209 Leading the Transformation of an Organization and Upgrading the Brand for Greater Impact with Catherine Meloy, President & CEO of Goodwill of Greater Washington | Greater Washington DC DMV Changemaker

Mahan Tavakoli: 

Welcome to Partnering Leadership. I'm really excited this week to be welcoming Catherine Meloy. Catherine serves as president and CEO of Goodwill of Greater Washington and the Goodwill Excel Center. Before that, she had a 20 plus year management career in the radio industry, and I have had the joy of knowing Catherine from back when she was in the radio industry. Seeing her become the president and CEO of Goodwill and transform the impact of that organization in this region.

So, it was such a joy getting a chance to find out a little bit more about Catherine’s background, her purpose drive and how she has led this organization to have such a great impact in our community. 

I'm sure you will enjoy the conversation, learn about leadership, and be inspired too. I also love hearing from you. Keep your comments coming. mahan@mahantavakoli.com. There is also a microphone icon on partneringleadership.com. You can leave voice messages for me there. 

Don't forget to follow the podcast Tuesday conversations with magnificent change makers from the Greater Washington DC DMV region like Katherine and Thursday, Conversations with brilliant global thought leaders.

Now here is my conversation with Catherine Meloy.

Catherine Meloy. Welcome to Partnering Leadership. I am thrilled to have you in this conversation with me.

Catherine Meloy: 

Thank you. It is fun to be with you and to spend time with you.

Mahan Tavakoli: 

Catherine, almost 30 years now. I was back in elementary school. You were too. That's fine. Almost 30 years that I have known you, seen your purpose driven impact in the community. The kind and gentle approach you have to leadership. What you have been able to do in transforming goodwill in the greater Washington DC region.

So there is so much to get to, but would first love to start out with the whereabouts you grew up and how your upbringing impacted who you've become.

Catherine Meloy: 

Mahan. That is probably the best question you could ask cause my dad was a marine for 25 years and so I grew up as a Marine's daughter. That growing up showed me a couple of things. First of all, my dad was very disciplined and I grew up in an incredibly beautiful, disciplined home life.

My dad also moved around every two to three years, so as a result, the family moved around every two to three years, and I had this wonderful mom who every two to three years, she thought it was a new adventure. And it will change and moving, and things that were different, that was just another fun adventure.

So, growing up in that disciplined but fun adventure environment truly gave me just a wonderful picture of life. So, I am one of those very blessed people to have a mom and dad who were models for who I wanted to become. And you know how when you get older you go, Oh my gosh what my mother said, or Oh my gosh, that's what my dad said.

I say, Oh my golly. I'm glad I'm doing that because I loved those two people. And that's where life began. I was born in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina military base, and for the Marines who are gonna listen to this podcast, I'll get a hoorah. 

Mahan Tavakoli: 

That is a great beginning, Catherine, and when you talk about the impact that the Marine Corps had on your father's life and the discipline had on your life. A couple of months back, I had a conversation with Chuck Robb and he was mentioning that Linda to this day complains about the fact that he first married the Marines, then he married Linda. So once a Marine, always a Marine, and it's part of the family. 

You mentioned the discipline that brought to your life. What was an example of that discipline in your life? Catherine.

Catherine Meloy: 

My dad for the last 35 years of his life. He died when he was 99. For the last 35 years of his life, he would every morning at six o'clock, call myself and my two sisters and brother. It would start with my older sister at six. At 6:03, I would get a call. This is no joke. At 6:06, my brother would get a call and at 6:09, my baby sister would get a call. In that call, he didn't expect you to pick up. He would call and say, Good morning, and he would say, The Our Father to each one of us. And then he would go on to the next one and the next one and the next one. 

The reason why I use that as an example is, and we joke about that, it was six o'clock and 6:03 and 6:09 but Mahan, what happens is that discipline is being Bri's daughter, you don't show up late for a meeting. If you're on time, in my dad's world, you're 10 minutes late. 

If you promise somebody, you're going to call, you promise somebody, you're gonna send an email. You promise someone, that is in the Marines disciplined life, it's done. It's considered done. So, when you ask that question about what does that actually look like?

