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It's truly an honor to stand here tonight, but just so that I don't get too big for my britches, Parker Creech thought it was important to remind me earlier that this year's peacock is next year's featherduster! In January of 1969, almost exactly 33 years from this day, the Catawba County Social Services delivered me to an orphanage called Sipe's Orchard Home. People around there just called it "THE HOME." Only 9 years old, it would be the sixth time that I was asked to start over again with new parents in a new place--except this time there would be no parents. Lost and broken hearted--I had no faith, I had no hope--my spirit was nearly lost. But the 44 children who lived with me would tell you this: while God gives us all a guardian angel, he gives orphans TWO--the ONE we can't see and the ONE we can. The first time I saw JOHN ODOM I thought I was meeting John Wayne--a tall, handsome, proud man; everything about him showed TRUE GRIT. As superintendent of the orphanage, John Odom's "job" was to take children with broken wings, patch them up the best he could, and ask them to fly again. He was a part of what Tom Brokaw called "The Greatest Generation." He was a veteran of WWII where he heard Winston Churchill say to Europe and the world: "We are struck, we are all struck in this world. But WE are still the MASTERS of our FATE and WE are still the CAPTAINS of our soul." This was the message that John Odom gave to me and those like me. And he PROMISED that if I could love myself and those around me, that people would always be there to offer support. His promise came true, for I have experienced more human kindness and love than I could have ever imagined. And much of it is in the hearts of the people in this room. So, tonight I stand with STRONG mended wings, a faith in GOD, and the strength of an EAGLE. And while tonight is a special moment for TOM SMITH personally, I believe it is MORE IMPORTANT that another one of JOHN ODOM'S BOYS, like my brothers who faced the very same challenges, can give back to his community and the profession he loves. I wanted to talk about Pop Odom tonight because I believe we have all had a "John Odom" in our lives at some crucial moment. Isn't it nice to think of them tonight? And we can all be someone else's "John Odom"--sometimes the person in need is an orphan or an elderly shut-in or someone battling cancer. Maybe it's the person you love the most who sits next to you now. Maybe it's that someone who is waiting for you at HOME tonight. In closing, I'd like to talk to you about HOME. HOME is about this EARTH, it's why we care about the environment. HOME is about our country. HOME is about our community. HOME is about the place we work, which our commercial REALTORS sell. HOME is a place we go back to with our family and our friends. And HOME is not about my skin color! It's a place for all Americans regardless of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin. After September 11, REALTORS ignited an enormous flame of FREEDOM for the SPIRIT of HOME. In the four months following the attacks, 816,000 REALTORS raised $8.4 million so that NO VICTIM'S FAMILY--NOT EVEN ONE--would lose their home. If you don't think REALTORS matter, then you go ask those 1300 families. ABRAHAM LINCOLN once said, "The strength of a nation lies in the HOMES of its people." I want to repeat that: "The strength of a nation lies in the HOMES of its people!" We know about HOME as REALTORS. We know what that's all about! We sell that DREAM to PEOPLE! And I say to you as REALTORS: You ARE the CAPTAINS of America's soul-- The HOMES they live in! And as one of the greatest local associations in the country and members of North Carolina's largest trade association, and as members of the largest trade association in the world....We are the MASTERS of our fate and CAPTAINS of our soul. We have EARNED America's trust to become the heart of the real estate transaction. The great businessman and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, Jr. said, "I believe that every right implies a responsibility, every opportunity an obligation, every possession a duty." This year let us all re-dedicate ourselves to being the very best we can be. Let's bring passion to the REALTOR commitment to the professional principles and the integrity our Association was founded upon. Let's continue our unbending commitment to serve the PUBLIC that made our profession great. This is a great night for REALTORS and all of our friends here tonight. Thank you for listening. And I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening! |