Read and written by Marion Stevenson
My parents taught me to always strive for my best and make my own decisions. I was inspired by their parenting skills and carried it forward into raising three daughters.
I was a small-town, country girl that came to the big city, Little Rock, and landed a very good job with the Occidental Life Insurance company located in the Tower building.
Winthrop Rockefeller had just been elected governor of Arkansas, the first Republican governor in 94 years, and I was excited about him being elected. I wanted to be a part of his administration.
Gov. Rockefeller’s executive office was on the 17th floor of the Tower building. I had become friends with a man that worked in his office and one day, as we were having coffee, he suggested that I apply for a job opening on Governor Rockefeller’s staff. I made an appointment and went for my first interview, where I was politely told that I was too young, too inexperienced, and did not have the education they were looking for in filling that position. I went back two times because the new employees did not work out, and each time I was given the same explanation.
After the third interview, I had a call one morning from the man that had been overseeing the interviews and he asked, “When could I start to work?” Surprised, I questioned why I was being given the opportunity when, so little had changed. His response was that he had told the Governor about me and the Governor had said “You need to hire that girl, she is never going away”. My persistence had impressed the Governor, and he was willing to give me a chance. The “Chance” to perform was an inspiration for me to succeed. I was 23 years old.
I learned much later that Winthrop as a young boy, homebound while recovering from an illness, discovered that with the rays of the sun and a magnifying glass he could burn words into wood. He painstakingly burned the first verse of the Edgar Guest Poem:
“It Couldn’t Be Done”
Somebody said that it couldn’t be done
But he with a chuckle replied
That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one
Who wouldn’t say so till he tried.
He retained this piece of wood in his office throughout his career, up until his passing. He lived by that creed, and I think he hired me because he saw some of it in me.
Gov. Rockefeller was a “boots on the ground” kind of Governor. I recognized immediately that his style of leadership was one necessary to succeed in the battles he faced with a House of Representatives only having three Republicans and a Senate with none! He was masterful with his leadership skills. He had learned to lead in college and continued to learn as a roustabout in the oil fields and during the time he served in the military. His leadership taught staff members the importance of teamwork, respecting others’ opinions, and being open to listening. He appreciated honesty and sought these qualities in new team members. He taught me to listen, to forgive, to give second chances.
Winthrop Rockefeller was a man that could put on his cowboy boots, hold his hat in his hand and walk comfortably into a room of Heads of State or sit with a distressed farmer in rural Arkansas and discuss the loss of their crop.
I was privileged to serve on his staff for seven years, and what I learned during that period shaped who I became. He was an imperfect man with a huge heart. He was driven and determined to make Arkansas a better place.
Responses