It actually looks like how I hope I model my dad and what just comes natural. I think that's what it really is. In that you are dedicated to the integrity of being disciplined in what you do in life. So, that is the picture of what my dad instilled in, not only myself, but my sisters and brother.

Mahan Tavakoli: 

That discipline carries over in the leadership that you've shown in the community and throughout your career and add goodwill. Balance with that discipline, Catherine is you are one of the most loving people that I have ever known and it sounds like that you got that from your mom. 

How did that impact you and who you've become?

Catherine Meloy: 

My mom was gracious as the day is long. An incredible dresser. 

Mahan Tavakoli: 

You'd take after her on that part too.

Catherine Meloy: 

Mahan, I will proudly say that I'm glad I take after my mom. She was an impeccable dresser. And she had a graciousness about her.

The story behind that is my dad being the Marine he was a Marine's Marine. He was tough. There's no question I talk with great affection, but I will tell you, I had to clean bathrooms at home and they always had to be cleaned on Friday nights and on Wednesday nights. 

Now that didn't mean Friday morning, and it didn't mean Wednesday morning, It meant Friday night, Wednesday night. So there were times that Marine, this, I butted up against. But my mom on the other hand, she was a good counterbalance to him because of her graciousness and because she had the most incredible ability of treating all four of her children differently because we are different. Seeing the different talents and the different people who God made yet I will say inspiring us to be who we were. 

That graciousness, that kindness, that lovingness also came through and I would give her credit that she would expect nothing less of me. When I hear you say that I sit there and I smile and I say, that's great, but that's who my mother would expect and nothing less.

And that comes from my mom. It does.

Mahan Tavakoli: 

With that wonderful upbringing, you ended up going to college in St. Louis and dropping out. Why did you drop out?

Catherine Meloy: 

Because, now back to my dad, my dad believed even in the seventies, my dad and he could afford for us, for kids to go to school. But he went ahead and said You know what? I got you through high school and on college, you're on your own. 

And so I went to two years. You're gonna laugh at this, everybody will be. I went to two years of college and at the end of two years I had $10,000 in debt. And I do not like debt. I never did when I grew up. I never did. It's just in my core and 10,000 to me at that time, seemed so incredibly, like just a ton of money and how would I ever get out of debt. 

And you know what, I didn't wanna bank loan. And my father said, You know what, you're on your own sweetheart. So I dropped out of school and went to work in the hotel business. And paid off that $10,000 in three years. It took me three years to pay it off. And I never went back to school. Hard work, I would say. God's great grace, some incredible mentors led me to a point that education was not necessary because the experience was so strong. And yes, you're looking at a woman that did not have a college education.

Mahan Tavakoli: 

It's interesting. Catherine. Jonathan Height, who is a social psychologist and professor at NYU, has written a series of books including The Coddling of the American Mind. And he talks about some of the challenges that we are having in society in part because of the cuddling that kids go through and the parents, not just helicopter parenting, snowplow parenting. Opening up paths for them, where the real world that the kids enter into eventually, at some point, is very different.

To a certain extent, having to overcome some of those obstacles early on that your dad said, I've brought you this far, you work it out, was difficult back then. But that's the kind of resilience that it takes to develop and become stronger later on in life. You didn't expect your parents to open doors for you whether in getting you your next job or promotion and opportunities from there on out.

Catherine Meloy: 

You are so right. And you know what, I always look back on that and my dad was smarter than what I thought he was. At the time, I thought he was just holding onto his money and not sharing it, is what I thought, but he knew. 

And as a result, I will say this, even raising my own children while we did support because college is a little bit more expensive than what it was then, and yet, at such things as we'll take care of college, but you take care of everything else. And that does instill because you do realize that life is not easy and life is not handed to you on a platter.

And you have to make choices. I chose to leave college in order to work because I didn't want the debt, but that was a choice. So, it was a good point in life and I was learning a lesson that I didn't even realize that my father was trying to instill the lesson being learned.

