After the performance, the audience applauds, the actors bow, and the curtain falls.

The marquee displays the names of the top stars of the movie that everyone has been waiting to see. The movie ends, the credits begin, and the audience disappears.

Behind every great performer, there is a cast of people that make the magic happen. They selflessly serve to ensure that the people up front are empowered to deliver the best performance possible. Most never see the spotlight, bow to the applause, or take any credit for the devotion and passion they offer to the greater good each time they begin a new day. My mom is one of those heroes that have quietly and selflessly served others. It is her love, devotion, and consistent example of selflessness that taught me the most important lesson in my life. We rise by lifting others up.

My mom was a tireless worker “behind the scenes”. When I was little, she always volunteered to be the “room mother”. She would coordinate celebrations, bake cookies, and provide parties for my school. I even still have thank you notes that my classmates wrote to my mom back in 1974.

Later, after I earned the opportunity to be the drum major for the junior high (and later high school) band, she made my uniform by hand. She never missed a performance.

There were times when she could tell I had a bad day or was hurting as all teenagers do. Mom was always there to encourage me and hug me until life felt like it would be okay again.

She made sure our family had a fresh, hot meal so we could sit together each evening and share our day. She always ate last.

Even when the world seemed to stop as an unseen enemy stopped the world in 2020, my mom pulled out her sewing machine and made masks for everyone in the family so we would be safe.

Her love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Mom's love never fails.

I know I was put on this earth for a reason.

She taught me that my responsibility, as a leader, is to lift others higher than myself. The personal and professional success I have experienced in life can be directly attributed to the real-life examples from my mom about servant leadership.

She is my hero.

My life. Her legacy.