For those of you that read Mint Media on the regular know that I’m a fan of Leaders.  In Business, you’ve got your typical Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Sam Walton, Warren Buffett, Sergey Brin, Larry Page, and Zuck to name a few. 

Good for them.  They had an idea, worked hard, and implemented.   

Teachers, Coaches, Doctors, Military, and Policemen have the same attributes.  Leadership.  They put others first.  They work hard. And make a difference on others.

Heck, I’m also one of the only remaining fans (and I’m a big fan) of Redskins Owner, Dan Snyder.   Why?  Because he is our team’s Leader, plain and simple.  No matter how many crazy decisions one might make, he is at the helm of the organization and I respect that.    

Some may consider my adoration of Leadership as a problem (mainly because of Danny Boy), but I come from a family of leaders.  Check out the Mint Media About page when you have a second. 

So…

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Let me paint a picture for you. 

Meet Kevin.  Circa 1993.  Kevin is a senior in High School.  He has spent the last 4 years on the Varsity Lacrosse team in a school that is known as a “Lacrosse Powerhouse.”  He has played Varsity Soccer for 3 years.  He has played Varsity Basketball for 3 years.  Senior year arrives and he is elected as Team Captain on ALL of those teams:  Lacrosse, Soccer, and Basketball!

Better yet, his classmates elect him as their Student Body President.  Ohh, and his grades are stellar… he is a member of the National Honor Society.  The only thing he wasn’t doing was teaching the classes, but my money is on the fact that he would have if given the opportunity. 

Guess who is the proud recipient of the following high school awards?

The US Army Reserve National Scholar-Athlete Award

St. Mary’s Outstanding Leadership Award

St. Mary’s Student-Athlete Award

1st Team All-Metro

1st Team All County

USILA All-American

North-South National All-Star Lacrosse Game Player

It wasn’t me.  Get the idea?  Good. 

So, Kevin gets recruited to University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill to play for the country’s Top Lacrosse program and study at one of the most demanding institutions on the East Coast.  Guess who is named to UNC’s Dean’s List in 1993 and 1994?  Guess who joins a couple extra-curricular activities, such as Athletes in Action, the Athletic Director’s Student Advisory Council, and becomes a peer mentor for Carolina Athletes Coming Together?  That’s right.  Kevin did.

Talk about a leader. 

He is a mover-n-shaker.  He worked hard.  He implemented. Look at those results.

Kevin’s life was cut short during his sophomore year at UNC, when he was shot in a random act of violence while riding his bike across campus. 

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I never met Kevin. I was 12 at the time of his death.  My sister Kate was in Kevin’s class all 4 years at St. Mary’s High School in Annapolis, MD.  My brother Will was 3 years behind them at St. Mary’s and on the lacrosse team.  It was a big deal.  It was on the national news.  Kevin affected that many lives over those short 20 years.  Again, I was only 12, never met him, yet I remember it vividly. 

It hit hard in the Annapolis community and specifically in the St. Mary’s community, as I was in St. Mary’s Elementary School at the time.  (A proud member of the 13-Year Club)

Shortly after Kevin’s death, it was a no-brainer that an official Non-Profit Foundation needed to be setup, so Kevin could continue to inspire.  That’s exactly what was done.  Today the Kevin Reichardt Foundation has provided college scholarship to students that have attended… Get ready…

Harvard, MIT, Yale, Stanford, Cornell, Navy, Notre Dame, Dartmouth, Penn State,  Loyola, and my Alma Mater Towson University.  And that’s just a fraction of the schools.  There’s a full list on their website.

Which brings me to the reason I am writing today… 

A couple months ago, Mint Media was approached by the Kevin Reichardt Foundation to help upgrade their marketing efforts.  They needed a new logo, needed a new website, wanted to accept donations online, improve their social media efforts, and just an overall boost in their web presence. 

My decision… Absolutely! I wanted to be involved.  That’s what Kevin instills in people and I can’t explain it.  I just wanted to be involved, work hard, and implement!

So, head over to www.ReichardtFoundation.com and check everything out.

Today, Mint Media leads Strategic Marketing Communications & Public Relations on the Kevin Reichardt Foundation’s Advisory Council. 

Thanks Kevin. Go Saints.