Mahan Tavakoli: 

So, you learned those lessons. As you mentioned you were in the hotel industry when you met the love of your life, who married up like I did.

Catherine Meloy: 

I would not say that. You've met my husband, so you know what? I think I was the one that married up, 

Mahan Tavakoli: 

We can argue about that after the podcast. He is a great guy. He married up,. But so how did you end up meeting and marrying David?

Catherine Meloy: 

Do you know, I have to tell you something. I went ahead and I saw David a year before I actually met him. I saw him at a hotel meeting. We were both with Sheraton Hotels. He walked up to do a speech. He was by the podium and as he walked up, I thought, if I ever meet that man, I'll marry him. Honest to goodness. That's why I say he was the love of my life. 

And a year later, that same meeting was an annual meeting. A year later we actually met, and not only did we actually meet, but we were at a dinner and it was for 600 people and I always say, this is, the Lord would have it, we were assigned to certain tables and he and I were assigned to the same table.

And we sat next to each other. When you say, there was no coincidences in life. There's always a plan. And he and I sat next to each other and from that moment on, he truly was the love of my life. An incredible man. And the story behind him is what made him so incredible was he allowed everyone, and that includes our children and friends and family members and myself, to be whoever we want to be.

And that, so many times you hear about, don't try to change your spouse. They can't change. Or people will say, after we get married it will be different. David never thought that way. He always just took everyone for who they were. So, for a woman who desired a career, who loved leading people, who loved being involved in the business world, I never ever had to even worry or think that he wasn't supporting that fully because he supported the wholeness of the person. 

And that was a treasure that I realized, that I have and had that probably a lot of people didn't. And so, it allowed me to be more of who I could be because there was somebody that saw me just as I was and wanted me to be more of who I was, not of who they wanted me to be, which is just an incredible, beautiful trait of someone.

Mahan Tavakoli: 

That's a beautiful thought and perspective, Catherine, for all kinds of relationships. A lot of times it takes tremendous confidence and security for the individual to allow the other person to be who they are. It's really important in a partnership and in a marriage. But just in general, a lot of times it's dissatisfaction with the self that causes the need to try to change the other person, and that causes a lot of conflict . 

Now you also, from very early, in addition to your discipline and your loving character, had tremendous sales, capabilities, characteristics, or desire to be successful in sales, including as you moved around with David, you got a job after the hotel industry by just cold walking into WEEI. 

So, cold calling, to the point that I think, in this day and age, you can't do that in buildings. They'll throw you out. What was that experience like?

Catherine Meloy: 

So David was in the hotel business and he was gonna skyrocket in the hotel business. And so we decided that two people in the same business was not always good. So, I decided to go into broadcast, to go into radio. I don't even. Mahan, I don't even know what triggered that thought.

But anyhow, I walked into this radio station. This is the honest to est truth. I walked into this radio station, no appointment, and I said, I didn't even know what the title was that the person. And I said, who runs this radio station? And it just happened. Again, no coincidences. The general manager was coming in from being at lunch. Mike Ewing, and he said, I'm the person.

And I said how are you, Mike? I'm Catherine, and I'm looking for a job. I think that even then, that was unusual. So, I received the blessing of getting a job at a major radio station. It was a CBS station. EEI was bigger than big. It was a big news talk station.

And I was given the yellow pages. Okay, here you think you're so good, here you go. Here's the yellow pages. Now go out and sell something. And I have to tell you this, it was also the first time I went in commission sales because in the hotel business.

So you were on a salary. Back to my husband. I came home and I said, So what do you think? I'm gonna go into commission sales? And he said, That's the greatest thing. He said. You like to work, you will get the benefits of every minute that you spend working. And he was right.

He was really right. So, anyhow, that was the way it started. Then, he moved to New York. He was transferred to New York to take over a hotel in New York and I was able to transfer with CBS to New York. So, I worked for cbs in Manhattan. We've talked about this. After you work in New York, people think, Wow, if you made it in Manhattan, you could make it anywhere.

It's a Frank Sinatra song, and New York is no different than any other town. It's a small town. It's people just working together and you get to know friends and it's just like Washington, DC. DC is, what do We have 3 million people around here or whatever we have, but yet it's a small town.

