BY CAROLYN THORNTON
Journal Sports Writer
PROVIDENCE — “Peace,” Leroy Burch said with a smile, his hand raised ready to give a high-five.
The teen from Chesapeake, Va., offered the same greeting to anyone and everyone he passed as he marched through the streets of downtown Providence along with more than 1,200 cheering students and coaches who took part in yesterday afternoon’s Peace Walk, one of the many events included in the weeklong U.S. Scholar-Athlete Games being hosted by the Institute for International Sport.
“For me personally, this is it,” the volleyball and basketball player said of his vision of peace, gesturing to the young people representing 34 countries who surrounded him. “People from everywhere coming together. One beat. One sound. One wave. There’s nothing better than that.”
And what did it mean to Burch that he was about to hear former Secretary of State Colin Powell deliver a keynote address at the Providence Performing Arts Center?
“Colin Powell taking time out of his life to come see me, to come talk to me? It’s ridiculous. It’s awesome,” said Burch, who was making his first trip to New England. “Because he doesn’t have to do that, but it means that he does care.”
The founder 11 years ago of America’s Promise – The Alliance for Youth, Powell says it is always refreshing to speak to young audiences around the country.
“As I go around America, unlike what I see in Washington, I see optimism and confidence and a belief in America,” he said to last night’s crowd of approximately 2,000. “I see people working hard.”
Interjecting bits of self-deprecating humor throughout his speech, General Powell admitted he felt a bit uneasy about speaking in front of last night’s group of scholar-athletes and scholar-artists, saying he was not a scholar, not an athlete and “certainly not an artist.” But one cannot underestimate the power of sports, he said, to bring people together and blend moments of “individual excellence” into a cohesive team.
Offering equal parts history lesson, motivational speech and comedy routine, along with a quick impersonation of Ronald Reagan, Powell gave the teens sitting before him several points to ponder as they work to develop their leadership skills.
Regardless of the situation, he said, “leadership is leadership is leadership.”
“I have been in many leadership positions in my career, in the military and diplomatic service, my private life and the nonprofit world,” he said. “And I use the same techniques no matter where you drop me.”
“Your mission as a leader is to put your followers in the best environment to accomplish great things,” said the former national security advisor and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“Always remember that your real role as a leader is to empower your followers,” Powell said. Give them a sense of purpose and “don’t just talk the talk.”
“Give them everything they need to get the job done. The training and the resourcing.”
Inspire those around you by maintaining high ethical standards, working under the notion of “selfless service” and recognizing a job well done, Powell continued. Let those working with you see that you are passionate and it will spread throughout your organization “in an infectious way.”
“What you’re trying to do in a leadership environment is create trust among human beings,” he concluded. “We’ll take care of each other. We believe in each other. We believe in the overall mission. Start building a reputation as someone who can be trusted.... That body of trust among followers and among leaders and between leaders and between followers, that is the glue that holds the organization together.”
Sharing numerous anecdotes from his career, Powell, 71, acknowledged the many changes that have taken place in the world during his lifetime, including the very real threat of terrorism that continues to exist, but he urged the audience not to “be afraid of some clown hiding in a cave in Pakistan.”
He encouraged the student-athletes to be prepared to play a role in what he called “the greatest period of wealth creation in the history of the world,” while not forgetting to “benefit others in need.”
“We’re still a place of hopes, dreams and opportunity,” said Powell. “I believe America’s best years are still ahead.”
