The Indianapolis Association of Wabash Men’s inaugural Leadership Breakfast honored Tom Runge ’71 and brought to light the management styles and philosophies of three of the College’s most successful alumni Thursday morning.
Nearly 200 Indy area Wabash men, Wabash College staff, and students packed a NCAA Hall of Champions banquet room for the event, which included a panel conversation with Eli Lilly and Company Vice-President David Lewis ’81, Sun King Brewing Co-Founder Clay Robinson ’97, and Indiana Sports Corp. President Ryan Vaughn ’00.
Dustin DeNeal ’04 welcomed guests and introduced President Gregory Hess, who spoke of the contributions of alumni to Indiana and the College’s efforts to educate students “for the many careers they’re going to have, not the one they think they’ll have.”
Seamus Boyce ’03 introduced Barnes & Thornburg Managing Partner Bob Grand ’78, who served as moderator for a wide-ranging discussion of leadership at work, as fathers, and in the community.
Lewis urged young alumni “to create your own leadership experiences” and said when leading others at work he preferred “to give them guardrails and unleash them to become successful.” Robinson spoke of the need to allow workers to find their own best way of doing things, and Vaughn described “creating a culture” of collaboration.
Asked what Wabash had contributed to his career, Lewis said both the work ethic and the need to play hard: “I will win because I will outwork my opponents, and I learned that work ethic at Wabash.”
Robinson said he “had to re-learn how to learn at Wabash,” and Vaughn said the College instilled in him “the obligation to engage, the responsibility to make an impact, and the confidence that I could figure it out and contribute something.”
All three men said leaders need to model taking time away from work to be refreshed and tend to other priorities.
“Work is like a sponge,” Lewis said. “It will soak up everything if you give it that.” He recalled taking time off when his children were young to coach their teams and tuck them into bed.
“Some of my best ah-ha moments have come when I’ve taken time away,” said Robinson, who takes Sundays off with no email or phone calls and insists that Sun King workers take their vacation time. Vaughn goes so far as to close down the office to ensure his colleagues get the time off they need.
Vaughn said it was essential to “find something you’re passionate about” and noted that in his years in politics he had learned there is almost always “sufficient common ground to rise above and to get things done.”
Class Agent Ken Crawford ’69 asked retiring Director of Alumni and Parent Programs Tom Runge to step forward and receive the IAWM’s Wabash Man of the Year Award as the audience offered a standing ovation. Runge deflected the praise to his “team” in the alumni office—Mike Warren, Michele Ward, and Heather Bazzani.
Keenan Blanchford ’98 concluded the event with thanks to all who attended and a promise that due to its success, the IAWM Leadership Breakfast will likely be repeated next year.
Read more details in the next issue of Wabash Magazine.
—Steve Charles
