At the end of those years of study, Horace Mann had sent me to 48 of the 50 states to make presentation to agents. In addition, I had received the President’s Service Award, was selected as an Employee of the Month, and 13th Employee of the Month. In 2000, I was selected as Horace Mann’s Employee of the Year. As part of the EOY award, I received a five-day trip to Hawaii where I got to make a speech to about 250 of the top agents and their spouses.
Each year, I would set my goals for the upcoming year. As part of that goal setting process, I developed my New Year’s resolutions. Unfortunately, most of my fellow workers thought my idea of setting resolutions was cheating, but it worked for me.
Since I have retired, I haven’t given up on the resolution process. My resolutions for the past few years have been centered around children. I have always been able to communicate with small children, but I resolve to engage them in conversation. Too often when adults speak to children they tell them what to do or scold them. I resolved to engage them in conversation letting them express their ideas and thoughts, not to impose mine upon them.