Two Friends Share Secrets To Their Success

Gen. Tommy Franks (left) and Joe Crookham (right) speak about their experiences in life with William Penn Students during the fall convocation on September 7, 2017.

Gen. Tommy Franks (left) and Joe Crookham (right) speak about their experiences in life with William Penn Students during the fall convocation on September 7, 2017.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – William Penn held its Fall Convocation this week at the George Daily Auditorium in Oskaloosa.

Two people shared the secrets that helped them be successful in the two different roles they play in life.

Four-Star General Tommy Franks (Ret.) and Musco CEO Joe Crookham spoke to the overflowing crowd, in a fashion that resembled a front porch conversation between two friends. They also serve on the board for William Penn University, where their insights continue to help guide the university and its students.

Both men served on the National Park Foundation Board, a place where the two started to build a friendship.

Franks shared with the students a brief history of his journey through life, starting with his time at the University of Texas that lead to his joining the Army. Franks eventually retired from the United States Army with 38 years of service.

He was the commander of CENTCOM or U.S. Central Command and was in charge of the response to the attacks of 9/11.

“If you were quitters, you wouldn’t be sitting in here,” Franks said to the crowd of students at George Daily.

“I remember right after 9/11 happened,” Franks said. He pointed out that the students sitting in attendance were very young at the time, many just being born or slightly older.

“When 9/11 happened, I talked to my boss on the phone, and he asked me a real hard question. He asked, ‘What are you going to do about it?’” Remembered Franks.

Franks used that moment in his life to point out that when students are younger, they may think they know where they want to go in life, “You don’t. You don’t know where you want to go; you just know you want to succeed.”

Franks handed the floor over to Crookham, who said he was “very pleased to have the opportunity to be out here today, speaking with you.”

“This is a very unique university in terms of bringing people together,” added Crookham. “I think one of the most important words to remember, to keep focus on, is the word understanding.”

“We’ve got a lot of people around the world these days, and how to understand is a challenge because new issues are brought in front of you instantaneously, regularly,” said Crookham. “You’ve got an opportunity here to build a strong, strong foundation” referencing the diversity of the students that have come from 22 different countries to William Penn this year.

Crookham shared his journey through life, and how the relationships he’s built with people played a role in being a success in the business world, and in life.

Students had an opportunity to ask Franks and Crookham one question, and they wanted to know about that pivotal moment in their lives that defined them as a person.

“With consultation with my wife Cathy, I guess I’d have to tell you, the one moment in my life that defined me as a person was when she said yes,” said Franks.

The answer was met with a large applause from the students.

“The seminal moment in my life came when I was twice your age, and it was right after 9/11 and 3,000 people, men, women, and children, had lost their lives in the blink of an eye, in New York City and in the Pentagon and in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. And America changed on that day,” said Franks. “And when my boss, the President, and the Secretary of Defense asked me on Sept. 11, 2001, a humble Army guy who had flunked out of college at the University of Texas, and the President and the Secretary of Defense asked me ‘what are you going to do about it?’ That’s probably the answer to your question; the seminal point in my life.”

“I would agree with your first part of that answer,” said Crookham referring to the day his wife Jeanie said yes.

“I would say that when you build a life, it’s going to be built out of a lot of building blocks and foundations, a lot of things that belong to it. Which of those blocks is the most important is not possible to define,” said Crookham. “The most significant thing that I can think of though, in terms of building the whole structure, is learning the importance of questions. We get so focused on answers at times; we want to chase to get to the answer. The answers are nice, but they last for a few seconds, and then new questions arise.”

Posted by on Sep 10 2017. Filed under Local News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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