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HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL Is 'servant leadership' right for you? Have you ever won dered if you should investigate the con cept known as “servant lead ership”? Do you know what changes would be required if your organization chose to adopt servant leadership? Would you’ like to under stand servant leadership in terms of a contrast with a more traditional style of leadership? I invite you to a lunchtime seminar at Wesleyan College next week. Tuesday at 12:30 p.m, Bill Turner will share his observations from living a lifetime of servant leader ship. We in middle Georgia may not be familiar with Bill Turner, but if we lived 85 miles west, in Columbus, we’d certainly know his reputation! Bill was chair The legal look at marriage Dear Mr. Rockefeller, I am marrying after the New Year, what do I need to know about prenuptial agreements and such? Dear Reader, Congratulations! I wish you and your spouse a long and happy marriage. Your ques tion is certainly interesting; let’s take a look at it. Contrary to recent politi cal chatter about the defini tion of “marriage,” the law is unconcerned with the grand Vanity Fair or solemn reli gious event (or the drained bank account!); all the law considers is its cold contrac tual nature. A marriage is essentially a contract with mutual promises of love and fidelity as its “price,” just as we bargain for the purchase of a house - of course, with less spectacular results! The status of marriage brings certain rights and responsibilities upon which you may want to reflect. Marriage means you each have unique medical deci sion-making authority above and beyond what a family member might want. As the Terri Schiavo tragedy illus trated, her hufeband had this power trumping the wishes of her parents. So, if you want your family to make your medical decisions, in the event of your incapac ity to do so, you need some thing called a “Living Will,” designating this author ity in someone other than your spouse and/or stating your specific wishes about extraordinary life-saving efforts. You might have heard the ditty, “What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is mine.” Well, there’s actually some truth in both parts of this saying. For example, if there is a bank account just in your name, even after mar rying, it yours and not your spouse’s; although it can be subject to equitable division during divorce. However, if the bank account (or real estate) is in both spouses’ names, it “does” belong to both of you and, upon death, it may automatically devise to the other spouse without a will. Financial consequences of marriage have evolved with time. Many years ago, women were (or could be) saddled with their husband’s debts, post-divorce and/or even RFCU sponsoring kids event Special to the Journal Children who are admitted to The Children’s Hospital at the Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon will be treated to sweet dreams thanks to employ ees and members of Robins Federal Credit Union in Warner Robins. That’s because they donated more than 750 pil SuMe today! Cal 987-1323 man of Synovus Financial in 1998 when Fortune maga zine selected that company as the best place to work in America. Last year, Fortune named Synovus one of 22 “Hall of Fame” companies for having been on its “top 100 list” every year since its inception. In 2000, Bill published his experiences and per spectives in The Learning of Love: A Journey Toward Servant Leadership. Hoping to stimulate your interest to learn more about servant leadership, and wanting to serve those of you not able to attend his live session next week, I’ll share some descriptive quotes from his book. “As I understood the old traditional management paradigm, the leader was post-death; but, this would no longer be true, unless a wife affirmatively agrees to take responsibility for her husband’s debt (in divorce) or there is a “joint” obliga tion for a debt, like both signing on the mortgage. Of course, if there is a credit card in the wife’s name, and the husband as an autho rized user, then whatever the husband charges will be the wife’s sole responsibil ity! Another modern advance ment is that, gen era 11 y, spouses share in each oth er’s social security benefits and some retire ment. Life Jta Jim Rockefeller Columnist insurance, however, requires a specific beneficiary named and passes outside a will, which means that the spouse receives the proceeds if named a ben eficiary or, possibly, in the unlikely event there is no named living beneficiary. Be careful, since many retire ment vehicles pass through the estate, upon death, sub ject to the direction of a will. Ultimately, a divorce is a dissolution of this partner ship, just like a business partnership is dissolved. A “prenuptial” contemplates the possible future finan cial aspects of this dissolu tion. Interestingly, once you are married, it is illegal to enter into an post-nuptial agreement anticipating a divorce (unless one of the spouses has actually filed for divorce). The reason you enter into a prenuptial agreement is to protect certain assets or property from being sub ject to either a divorce or an estate action after your death. But, if a will contradicts a prenuptial, the will may invalidate it. Of course, you should only burden yourself with negative thoughts of a possible divorce if you have lots of assets; otherwise, just enjoy the wonders (and rig ors) of sharing your life with your better half. Warner Robins attorney Jim Rockefeller is the for- lowcases to the “Pillowcases For Kids” campaign held Sept. 4-29. According to a release from RFCU, the cam paign was devised to “make a child’s stay in the hospi tal a little more comfortable and a little more like home.” Children who are admitted into the hospital will receive a new and unwashed dec orative pillowcase in their admission kit. at the top of the hierarchy, and many below wanted the position. Driven by ego to seek posi tion and power, they man aged by coercion. This caused them to claim credit for things that went Dennis Hooper Leader* Building Leader* well and to blame others when things went wrong. My experience with being at the top of the tradition al organization was that it was a very lonely position. When people were nice to me, I never knew if they really liked me...or if they were just seeking favor to mer Chief Assistant District Attorney for Houston County, and a former Assistant State Attorney in Miami. Owner of Rockefeller Law Center, Jim has been in private prac tice since 2000. His website, THURSDAY THRU SUNDAY! 