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.
Everyone who works with finances has to operate with a budget. Even in our personal finances, we know that we have to plan correctly to prevent “too much month at the end of the money.” This is true with government entities as well, as they have to plan a budget and show concretely where the
Surprise! That word could either express intense happiness or insufferable disappointment. It is a universal emotion, as virtually everyone is happy with a good surprise and unhappy with a bad one. Reflecting on 2020 and especially in response to the COVID virus, I have had three big surprises, two quite unhappy and one rather happy.
Are these historic times? It is amazing how much our society has changed through 2020. Of course, much of this comes from the continual uncertainty of the COVID virus. I recently read one account by a world-renowned author noting the fear and poor leadership associated with the spread of the deadly virus. It was entitled,
Years ago, I had a boss who had a very annoying habit of giving me tasks with absolutely no clue on how I was to accomplish those tasks. He would come up with a crazy idea and say, “Larry, here is what I want done…” I would counter, “But sir, how exactly do you expect
Back in the forgotten days of real journalism, a big story was described as a ‘front-page story,’ and its importance was shown by the headline’s font size. So, for many newspapers, when Pearl Harbor was attacked, or President Kennedy was assassinated, the headline filled half of the front page, known as ‘above the fold.’ Today,
It is somewhat ironic that almost all national media sources are singularly focused on the presidential election to be held on November 4th, highlighting that it will have ramifications far into the next decade, yet hardly mentioning something that in many ways could have even an even bigger impact — the 2020 census. This decadal
