¶ Philanthropy and Lifetime Achievements
Welcome to Philanthropy Today . We're excited to share information on ways you can support the charitable causes of your choice . My name is Vern Hendricks and I look forward to being with you today on our GMCF Philanthropy Today podcast series .
We're excited to be here today with one of our Cornerstone Award winners , a very much staple of the community and someone that everybody knows and somebody that we've been very proud to have a part of the Community Foundation for a long time , and that's C Clyde Jones . C Clyde , good to see you today .
Hey , I'm so happy to be here . Thanks for having me .
Absolutely . Obviously , you have a lot to share . C Clyde , you know , being a 101-year-old individual , we could tell stories here till forever , but this series is more about learning about yourself and the high point and your time in Manhattan .
So give the audience a little bit of a perspective about how you got to Manhattan , what you did and how we got to today .
Well , I came to Manhattan in 1960 . I was recruited here to become the head of the Department of Business , the School of Arts and Sciences . We didn't have colleges at that time , everything was schools . School of Arts and Sciences we didn't have colleges at that time , everything was schools . K-state became Kansas State University in 1959 .
And then after that the schools emerged into colleges . But I became the first dean of the College of Business Administration , of Business Administration Funny story . We called it the School of Commerce . Yes , and the fun part of that was that President McCain asked me . He said I want to be a dean , I'd love it as well .
Give me a name for your college , of your school . I said well , that's a simple matter . It's the School of Business . No , you can't do that because KU has a school of business , president , they also have a department of English . He said don't wiseacre me , hear what I say . Give me a name . So I did a little research .
I found out the University of Wisconsin has a school of commerce . Hey , that's legitimate . So I suggested school of Commerce , I think in 68 , we switched over to business .
Right , Well , that's awesome and obviously you spent a long time . What year did you retire at Kansas State ?
I retired in 1986 at age 64 .
1986 , 64 , you know , taking care of life . All right , now we're into our second period of life , so 64 to 101 . So tell me a little bit about that .
Well , I retired early . I had some ethical issues with my bosses . They had done some things I couldn't accept and when I challenged them I said nope , nope . I said okay . So I turned in a resignation and actually did retire , december 1986 . But you know part of the reason I went ahead and did that . I had things I wanted to do .
I worked for 13 months after I retired for a company in Topeka , physiotechnology , writing a Food and Drug Administration application for them , and so I just had all kinds of fun . I had a private office downtown . I called it the C Clyde Jones Management Consulting Business .
I actually paid taxes on that and within a short time I was making more money retired than I made at K-State .
Not surprising . What do you feel the biggest impact your life has been ? Who has had that impact in your life ? That's kind of made you think the way you do today and be the person you are today .
Well , I had to answer that question . So I have an answer for you . I had two professors at Northwestern University when I was working on my doctor's degree . Ray Allen Biddington was the first one . He had me grading papers for him and he'd come and watch me pitch softball .
Another professor who didn't like my activities said you should drop out of this program and go to work earning money somewhere . He said you'll never make it through PhD . So I had fun showing him wrong . But the other man at Northwestern was Richard C Overton .
He actually hired me in 1948 as a graduate teaching assistant and I ended up retiring from his or moving his job in 53 to go to Georgia . But he had a fantastic impact on me . First day I worked for him he took me to the back of the classroom . He said when that bell rings at 830 , you lock that door . If you let anybody in , you're fired .
But he was one who believed in punctuality . He said these students need to know that when they get jobs they better be on time . So those two men and of course I'd have to include my dad .
My dad was what I call ultra conservative and I developed a very strong feeling of self-reliance from an academic perspective , I fell in love with microeconomics and marginal analysis . Just love looking at business from the point of view of how the inputs and outputs come out of each other of how the inputs and outputs come out of each other .
So I've consulted and taught microeconomics many times .
Well , those words of wisdom could be used many times today , and I'm sure you've thought about a lot of things , just how decisions are made in the community at all levels , and I'm grateful that we've got you here , at least as a resource to the community at all levels and grateful that we've got you here , at least as a resource .
