Rough draft of a  class project on a leader in our lives....

Adam L*********

T/Th 9:20

John (D****) P* is a focused man with many great stories and a great sense of humor. Those working and living with John have heard many stories about him and from him. The stories encasing John all have common elements, intelligence, decisiveness, and humor; interestingly enough these are the same elements that make up his life and values.

Mr. P* immigrated into this country at a young age without the benefit of the full formal education most people would receive at the time. Like many people that have experienced endless problems and created even more solutions John loves to talk. Usually when John talks it’s in accented English, what most people in this country (English speaking America) don’t get the chance to experience is his knowledge of five languages. The philosophy that he should learn something everyday provides John with a seemingly endless body of knowledge, making him a very intelligent person. As a General Manager of Mount Snow, White Face, and Ascutney Mountain Resort John has lead a team of hundreds of employees, from construction teams to being a lift “engineer” John proves the value of his intelligence to everyone he leads.

As an older fashioned person John can come off at first as harsh, or non-sympathetic; this is certainly not the case! One of the most common comments made about john by his employees is that he is a decisive, hardworking, and determined individual that expects the same from his workers. In the ski industry as with any industry that involves lots of manual labor and potential safety hazards the Manager must know that his employees will behave in a safe and predictable manner. John provides the direction for his employees and sometimes friends in a way where they could never second guess what his intention and direction is; right to the point and very sure about the direction a project is going John is just the person needed to motivate and provide a strong sense of direction when necessary.

A person that stays around John learns that a sense of humor is a vital part of life. Anyone that has gone to an outside hotdog stand where they take your order and your name will easily recall one of John’s famous jokes. When asked his name he always replies “GoodÂ… Seymour Good”.   John has a magical way of balancing the time to work and the time to play. Employees, family and friends all enjoy their time and relax in John’s presence when he is telling jokes or making up some sort of humorous, but believable story. Always one to get the work done John can still provide a group with the lighter side of things to make sure the job does not turn unbearable.

With the decisiveness, intelligence, and humor necessary to run the Olympic building construction project, three ski resorts, and thousands of employees John is a leader in more ways than many of us could ever imagine.