40% f| OFF m, ALL SUM RIVER SHIRTS A m jjf L SWEATERS mjl Y.U ] Plus, corduroy and |j\i jj l denim shirt jackets. FWM. , Reg. 20.00-60,00, SALE 12.00-30.00 60% M M/i OFF %1H - J ALL STERLING v. 7 ( | / X «V SILVER JEWELRY f 1 | ( j \ Also. 18K gold over jit /j j sterling silver. " J \ Jt ‘1 / Reg. 16.00-60.00, V * //l \ SALE 640-24.00 A \jL/ Jy .. iasl Ife m LADIES BOOTS Sfc* ■^LV Aetosoles, Mudd’. White Mountain'. ißsyi* ® Italian Shoemakers'. and more “‘fliMf*' Reg, 50.00. 40% OFF ALL GUYS SOUTH POLE Joans, tees, polo shirts and fleece. Reg. 24.00 100.00, SALE 1440-60.00 40% OFF MEN'S COATS A JACKETS Selected styles m leather and fabric. Reg 65.00 225.00, SALE 39.00-135.00 30% OFF MEN'S CHAPS' SPORTSWEAR Shirts, polos, sweaters and more. Reg. 32.50-60.00, SALE 22.75-42.00 SALE 3959 MEN'S DRESS/CASUAL SHOES Dockers' Nunn Bush* Giorgio Brutini’, Skechers', others. Reg. 50.00-70.00. 29.99-3099 ATHLETIC SHOES Men’s, ladies, kids. NIKE, Skechers* Reebok', others. Reg. 35.00-50.00. I Whies 10% OFF ALL DAY + Bonus VIP Points when you open a new credit card account* •Subject to credit approval Eidueion* apply. LOCAL enhance their own position. I felt my major responsi bility was to motivate and manage (manipulate) those who were doing the tasks. Everyone’s focus in this kind of organization is on pleasing the leader.” “Based on the tenet that servant leadership is a com mitment to love and serve, the ... leader’s primary responsibility is to meet the needs ... of those who serve the organization. It involves listening to others and together shaping a vision that everyone can own. The servant leader becomes a funnel that creative ideas come to naturally from others who are themselves becoming servant leaders. Servant leaders are encour agers, communicators, and cheerleaders.” www.rockefellerlawcenter. com. offers more answers to your legal questions and archives of past articles. E mail your comments or con fidential legal questions toaj r@rockefellerlawcenter.com. Peebles 40% $% OFF LI JUNIORS SWEATERS ,;V By Derek Heart'. \ Energie - and ’ -A It's Our Time'. \ Reg. 28.00-48.00, i SALE 1&80-2&80 % 30% OFF JUNIORS COLLECTIONS U.S. Pblo Assn.’. Unionbay'. South Pole'. Reg. 20.00-80.00, SALE 14.00-56.00 40% OFF CHILDREN'S SWEATERS Energie’, Mudd'. Specially Girt’, mote. Reg. 14.00-36.00, SALE 840-21.60 40% OFF CHILDREN'S OUTERWEAR Byer*. London Fog’, Big Chill* more. Reg 18.00 80.00, SALE 10.60-48.00 50% OFF ALL HARVEST HOME DECOR Florals, wreaths, table d6cor and more. Reg 2.00-50.00 SALE 1.00-25.00 40% OF DESIGNER HANDBAGS By Etienne Aigner and Liz Claiborne'. Reg 48.00 120.00, SALE 28.80-72.00 Selection varies by store. Interim martrdowns may have been taken. Entire stock only where indicated. “The servant leader never ignores ideas. Lack of response drives creative people up the wall. Tactfully turning down a creative person doesn’t stop creativ ity. The creative person is already thinking of a better way or a way around your objection.” “When I assume the man tle of a servant leader, I also assume the responsibility to help people grow, and if I am to succeed in doing this, I must give up control ... Listening, hearing, under standing, healing, building community, and discovering meaning will cause people to change and to grow, which is the goal of a servant lead » er. Register for the seminar at www.wesleyancollege.edu/ community /lane%2ocenter/ Assessing Your Leadership Skills -SBS/person flill -,v ms A - OUTERWEAR p §§§t|||§f T IT’S IZOD WEEK! gjj^ ENTIRE STOCK men’s * . ..qm J§ MISSES IZOD . »..• Vi SPORTSWEAR jj | Knits wovens, a- '! 'i /JpiP. * >Vi tn i)0 o('nn SALE 18.00 36 00 BPSttl ’ J d,—.fc ORDER TOLL FREE TpiP 1-800-743-8730 tor delivery, right to your door! THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2006 ♦ F. Dennis Hooper Certified Leadership Development Coach Building leaders and organizations of excellence (478) 988-0237 40% OFF SAG HARBOR SEPARATES Misses, petites and plus-sizes. Reg. 30.00-52.00, SALE 18.00-31.20 40% OFF ROT SEPARATES Misses, petites and plus-sizes. Reg. 30.00-48.00. SALE 18.00-28.80 40% OFF ALFRED DUNNER & KORET Misses and petites coordinates. Reg. 42.00 62.00, SALE 25.20-37.20 40% OFF LADIES SLEEPWEAR A ROBES Whispers', Cypress’, Hannah’, Becca' Reg. 8.00-54.00, SALE 4.80-3240 40% OF FASHION BRAS A COORDINAH By L.E.I.’, Biatta' and Planet Lingerie'. Reg. 6.00-16.00, SALE 3.60-9.60 jgL sleadership.pdf, or call Dr. Catherine Meeks at 478- 757-3800. The cost is $25 and includes lunch, which begins at 12:30 p.m. in the Oval Hall of the Candler Alumnae Building. You might be thinking that servant leadership gen erates merely a “feel good” company. Let me point out that Synovus is a S3O billion company with banks and offices in Georgia, Florida, Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee - with a vision to be the finest finan cial services company in the world! Dennis Hooper is a Certified Leadership Development Coach, helping leaders build organizations of excellence. E-mail him at dhooper2@juno.com. dhooper2fejuno.com A ROBES GIFT CARDS! Order at www.peetDtes.com In all stores, or order to#-free 1-600-743-873 C «asj»772 5A 37722