Yes , I've tried to advise people that I know that are in either public office or in , let's say , some organization like Verne Hendricks . Hey , learn to look at the big picture , Look at the system as a whole and see what that single issue , how it relates to everything else . If you don't do that , you can screw up badly .
Absolutely Wise words , for sure . Well , let me ask you a little bit . This is about you today , and of course , you've had a lot of time to think about this one , but in your days earlier and now . We know you're in your elder years , but how do you spend your special time , or personal time ?
When you were younger and when you were first retired , what did you do when people weren't signing you up for a job someplace ?
Well , I've always been a sports nerd . I watch everything I can on TV . If I could go to well , I go to all K-State football . It's a struggle to get me in my wheelchair , get me there , but Coach Snyder says , well , sit me in in my scout box . So I went to every football game last fall .
I'm hoping I could do it again , but I don't miss any K-State athletic event that I can possibly get to or watch on TV . Occasionally I hear one on the radio and I don't like that . But I've been so excited about their baseball I've watched every game and I've got my clock set for 6 pm today to watch that one .
Well , you've mentioned football and you mentioned punctuality earlier , and there's this little thing that I think Coach Heider talked about cat time and you and Coach have had a relationship with football in your days , even at K-State . Why don't you go into that a little bit about how that relationship started Well in ?
1991 , ernie Barrett came to me . He said I've got a job for you , and at that time I'd been retired for a few years , anxious to have something constructive to do . Few years anxious to have something constructive to do .
And what he wanted me to do was talk to Coach Snyder about a career development program and Coach came in with a file folder about two inches thick .
He had showed me what they did in Des Moines , iowa , when he was at University of Iowa , and there was a businessman there that recruited other business professional people to match the career interests of athletes and they had all sports men and women and the governor of the state gave a keynote address and he said that's critical to have the governor there .
I don't really remember Joan Finney or not , but she was our governor the first year I did this . He insisted that I have Governor Finney and I did and she gave a purely political speech which I asked her not to do and of course I'm in Wichita with her All conservative Republican businessmen and so that didn't work out too well .
But I ran that career program from 91 to well . Just a couple years ago I got shocked by finding out the athletic department had discontinued the program without telling me .
I called over , I said I'm not going to tell you it's like losing a kid , but it's like losing a pet dog . Well , you were heavily involved and you got a lot of members of the community involved in that .
I was one of those and it was fun to sit there and talk to some of those young athletes that had aspiring futures , and oftentimes in sports , but really to challenge them to see what , beyond sports , were you thinking about at that point in time
¶ Community Involvement and Philanthropy
.
Let me tell you about two athletes that I met through that program . Their friendship today means the world to me . One was Shailen Martin , who was a star basketball player , took more charges than the whole team put together and she wanted occupational therapy for a career .
We didn't have anybody on duty that day so I talked to her only about careers and at that point she wanted to be a volunteer at Hope Ranch . She said I was out there and they turned me down and said I had too many volunteers . At that point she wanted to be a volunteer at Hope Ranch .
She said I was out there and they turned me down and said I had too many volunteers . I said what are you doing tomorrow ? I took her out there and Kathy and Ken talked to her for an hour and a half , put her to work the next day and through Shailen I met Lauren Talbert . Through Shailen I met Lauren Talbert . Lauren is a four-time .
All-American in heptathlon and pentathlon and she's right now training for the Olympics . She's hoping to make it through the Olympic trials on the 24th of June . So I'm glued to watching her every step of the way .
Well , you've been a father of so many young people in this community through your professional work and volunteer work and even just personal relationships that you built with these student athletes and just students in general , and that's been fun to watch in many of my times anyway . And obviously you're an avid Facebook user .
