Power of Good

E PowerofGood.com | Fall 2015 1 Eric MotlEy provEd to bE a fitting speaker for this year's Brighter Minds conference. The Alabama native grew up in the tiny enclave of Madison Park in Montgomery, started after the Civil War by ex-slaves who pooled their hard-earned money and bought a former plantation. His grandfather's grandfather was one of those former slaves, and his grandparents, who became his guardians when he was born, raised Motley in a home inherited from their ancestors. When Motley was in first grade, he was placed in the slow "turtles" reading group rather than the accelerated "rabbits" group, much to the chagrin of his aunt. She and many other members of the close- knit community would not put up with young Eric lagging in school. They collected books, they tutored him, they hectored him to read, to study, to learn. Failure was not an option. They made a difference in a young life, turning Motley to a path of lifelong learning and achievement. He graduated from Samford University in Birmingham, the first of his family to attend college. He attended the University of St. Andrews in Scotland as a Rotary International Ambassador and earned two degrees, including a doctorate in international relations. And at the ripe old age of 27, he found himself working in the White House of President George W. Bush as the special assistant for presidential personnel. Motley, now the executive director of national programs and vice president of the influential Aspen Institute, credits all the help he received along the way for shaping who he is. "If a whole community could embrace me, and teachers and high school and university could support me and I could pursue my dreams and aspirations as a citizen as I have – confidently and proudly – then the role that all of us have in encouraging others, and making sure those opportunities are not lost on poor kids in our communities, is of foremost importance and should be at the forefront of our minds and our work every day," he said in an interview with our Alabama NewsCenter (www.alabamnewscenter.com) after his Brighter Minds speech. The Brighter Minds education initiative, funded by the Alabama Power Foundation, is all about helping Alabama children reach their potential. Our emphasis is on quality pre-kindergarten, conservation education, and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) along with workforce development. We believe these and other transformational programs can drive significant, measurable improvements in our schools and better prepare our children for college and the workforce. We want to supplement what's working in education in Alabama, and find ways to raise the bar. Hence, the theme of this year's Brighter Minds conference: Raising the bar by raising your hand. We need more people, nonprofit organizations and businesses to raise their hands and, working together, raise the bar for Alabama's children and schools. We learned at the Brighter Minds conference how well it can work for one Alabama child. Many members of Eric Motley's family and community, as well as teachers, professors and university presidents, raised the bar for him by raising their hands to help him. Brighter Minds, working with our grantees, schools, state government and businesses, wants to raise the bar for many more children across Alabama. John O. Hudson III Vice president, Public Relations and Charitable Giving; president, Alabama Power Foundation; executive director, Alabama Business Charitable Trust Fund. the goodnews

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