 My son Mark, Major General Rich Staats, and myself. Photo: Tyler Jones When I greeted Major General Rich Staats upon his arrival for our chamber's monthly luncheon, I told him that I was amazed he was actually here. His response? "Mark, you asked and it is my honor to be here". I already new I had connected with an extraordinary man before his arrival, but from that moment on, it became more evident. I take a lot of pride in working on our monthly luncheons, and when you average 150+ in attendance, you want it to be a great experience for all. For our July luncheon I wanted to have a patriotic all-American theme. I couldn't remember a time that we had connected with our active duty military so I started to research military bases nearby and found the Army's 75th Innovation Command located in Houston. Innovation sounded like a perfect topic for a business membership organization so I found the Commanding General's name and connected with him on LinkedIn. This is where I did it... I asked. After the connection was made, I sent MG Staats a message asking if he would consider being our guest speaker. I received his response that he would but we would need to go through proper channels to get it cleared with the Attorney General. After getting that approval I connected with MG Staats virtually so we could go over the program. It was then I learned something I was not expecting. It went something like this: MG Staats: "Hi Mark, I'm glad we are testing the virtual format before the event." Me: "General, I have you as being our guest speaker in person." MG Staats: "Mark, I'm in Washington D.C." Me: After picking my jaw up from the floor, "Can we work on some alternatives then?" MG Staats: "First, let me see what I can do to make this happen. I'll let you know by noon tomorrow." As you can see I assumed the Commanding General was in Houston and learned that was not the case at all. The result however, is where I learned I was not dealing with what one might perceive as a Commanding General. I connected with a genuine man who's purpose was to serve. That became crystal clear when he let me know he would be flying in from Washington D.C. just to speak at our luncheon and would return home that same day. If you were able to attend our luncheon, you know what I am talking about. He had us laughing, we understood the history and current mission of the 75th Innovation Command, we learned organization & leadership techniques to apply to our own businesses, and we learned about his family and beloved wife Ann. What an honor it was to have him with us and to meet and thank him for his 40+ years of service. Our luncheon was the Commanding General's last public speaking engagement in his official capacity. Major General Rich C. Staats officially retired this month and also relinquished command of the 75th on Saturday, July 10, 2021. I had the honor of attending this ceremony and even got to meet his beloved Ann.  At our luncheon the General talked about his purpose and plans after retirement. I feel this story is nowhere near being over but you need to remember how it all started... I asked.
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Mark LinaburyChamber Executive | Lifelong Entrepreneur | Family Man Archives
October 2022
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