And that's the way New York was. But it has the cache that if you worked for a major broadcasting company in New York, then you've earned the chops to do other things. And so, that surprisingly gives you a confidence that allows you then to do other things, to take risks. Just to look at the world in a different way and not to be afraid.

Dad's background, New York experience and I've been blessed to have both of those.

Mahan Tavakoli: 

I imagine that discipline, Catherine. When you talk about radio seals, first of all handing you the yellow pages for the people that are not familiar with what a Yellow Pages would be. In essence, it's a big book with just the listening of businesses.

Catherine Meloy: 

I forgot. Mahan. I forgot you. Boy,

Mahan Tavakoli: 

Everyone knows what yellow pitches is,

Catherine Meloy: 

Google was not around. Let me tell you.

Mahan Tavakoli: 

It is just the listing of businesses. Pure cold colling and radio sales was as hard as sales as anything. 

So, I imagine that discipline must have played a role in your success and then eventually also the success in New York that you had. So what brought you down to the DC area, Catherine?

Catherine Meloy: 

David, we went from New York to Denver, and then Denver. David was transferred to Washington DC and he was transferred to, at that time it was called the, Sheraton-Carleton, which is now the St. Regis. And we lived at the hotel. And I first worked in Baltimore. I worked at WBAL in Baltimore, in WIYY.

And then, Andy Acress Housen, a truly incredible broadcaster. Wonderful man. Great friend. We went ahead and said he wanted me to join WMAL and joined WMAL and that was the beginning of my career here in Washington, DC And it's been good ever since.

Mahan Tavakoli: 

Andy was a great person. Really a character but well connected. So you must have a lot of fun stories of Andy o running around that.

Catherine Meloy: 

There was only one Andeo, only one Andeo. And you know what, though? It is funny. Andeo had this persona of bigger than life, brass I don't know, just always out there. And he was an incredibly strong leader as a broadcaster. And leadership also is how you take care of people and Andy's life was taking care of people. 

He loved to see people grow in their careers. So, being able to work for someone such as that, in this marketplace, who knew everybody, and he gave me great advice. First of all, at a l they had a select group of people that they would send to the Board of Trade and he would say, Don't go to the Board of Trade to just show up. You've got to get involved. You've got to get involved. And he would say that so often. Just showing up is one thing, but getting involved is a whole nother thing. I can hear him giving me that advice and it ringing in my ears, and it's true. You don't just show up. You get involved.

Mahan Tavakoli: 

You have been very involved in the community. You were eventually, when you were running WGMs in the region involved whether it's a Greater Washington Board of Trade, federal city council, really active. Catherine, you have all this in the radio industry. Well connected, respected in the region. 

So, what was it that caused you to shift to run a nonprofit that, for most people is a familiar name, but I can say in the region had very little, if any, presence.

Catherine Meloy: 

It is truly a Lord's story. I have to give credit where credit is due. And the McCormick group, Lyles Carr and Paul Rothenberg. So, here's a quick story. Paul Rothenberg, a friend, business associate, what have you called one day, really looking for a list of people that I thought could potentially be interested in becoming President of Goodwill. And it wasn't one of these headhunters. I'm calling you, but I'm really interested. Truly, it was just a conversation. And I knew nothing about Goodwill. Nothing. 

Obviously Goodwill had a great brand name. It's, and I wanna just emphasize that because I'm gonna come back to that. But anyhow, so I gave him a list of people. I actually said, here's somebody and what about this person and that person, whatever. Anyhow, hang up. Five minutes later he calls back and says, I was just thinking, would you be interested?

And Mahan, I said, I think I would be. Now I have to tell you, in that five minutes from the call to call, I never thought about it. I just, it was over and I hung up and I said, Dear Lord, where are you taking me? And three weeks later I left an industry that I loved, that I had been successful in, to run a nonprofit that I knew nothing about. But it had a brand and I knew that the brand was not what it could be. It was a challenge and it was a risk, the challenge and the risk is what excited me about it. And it brought me to Goodwill and it is what I have loved and enjoyed about being a part of this incredible brand and having it come to life in Washington dc it was a vision that I could see. I could see what it could be, and I would never look back. I never looked back for a minute.

