As I was sitting in McDonald’s this morning sipping my morning double shot of coffee, the entire marching band from Campbellsville University walked in. The Tiger Marching band, as they are called is from Campbellsville, Ky, and were headed for a band competition. They loved the bus, and the Kindness project, took pictures and lots of stickers. This was a great bunch of students and I was so happy to see them. It was another great happening that was completely unplanned. It was a great start to the day.
When I arrived at Union College, I found it to be almost empty. I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised since it was Saturday. I did see a few students and figured; I should make the most of it. I parked and found more squirrels than students. I talked to a couple of groups of students who liked the message of kindness.
Before long, an official looking gentleman came up to me. I never know what to expect when that kind of thing happens. In this case, it turned out to be Mr. Jerry Jackson, the Dean of Enrollment. We had a good discussion about the Kindness Project, he was so interested I was happy to have met him. Of course all the while we were talking, Bogart was going crazy trying to chase the squirrels. When Jerry left, I thought it would be ok to let Bogie run, so, while still on the leash, I ran with him to chase a few squirrels around in circles and then up a tree. I noticed a few students watching this; I figured they nicknamed me “Dances with Squirrels.”
I took a picture of Bogart at an old bell monument, and saw Jerry coming back with a armful of gifts, including a couple of Bulldog t-shirts. That was a nice surprise but it wasn’t the best one of the day. The motto at Union College is 1 to 1. I was about to learn first-hand what 1 to 1 is all about. Jerry said the President of the University is right across the campus at the women’s soccer game and he would like to meet me. What an unexpected surprise. Jerry introduced me to President, Edward de Rosset, who was very interested in knowing what One Million Acts Of Kindness is all about. What a great meeting. He asked if he could give me a ride so he could take a look at the bus. I guess he liked what he saw as he invited me to lunch at one of the local restaurants. At lunch we talked about the college and it’s role of service in the extended community. He had a genuine interest in helping to spread One Million Acts of Kindness. We even discussed speaking at the college at a later date. While I was only there for a few hours, I came to see that this school is all about service and helping others. A huge thank you to Ed for taking time out of his very busy schedule to share his time with me. This was a great visit and all unannounced. My sincere thanks to Morgan back at Eastern Kentucky University for recommending I make this visit and to Morgan’s mom who notified the school that I would possibly be visiting the campus.
