#MyHOBYStory - Rich Honiball

#MyHOBYStory - Rich Honiball

I am one of the "older ones". . .one of the ones who went through HOBY long before the 2013 Ambassadors were born.  And from time to time, I am reminded of that.  But as the father of an eight year old, HOBY reminds me how powerful this young generation is and how important it is that we prepare them to lead.  As my daughter grows older, the 2013 HOBY attendees will be the doctors, lawyers, business leaders, civic leaders, scientists, teachers, and others that she will turn to in a time of need or that will influence the world around her.  That is why HOBY continues to be important to me.

I attended HOBY in 1984 as a high school sophomore representing Brockton High School in Massachusetts.  I had not heard of HOBY but I had a teacher who had and who thought that it would be a good opportunity for me to put myself out there - meet others who may have the same challenges and opportunities as I did at the time.  I was on the one hand a good student and class president but on the other hand, I was pretty shy, didn't make friends easy and didn't always apply myself.  I remember my father dropping me off at Boston College where that year's seminar was held and after he left, I was met with this group who was cheering and welcoming me.  The unease that I felt at that moment turned to acceptance and warmth over the course of the next several hours.  I listened, I learned, and though the impact on my wasn't immediate - the experience ultimately changed my life.

I say not immediately because I soon lost touch with friends I had made and did not come back to volunteer in any way.  But several, actually many years later after my wife, daughter and I moved from NYC to Dallas, I decided it was time to get involved and I discovered the local HOBY in my area and started on a journey that has taken me from local volunteer, to serving on the corporate board as president to national board member.  But the single most profound change in me can be tied back to a single moment with a single person which demonstrated for me how powerful this organization can be....

My first year back as a senior facilitator, I was paired with someone who had gone through theprogram the year prior - Jamie Drillette - who would be my junior facilitator.  By the second day, things were going well but there was one kid, one kid who just simply didn't engage with what was going on.  No questions, no comments, no input. . .he simply didn't seem to connect.  Maybe we had even made a mistake choosing him.  So I devised a plan to "engage" him.  Being successful in business, I decided that after lunch I would isolate him from the group, pull him aside and discuss with him how he was letting a valuable opportunity go to waste.   When I started to approach him after lunch, I saw Jamie playing some sort of hand clapping game with him one on one. . .something obviously useless and something that now delayed my opportunity to give back, to impact this student.  A bit miffed, I went back inside to get ready for the next session which was on volunteerism.  That is when it happened.  During this next session, this young man was engaged, enthusiastically asked questions, and connected with each of the speakers.  Whatever Jamie had done, she connected him with the seminar and broke through the wall that he had built.  When I sat down to talk to him later, no longer feeling the need to "lecture" him, I discovered that he was a great student but didn't always connect with the subject matter.  He was going to Costa Rica that summer for a three week mission trip to build homes for those in need.  He simply hadn't connected with the group yet and Jamie broke through that in a way far better than what I had planned.

So #MyHOBYStory?  Or I should say HOBY Lesson?  I give because I get back more in return.  Whatever lessons I may be able to pass along, I get so much more back from people like Jamie, Kara, Abbey and Jarvis.  And where is Jamie right now?  According to her Facebook page, I think she is in Uganda.  I think she thinks she can save the world be visiting every part of it through various service projects.  And I think she may be right.

Me with my dad and daughter during our road trip last summer