Mahan Tavakoli:

 It is an incredible brand, Catherine. There are positives and negatives to brand names. One is that people understand and nod when we've heard the brand name. For many years I worked for Deal Carnegie training. That adds a certain level of credibility. People nod and say yes. I know. 

On the flip side, a lot of times when they know the brand, they think they know the brand and therefore that gets in the way of you actually being able to achieve your mission.

So, what is Goodwill beyond what some people might know of the stores that help fund some of the operations? What is Goodwill and how are you able to change the brand in this region? Because I really believe that you were able to leverage the familiarity with the name, but take it to a whole new level.

Catherine Meloy: 

Mahan, Goodwill, first of all, is in the business of transforming lives through the power of education and employment. Only see us as these retail stores, and in this market we have 21 retail stores. Interestingly enough, I will first of all say that our retail stores were in really horrible shape.

So, first of all, talk about a brand, you gotta raise the brand image, you've gotta raise that store to where people wanted to go to the store. People wanted to donate because that was what they saw. So, if that's what you know us as, let's get that as good as we can.

And then though, every time we donate that shirt, we sell it, and then it goes into our mission, which is we have industry sector training programs, which means we do hospitality, we do security and protective services. We do construction. We've done construction training. And so, people who are in the community who have been incarcerated, people who have barriers to work. We go ahead and have these certification programs that people can come, be trained, and then we actually go ahead and work with employers in the marketplace to place people. 

Five years ago, there were 65,000 adults in the District of Columbia that had never gotten their high school education. And we moved our mission into education. Remember I said education and employment. We went ahead and began to super focus on education and opened up the first adult chartered high school in the District of Columbia. And it's for a diploma. It is not for GED, it's for a diploma. 

And, that evolution of our mission was very deliberate because now when somebody says, Oh, you run chartered high school for adults who dropped outta school, who now can get a diploma. That again, is a very front-facing mission that people say, Oh, now I. this is what I donate to and for the money to that goes to this mission here of education and training people. 

So, when you say, how did that happen? How did the brand of Goodwill evolve? I think first of all, it evolved by trying to polish off the brand that people saw it as, which was the retail stores. But then, having the mission to be forefront. And with these industry sector training programs, you have to work with employers in the marketplace, which I had done in broadcasting.

So, there were contacts that I had who could actually hire the people who we were training. So, it's an incredibly robust organization. It is a social enterprise, which means we have a business, we run retail stores. We run a school. We also have a janitorial business where we do janitorial business.

We do the cleaning down at the senate office building, at the bureau printing and graving. And people who work there are people who have severe disabilities. So, our business is truly in having people that have barriers to employment, whether it be a disability or whether it be incarceration, or whether it be homelessness, or whether it be a single mother.

People who have barriers, we are walking beside them to erase those barriers so that they in fact, can reach their highest potential. I can never get tired of telling that story, and I can never get tired of being involved with it day in and day out.

Mahan Tavakoli: 

That's why you've done such a great job in leading the organization, Catherine. I love the way you put it, where you first had to show up the core aspect of the business. I even recall early on when you took over, you started Goodwill fashion shows, which as I was getting the mailers. That by itself was great branding because goodwill and fashion show didn't go together in my mind initially. 

So, a brilliant job in repositioning and some work that was done within the retail stores themselves in therefore serving the mission and connecting people with opportunities and employment and education. 

And I would love to know some of your thoughts, Catherine, as people are looking at the future of work, there's a lot of concern with the fact that more and more of our society is falling behind and will fall behind. 

I had a conversation with a brilliant thinker and author, Azeem Azhar. He writes about the exponential age and the exponential technologies that not over the coming decades, but over the coming few years will drastically impact our lives, whether from 3D printing to artificial intelligence. 

Therefore automating a lot of jobs that traditionally were done by people. The need for reskilling and the divisions in society where you will have the very highly skilled, highly educated, that get highly compensated to do jobs and lots of people that will not.

