Larry W. Stout has worn lots of hats over the years; a decorated military veteran, ordained pastor, university professor in Europe, and missionary to the former Soviet Union. He has authored textbooks on human resource management and leadership that have been translated into six languages as well as had published two novels. He currently invests his energies as a foster parent and board member for eight different community organizations. He is a native of Montgomery, graduating from Montgomery Area High School in 1970, who married his high school sweetheart Debbie, and together they have raised two sons and two daughters, one of which is adopted, but they cannot remember which one.
One of the difficulties in growing older is not just the decline in physical vibrancy and mental alertness but also adjusting to the new meanings of words. In my lifetime, “liking” someone meant more than checking a box on a screen, a “tweet” was a sound from a small bird, and a “meltdown” was reserved
Who was Saint Patrick? Originally born near the end of the fourth century in Britain, probably Wales, he was captured by Irish pirates in his teens and was forced to work as a shepherd. In his early twenties, Patrick was able to escape and return to Britain, and sometime later had some kind of visionary
Positions Open: Candidates do not need special talents or abilities, but those that would fill these opening must have an open heart, a kind disposition, and a willingness to be a mentor, listener, and friend for a child facing adversity. The benefit package is the satisfaction of knowing that you can change the life of a
There have been lots and lots of studies done to explain the decline of volunteerism in the last few decades, attributing it to things like the breakdown of the family, increased mobility, growth of the suburbs, etc. One area that is rarely mentioned is the decrease in church membership. In previous generations, church life was
Having studied leadership for going on three decades and getting to rub shoulders with a number of leaders from all parts of the globe, I have discovered that there is one attribute that many share, which is rarely noted — their ability to remember names. Bill Clinton, for example, was legendary in meeting someone that
There is a saying that there are some who make things happen, some who watch things happen, and the others who wonder what happened. It is the hope in this Year of the Volunteer; we can see more folks move into that first category. Jennifer Lake, executive direction and founder of Dwell Foster Care, is