You match anybody at that 20-year-old level with your Facebook works avid Facebook users . You match anybody at that 20-year-old level with your Facebook works . Well , let's talk a little bit about philanthropy , and you've been here a long time . What was the first charity even maybe before Manhattan , kansas that you got involved in and why was that important to you ?
Well , I was at the University of Illinois , champaign-urbana , before coming here and in the late 50s I participated a little bit in their United Way drive . I was not a leader at all . I remember going to Springfield , illinois , with a couple of other people and was shocked to find out that K-State was not .
I'm sorry , illinois was not a leader in contributions and worked on trying to get steamed up , get the departments to work together , have a contest who gives the most . So that would have been the late 50s . And then when I came here , from day one I got involved with the United Way , with Red Cross .
The man who hired me here , dean Marshall Hahn , said there are two things I want you to do . I want you to join the Chamber of Commerce . I want you to join the Rotary Club . I was already a Rotarian , so I joined the Chamber .
I immediately became a member of their board of directors and I became the actual well , they called it at that time the chairman of the board and conducted the annual meeting , that sort of thing .
So from day one in Manhattan I was heavily involved in almost every organization and in 2005 , I was involved in starting Shepherd's Crossing , which is they're up to $500,000 a year now in distribution of aid to people with financial problems .
Yeah , you've done a remarkable job with that and obviously you've been on the board . You've been kind of a grant writer for them and development officer for them , in an unpaid capacity for a long time .
Well , I'm highly paid in satisfaction .
That's right and for our listeners , shepherd Crossing works with individuals that have some financial needs . One of the great things they do is they really sit down with them and help them create a budget and work with their financial planning . But then they try to help them with maybe a significant problem of housing , rental utilities or whatever it be .
They try to match up the charitable contributions that they get in that process , and so on , and while we counsel them on financial issues management , we also opened up the Manhattan Mercury and looked for jobs at Robert .
There you go .
We've sent many of them off to find a job .
Well , and another thing the two of us have in common kind of a brotherhood in Rotary is connection with . You were a district governor in , obviously , district 5710 and through the Manhattan Rotary Club , and I was the next governor several years later from our club .
So we share that in common and I find that as a pride point to know that I could follow a band as great as you . Well , that's a lot of fun .
I appreciate your comment . Believe me , there have been a lot of people following me who are stronger and more effective than I .
Yes , Will . You've done a great job . And so when you talk about Manhattan charitable causes , obviously Shepherds Crossing , you've been very involved with
¶ Community Involvement and Impact
that . How did you first connect there ? What was the inspiration to start Shepherds Crossing ?
Well , the downtown churches there were five of them found out that there'd be somebody knock on the door . Found out that there'd be somebody knock on the door I need help with my rent . So the church secretary would give them 25 bucks . The person would leave there and go next door to the Lutheran church . 25 bucks sure might hit five downtown churches .
So the ministers from those churches got together and said , hey , we've got to centralize this thing . This happened in 2000 . Terry Arthur drafted them a set of corporate bylaws and got a 501c3 status and in 2002 , when we had , I think , $13,000 .
We finally opened our door to help people , and our help is limited to once every four months and the amount of money was limited for a long time at about $250 . I think it's at $1,000 now , but basically cut off at $100 .
Right . Well , they do a tremendous job of working with the individuals and giving them an opportunity to feel like there's somebody there that loves them . Of course , that inspiration certainly comes from those early days , from you and others , that whole process . Let's go from decision-making .
Was there a charitable decision that impacted your life that really kind of framed any thinking that you had , that you were involved with ? Maybe the fact that Shepherd's Crossing was given to so many individuals . But is there something that you remember that was pretty impactful to you ?
Well , that's kind of hard to put a finger on . I kind of react to broad experience instead of individual acts , and it's kind of hard for me to identify .
Well , you've had a lot of them too Well but here's one I can tell you for sure when I was a counselor at Shepherds Crossing , I would find some person who needed help and I would teach them how to budget , how to do financial management , and have them come back later not to get a grant but to make a donation and thank us for what we've done for them .