Would love to know your thoughts and perspectives to where that future of work is and how good will plans to play a role to make sure that we don't have just a small sub segment of society prospering in the future, and a whole big group in society falling behind.

Catherine Meloy: 

You said it very well. It's really technology. Technology is what has just taken over everything. And we have deliberately leaned into technology in our training programs at our school. Every student gets a laptop. Every student is shown how to use it, what to use, the advantages of it, et cetera.

Mahan, I'll say this. I think what you have to do is we have to take each individual and work with each individual. The divide is so great but we had 73 students who just graduated from our Goodwill Excel center in July. I can tell you, I know that those 73 students walked away with not only a high school diploma, but a technology knowledge. They also walked away with a certificate or a certification in an industry that will hire them. 

They also walked away with our leaning into and helping them get a job or go to college. So, we can't correct all ills but we changed 73 people's lives. So, I think that what I always look at is instead of getting discouraged by that is where it's going, I get encouraged by 73 lives. And you know what it is? It's not only those 73 lives, it's their family's lives that have changed.

And at our excel center, we work with the YMCA and we have a child development center for our students. So, when you come to school at the chartered school and you have children, we have a child development center where the children can go while you're taking class. 

What I always say is, it's the greatest model that these younger children, three and four and five year olds, they come to the school as well, and they see their moms and their dads going to school, picking them up at the end, and then going home and studying with them. 

Again, I can't change the world but if we changed 73 lives like that just said at graduation, then you know what? Those 73 lives change another 73 lives, changed another 73 lives, and that's what invigorates me. It's not the mass, it's the individualism that we try to obtain here at Goodwill.

Mahan Tavakoli: 

What a beautiful perspective, Catherine, because when we talk and think about the global scale of many of the changes, it can become overwhelming and paralyzing. 

Therefore, we wash our hands and say we can't do anything about it, as opposed to these are individuals whose lives and whose family lives we can impact.

Let's act on this.

Catherine Meloy: 

Yes. The masses. Our individuals. It's not the masses. We make up the masses and so take care of the individuals and the mass will change. I believe so strong in that and I get energized by the number of people whose lives we can affect.

Mahan Tavakoli: 

You have impacted so many people's lives, whether through your leadership at Goodwill or throughout the community, Catherine. So, I wonder if you were to give advice to the younger professional Catherine, with respect to pursuing your career and leadership. What advice would you give to her or to younger leaders? 

Because you have truly been impactful in this community and really impacting people's lives, bringing others along. You have brought a lot of the business community along to support Goodwill to have a positive impact. So, this is not just simply saying, Hey, we're going to lead Goodwill. You have to bring a lot of people along to do that. 

So, what advice would you give with respect to leadership, either to the younger Catherine and to aspiring leaders?

Catherine Meloy: 

Mahan. The one thing that I would tell a younger Catherine is that it's who you surround yourself with or who you go to work for makes all the difference in the world. And I'm gonna just tell you real quick story today.

We're doing mid-year reviews right now at our Goodwill. And I looked, so for today, I had a midyear review with the vice president of our retail division. And then I also have a midyear review with our chief integration officer. I was excited this morning to do this. Now, who wants to do reviews, right?

Are you kidding me? And I came in and I said to both of them because there was a reason why they were in the same meeting. And I said, I want you all to know, you energized me this morning. I could not wait to spend time with you in these mid-year reviews because they are such great talents.

They are just incredible women of smart. They've got passion. They have got great business sense. So, this is not Catherine's goodwill. The reason why this Goodwill is so strong is because it's got incredible people besides Catherine who are really leading and doing and developing and creating the day to day operations of Goodwill.

So what would I tell the Catherines of the world, younger generation? Find that environment where people are smarter and have more passion and are doing what they love to do, and make sure you're in that environment because all ships rise. Guess what? You will rise when you're in that environment. When you're not in that environment, it holds you back. When you're in that environment, it only makes you stronger. It gives you, I think, just a taste of how a career can be part of your reason, your why of who you actually become. And that would be the best advice I could give and the best advice that somebody could have given me.

