I was visiting with a banker from Mississippi the other day
and she introduced me to the word sheroe. The banker explained that she has discovered a few women that she
considers her heroes; she calls them sheroes. Even though Words with Friends won't recognize sheroe as a word I have
adopted it. After our visit, I spent some time thinking about the sheroes I have
encountered, one in particular.
Jackie Greer was a standout shero; an awesome person with a generous heart. Houston’s first woman bank officer, she had that amazing and special ability to
zero in on you and make you feel special.
An hour with Jackie Greer would leave you feeling like you could take on
the world. She died a couple of years
ago and I feel certain the stars in Heaven got brighter. That could be because she ordered and
directed a team to get out there and shine every single one of them. She was adamant about learning, growing and
making a real contribution as a show of gratitude for all your blessings.
When Jackie set out to do something it was going to
happen. She had imagination, compassion,
a big heart, and a following of both men and women who had the good fortunate
to call her friend. I was never surprised to hear of what was going on with
Jackie. At 70, she became a lead Business Development Trust
Officer at a large, independent Houston bank.
At 80, she was helping a corporate group market a new product. At 90, she wrote her book and throughout her life would frequently volunteer to teach Sunday School or go help someone out. Jackie never missed a chance to go to bat for a cause she believed in or for someone she cared about.
For decades, she called every visitor that
attended a very large Methodist Church to tell them how happy she was that they had visited. She would engage them; learning all about them. Before the call ended, she would tell them she wanted to see them again the next Sunday. One Sunday, she missed church. It was an excused absence; Jackie had a pacemaker procedure and was in the hospital. The Senior Pastor called and called her room that Sunday afternoon but the line was always busy. When he reached her he told her he thought maybe her phone was out of order. Jackie explained the phone worked fine. She had someone bring her the visitor's list and she was dialing away. Jackie was seldom slowed down.
Years ago, Jackie organized a program to teach young
women in a disadvantaged area on how to become confident, well-mannered, successful
leaders. That program is still in place and many of those women have been awarded
scholarships and gone on to significant accomplishments.
There are many women that have graced my path that I would
call a sheroe. And, I would have to say that what all my sheroes have in common is this...they are on purpose. They actively act upon a belief that they have a responsibility to make a
difference in the lives of others. What about the sheroes in your life?
Still learning,
Honey Shelton
