On Letterheads & Mentors

[Kelly Thorson]

Tomorrow, May 1st marks the 10th anniversary of my father’s passing. How I miss him. From the woodworking section of my shop which is filled with all his woodworking tools (including the lathe that bears the serial #00001 – he took great pleasure in that ) to my front yard patio that we spent the better part of a summer side by side laying rocks in mortar together, (much to the consternation of my farming husband who spent a great deal of his life clearing the rocks from his land ), everywhere I look are memories of interests and bonds we shared. There is no doubt in my mind that he is the greatest part of who I am.

Dad to this day remains my biggest mentor, in humanity he set a very high standard for me to try to attain. I find that the knowledge that he took pride in me as a human keeps me striving to be my best. Be it a parent, a teacher or a friend, I think most mentors do that for us, a desire to live up to their standards helps us to be better people.

I’ve always been fascinated by the legacy Rick Glawson left behind. So many of those who have helped me have answered my thanks with stories of him and his generosity to them. I wish I had been afforded the opportunity to meet him. It is a great thing when “goodness†is shared in conjunction with knowledge. It’s always amazed me how a part of him he lives in so many of you. It is something I have come to understand better in realising my father’s impact on me. I hope I can also share the learning and wisdom from my Dad with others in the same way.

I was thinking the other day, how much he would have loved this thing called Letterheads. His incredible thirst for knowledge along with his excitement in sharing and teaching what he learned seems to mirror what Letterheads is about. He was a Jack of all Trades, and was quite enthralled by what I was up to when I took up the sign trade. The timeline coincided with his retirement from the oil fields and he built me sign blanks, routed fancy posts, and made frames for me. It wasn’t long before he was calling to ask me how to best manufacture a new sign for the church. I think if he was around still, he would have seized on the wealth of information available here and been in here like a dirty shirt, asking questions, sharing ideas, inventing new stuff. Which I hope you understand means I have to take that roll in order to fulfil his legacy.

Anyhow, this is just a bit of a nostalgic ramble that I hope uncovers my appreciation for the Letterhead spirit and those who serve as mentors for me. Thank you!

I'd wecome any stories or comments on the mentors in your life or the impact Letterheads has had on you.

[Raymond Chapman]

What a great story! Your father must have been a very unique individual...and he lives on in your life - that's what mentoring is all about. How neat that your mentor just happened to be your father. That's the way it is supposed to work.

And you are right about Rick. He exists today in the lives of a lot of people and they will pass that on to others.

We all influence others - some in positive ways, others in negative. You have discovered the secret of mentoring and your influence will be felt for years down the road.

Thanks for starting my day off on such a positive note.

[Jim Moser]

I think Rick will always be looking over my shoulder.....guiding me in many ways......

[Doug Bernhardt]

Okay Kelly....a touching story and I think your Dad must have already been bitten by this "Letterheads Spirit"

[Kelly Thorson]

Still more thoughts on mentoring…

Owning a business in a small community and having served many years on the school board made my shop a prime candidate for the work experience program in our school. I’ve never really looked at it as a mentoring process, but in retrospect, I suppose that is exactly what it was. The work experience program placed me with those who for various reasons were unable to complete their credit requisites for graduation in the regular curriculum. What a motley crew as a whole my charges turned out to be. Yet each and every one of them found a place in my heart.

One came to me in her 11th school year, from a broken home. She was somewhat trying, for the most part much more work than help. Still we grew very fond of each other and she had a sweet heart. She ran away from home that summer and I hadn’t heard from her in four years when I got a phone call one day. She called to tell me of the birth of her daughter and said that she wanted so badly to share her news with someone and she thought of me. I found that incredibly sad and yet gratifying that I had made such an impact on her. That action on her part, in turn made an incredible impact on me. I became much more careful how I handled these charges.

Another one who made a special imprint on my heart was a young girl with Down’s syndrome. She only spent a few “official†weeks in my workplace, but I continued to piece out work to her on the side. That girl loved to weed vinyl decals! She was a high achiever and took such incredible pride in the finished product. If you ever get the opportunity to work with a person with Downs syndrome do it!

The “Principal of Mutuality†says that in order for mentoring to be effective all parties must receive benefits. When I think of each of my charges I realize that every one of them gave me at least as much as they took with them. In the end, I was the one fortunate to have that opportunity.

I was curious as to what the definition of mentoring actually was, this is what I found. Although this is written with a specific type of mentoring relationship in mind, I think it says it well.

• a deliberate, conscious, voluntary relationship
• that may or may not have a specific time limit
• where the outcome of the relationship is expected to benefit all parties in the relationship (albeit at different times) for personal growth, career development, lifestyle enhancement, spiritual fulfillment, goal achievement, and other areas mutually designated by the mentor and partner
• typically focused on interpersonal support, guidance, mutual exchange, sharing of wisdom, coaching, and role modeling

Perhaps, in essence that is really what Letterheads is all about then? This mutual relationship of teaching and learning between people, perhaps not so deliberate or conscious, and with no definite time line, yet a curious mix of the rest, focused around the techniques and skills of the sign trade? Nice if it is!