Mahan Tavakoli: 

That's great advice, Catherine. What you mentioned with respect to your team is reflective of the kind of leader that you are. And I talk about, which is why the podcast is called Partnering Leadership, where you truly see value in your team, but they're also attracted to good will, in part because of your leadership. 

There is two parts to it. It is not Catherine's Goodwill. You are not the reason it's successful. It is also not just because of the people. It is a balance of being in that dread environment and helping elevate each other. 

To that end, Catherine, are there any leadership resources or practices you typically find yourself recommending to people as they want to improve their leadership?

Catherine Meloy: 

The one thing I would recommend, which I'm not very good at sometimes, we don't spend enough time listening. We spend more time talking, And I think, things such as podcasts, things such as, do we step back and do we say, You know what? I am going to listen to this podcast, I'm gonna listen. I'm gonna put myself in an environment where I'm not talking or I'm not leading, but that I am learning. 

And what's beautiful about this crazy world right here and technology is that the world is opened to you right here. It doesn't take anything. So, there's so many things Mahan that I think that we cheat ourselves from because we're so into moving and grooving and getting to meetings and doing so many things and what have you. And we do not pause enough to be silent and to listen to how others can go ahead and actually affect our lives. 

What you do with your podcast, and this is not because I'm talking to you, but it's really true, you have great authors who go ahead and talk about their books, about leadership. You have people who, you mentioned Linda Rabbit and Lyles Carr, and people such as this. You listen to them and which is exactly why you're doing this, is that you are opening up a world to, if I didn't know Linda Rabbit, the only way to know of Linda Rabbit is through a podcast such as this, and yet you can learn so much from what she has to say.

So we just don't listen enough, we don't step back enough.

Mahan Tavakoli: 

What beautiful advice for us as leaders and as individuals to take a step back and listen to each other, understand each other and each other's stories. And that's part of why I love your leadership story. 

Now, I can't let you go, Catherine, before highlighting the fact that you, young lady, are the Maryland State deadlift champion.

Tell me more about that.

Catherine Meloy: 

Somebody's probably got my record right now. But so I probably along with my dad's discipline I do work out every day except Sunday. And so, and that has been that way forever. Forever. And I got into deadlifting when I was in broadcasting, 

And the trainer that I was with, his wife, she's a world deadlifting champion. This woman is in another stratosphere and he just said, You know what, Catherine, you've got the physique. Two, go ahead and deadlift. And being one who loves a competition, being one who likes to, just win at everything. He said, Why don't you try? 

And anyhow, so I started out for it and I will tell you I won it when I was 45. It was in the older age category. It wasn't in the younger age category. But I gotta tell you, I've got a big trophy and you know what's interesting?

Mahan, you said, leadership is a lot of head game. But you also have to be physically in the game in order for your head to be working. And again, good advice, just stay healthy. Just, force yourself to get up and be exercising and eat well and that sort of thing.

But anyhow, this particular training for this, it not only put me physically. In the game, I was surprised at how mentally it made me more alert and it challenged my mind as well as my physique. And it was something that I don't tell many people about because, it sounds like, deadlifting champion, it's what the heck?

But, it was different and it was fun, and it was great. It was good. It was fun.

Mahan Tavakoli: 

I love the fact that you just shared it with me, Catherine, so we'll keep it a secret between the two of us.

Catherine Meloy: 

Okay. We'll keep it a secret. Okay, great. All right. Only you and the millions who've listened to this podcast. Oh, great. the

Mahan Tavakoli: 

So, if you're traveling around the world and someone asks for your autograph being the Maryland State deadlifting champion, this is what it's for. But I hope as much as they have fun with that, people will learn from your grace and loving leadership as well as disciplined leadership that you've had over these years, impacting so many lives in this community and beyond so many families in this community and beyond. 

Thank you so much for joining me in this conversation. Catherine Meloy.

Catherine Meloy: 

It was great to spend time with a friend. That's what this was all about to me. It was great to just be with you again, so thank you.