The BSAA event this past January 14th in Los Angeles has profoundly impacted my experience with D.R.E. on several levels. With every event I have attended during my time as a member, I have been exposed to professionals that are operating at the top of their respective fields and students that are performing at the top of their classes. Since I have been a member, there have been many members and leaders alike that have come in to the group and left soon after. Through each of the events, each of the meetings that I have attended thus far, I couldn’t help but notice something different about the group of D.R.E. members that came out to Los Angeles. As I was sitting in on our Pitch the Player event, it hit me.
Every individual that took part in the business meetings, the Pitch the Player, and the celebration that night in L.A. were people who on multiple occasions made some significant sacrifice to SHOW UP to our events. Whether it was at our conference at Howard last spring or at our Gala at the Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles or at D.R.E. Day last semester in New York City, the members who took part in our event at Galpin and/or the retreat in Lake Tahoe have committed to showing up as a D.R.E. member.
In every instance throughout my time in L.A. during my Winter Break, one could notice the shift in our junior members and leaders from focusing on individual work ethic towards producing results as a group. For the first time, Khalid David, a junior leader pitched his business to a panel of executives that are THE top players in each of their fields. Khalid is one of the many examples of a member who has selflessly sacrificed, and as a result of that sacrifice was given an opportunity that only a few select individuals even know exists.
In the past there have always been individuals that have shown up, but there was still something different about how we showed up as a group this time. This event was the first time that each individual, and thus the group, has showed up CONSISTENTLY, showed up ON TIME, and showed up PREPARED to work and to serve. I am extremely confident in the leadership group we have going forwards towards maintain those standards. We’ve set the bar very high for 2010 and expect excellence in all that we do going forward. That was the most impressive aspect of the event at Galpin and what I always expect from myself and from D.R.E.
