"I feel like an old man...worried about the trash can on the street. What have I become!?"

The speaker at forum this week was definitely the opposite of an old man.  Mr. Bradley Dean is the creative director/photographer/designer/graphic designer/whatever at Billy Reid, Inc.  He graduated from UNA, where he was able to make connections to help him out in his professional life.  His job is to help Billy Reid, Inc. compete successfully in a world with a New York mindset...while being in Muscle Shoals.

Mr. Dean is a young man who has gotten involved in the community by helping out in places he is interested in.  He proposed the question of how you make change in the area you live in.  One of the ways he answered that question was working.  He encouraged us to pour hard work into our working lives.  Billy Reid encourages volunteerism in his company.  One example of how he is promoting a better environment is going in withjAlabama Channin to produce completely organic cotton.  This cotton field also helps promote local living, instead of having to truck supplies in from cross-country. 

Mr. Dean accidentally got involved in civic engagement by renovating his house.  He lives in a historic house in downtown Florence.  When he began renovating his house, he was concerned by the fact that no one asked him what he was doing.  What if he had totally destroyed the historic home?  He became a part of the Heritage Preservation Inc., which promotes historic preservation.  They attempt to regulate home renovations and downtown renovations in Florence.  By becoming involved with this group (just by showing up to a meeting!), Mr. Dean realized that being civically involved allows him to keep an eye out for his community and to get a hand in to help. 

Mr. Dean is also involved with the Florence Historical Board, where he realized there was a need for a historical check board to make sure someone was watching renovations in downtown Florence.  Downtown Florence Unlimited helps with traffic, commerce, and promoting social activities such as First Fridays.  He also heads desgin on the Florence Website Committee.  Mr. Dean enjoys getting involved and coming up with new ideas to keep downtown Florence alive and well.

Mr. Dean reminded us, once again, to get involved doing something you love.  I really liked his volunteer engagements because they were unique and different from anything else we've heard this semester.  

He also reminded us that we don't all have to be a leader.  For someone to be a leader, they must have followers, and sometimes being the first follower is better than being the leader.  Because the first follower turns one lone nut into a leader.  I could go on and on about the awesomeness of being the first follower and putting yourself on the line along with the leader, but I think I'm just going to be cliche and show this video:

Being the first follower appeals to me because I don't like to stand alone.  But I am willing to stand with another person.  

Mr. Dean reminded us that we don't always have to be a leader.  We're young, and we have a lot to learn.  We can learn by listening and soaking up what the older people are talking about.  A young person in a leadership role must listen to the older people.  

He also talked a lot about a strong community.  Communities need tons of investment to get them started and to keep them sustained.  Mr. Dean believes that the future of this country is centralized downtowns with culture and heritage.  That is one reason why he is so involved in downtown Florence.  He saw a problem, got involved, and worked to fix it.  

Mr. Dean was a good speaker.  It was obvious he was nervous, but that made his lecture authentic.