Included in this banned group were reporters for; The New York Times, CNN, Politico and BuzzFeed and most of the foreign press.  Earlier, Friday morning, the President had spoken to the Conservative Political Action Conference and said that, ‘Many of these groups are part of large media corporations that have their own agenda.  And it is not your agenda and it’s not the countries agenda, it’s their own agenda.’

The President said, ‘Fake News Media’ the ‘enemy of the people,’ and he listed NBC news along with ABC, CBS, The New York Times and CNN, according to VOX.

President Trump contended shortly after his Inauguration that he would have won the popular vote if it had not been for three to five million illegal votes.

The President states that his Inauguration crowd was much larger than former President Obama’s.

President Trump says that our court system threatens our national security.

The President publicly condemned Nordstrom’s Department for ceasing to carry his daughter, Ivanka’s, Fashion line.

The President signed an Executive Order, banning entry to the United States of all citizens from seven predominately muslim countries, that was temporarily blocked by a Seattle Judge.  Trump referred to the Judge as a ‘so called judge.’

President Trump,’ suggested that Fredrick Douglass is still alive in speech on Black History Month,’ according to New York Magazine.

The President says that we may once again have the opportunity to confiscate Iraq’s oil.

‘ High-level advisers close to then presidential nominee Donald Trump were in constant communication during the campaign with Russians known to US intelligence, multiple current and former intelligence, law enforcement and administration officials tell CNN.’

President Trump has said repeatedly that he supports torture of military captives.

‘ Watergate was a major political scandal that occurred in the United States in the 1970s, following a break-in at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington D.C. in 1972 and President Richard Nixon’s administration’s attempted cover-up of its involvement.  When the conspiracy was discovered and investigated by the US Congress, the Nixon administration’s resistance to its probes led to a constitutional crisis,’ according to Wikipedia.

If it had not been for the dogged determination of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s investigative reporting on Watergate it would never have been revealed.

I watched the televised Watergate Hearings that Senator Sam Ervin chaired.

I heard Senator Howard Baker ask the now historic question, ‘what did the president know and when did he know it?’

National Security Advisor Mike Flynn was fired by the President for telling the Vice President that he did not discuss the Obama Sanctions against Russia with Russian Officials before Trump took office.

Policy Advisor to the President, Steve Bannon, says that the press is the opposition party.

The President says that the press is the enemy of the people.

I remember watching Dan Rather reporting under fire in Vietnam…as did many of his colleagues…to bring the American people the news.

I remember Walter Cronkite reporting that the Vietnam War was not going to be won by us and that we should seek peace with honor…he was telling us the truth.

Woodward and Bernstein told us the truth about Watergate in spite of the Saturday Night Massacre and the constant dirty tricks and enemies list compiled by the Nixon White House.

When a leader tells you that , ‘I am not a crook’…’Trust Me’…’Believe Me’…you need the Free Press!

Please read and enjoy this insightful Blog.

My friend of over forty years, Jeff D., has educated me on the Dakota Access Pipeline.  When he first began talking with me about the problem…I did not know that there was a problem.

‘First, the pipeline would cross right under the Missouri River at Lake Oahu, half a mile north of the reservation.  A leak or spill could send oil directly into the tribe’s main source of drinking water.  The tribe points out that Dakota Access originally considered a route farther north, upstream of Bismarck, but the company rejected that route, in part because of the close proximity to the state capital’s drinking water wells.  Second, the tribe argues that the pipeline would run through a stretch north of the reservation that contains recently discovered sacred sites and burial places.  True, the land isn’t part of the current reservation.  But the Standing Rock Sioux argue that the land had been taken away from them unjustly over the past 150 years.  And any bulldozing and construction work could damage these sites,’ according to VOX.

Former President Obama halted the pipeline construction for further study and possible re-routing, at the close of his administration.

President Tump, in one of his first Executive Actions, restarted the pipe line.

When asked by a reporter, a few days later, he said that he had not heard one complaint regarding the Dakota Access Pipe Line.  I was told today, by a SIU student who was protesting DAPL that the phones  that people are to call at the White House, complaining about this violation, had been shut off.  Although the President’s exclamation of no complaints and everything is going smoothly strains credulity…as he is an admitted voracious consumer of television news.

It seems curious to me that with all of the ‘Make America Great Again’ talk, of our new President, and his vision of removing those who are illegally here…and with the new Travel Ban that will be released later this week…that will protect our pristine shores from all those who do not have the right to be in America…how do we not consider the rights of the ‘Original Americans?’  Our Native American brothers and sisters were here before President Trump’s family.

I would not want to have my drinking water in danger?  Would you?

I would not want my precious Mother and Father’s graves violated?  Would you?

My friend traveled to North Dakota and stood in Solidarity with our brothers and sisters.  My friend has significant Native American Heritage…so do I.

The camps of the protestors, who by and large were there to pray, are burned to the ground…