Excellent , outstanding story . I appreciate that . Well , we've talked about you a little bit in your history , and so the Cornerstone Award was an award given by the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation for 25 individuals for their experience and their impact in the community . But how did you first get connected with the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation ?
What was that moment ?
Well , there was a woman here in town named Annalee Donnelly . Her husband , brendan , was a high level official in grain science . Yes , and I got to know both of them , I think through my church , and Annalee was a volunteer working a few hours a week for what was called at that time . I'm not sure it had a name . Yeah , maybe the Manhattan .
Community , manhattan Community Foundation .
They just started it , but anyhow , when she retired this is a funny story Mark Knockadovel and Jim Morrison approached me asking if I'd be all interested , or willing to serve as the executive director , or willing to serve as the executive director Boy ? I would love to , but I've got one condition I will not accept pay .
They said well , again , I put you to work for that when you left . We'd have to hire three people .
So they turned me down on that .
But they asked me to work .
I became director of you were director of development at that time .
Yeah , but it actually had marketing and fundraising the title . So I worked for a couple three years with that title , unpaid , I might add . Yes , and we formed a strategic planning initiative .
And one of my greatest success stories is that we heard about a program in Salina where the community foundation was making matching grants to nonprofits through what they call Grow Green . Our committee heard about that and said no , too much work . I was not at the meeting . I read the minutes . I called hey , I will do all of the work . This is a great idea .
So I brought together Crisis Center , Emergency Shelter , Shepherd's Crossing . I think I had five nonprofit people so excited about the prospect .
Yeah , they called theirs March Madness or Match Madness , because it was during March Madness for the basketball , so they coined their phrase Match Madness .
And so I remember , after you guys decided to go that route , elaine talked to Celina and they didn't want us to do it at the same time , so she moved it forward a few months and Earth Day was kind of the significance and so we called it Grow Green Match Day at that time .
Shepherd's Crossing , had approximately $60,000 in endowed accounts and I'm going to tell you after about eight years I think eight we had over $600,000 in our account .
I might also add , through your inspiration and hard work , Shepherds Crossing has been probably the leading receiver of funds on match day from the beginning of day one . So you certainly put the challenge out there to people .
We lost out this year to be able .
Lost your title , but that's not bad . That was probably a 12-year run , so congratulations . Well again , you're a cornerstone recipient . In our 25th anniversary of the Community Foundation , we wanted to recognize 25 individuals for their impact in bringing the Community Foundation to where it is today .
It's not a surprise that your name came up many times in this process , and so when I called you and let you know that you'd received the Cornerstone Award , what were your thoughts and feelings ?
I'm going to say something that sounds as if it's self-effacing . I don't seek recognition for what I do . I never sought it , so when something comes in the back door like that , I feel very gratified . I lost my wife May 1 , 2016 . She was the one who always looked at those things . Wow , isn't that wonderful .
People need to recognize you , but I didn't seek recognition . I like to keep it quiet . And one reason for keeping it quiet I didn't necessarily want to get involved with another organization . That's right .
I've been supportive of its purpose and how it operates , centralizing really the organizational efforts to grow the endowment , and I'm so happy this is the endowment .
Yeah Well , you've done a great job and been a great leader , and people trust you , and the confidence of other nonprofits with not only your leadership and Shepherds Crossing being involved has been an important factor , and you're very deserving of the Cornerstone Award , and it was certainly a prideful moment for me to be able to reach out and let you know this
stuff .
And I am very happy to have the award .
Excellent . Well , let me challenge you a bit . How does someone like yourself you've lived many years and had many experiences what would you tell a younger C Clyde Jones in life ? What advice would you have for that individual or others in their 30s about philanthropy and getting involved ?
Well , I've advised quite a few young people in that direction . I tell them , first of all , watch for the opportunities . Opportunities bounce around every day . Most people don't see them , so watch for them . Then screen those opportunities carefully . Make sure you have a passion for what that organization is doing .
Don't go with one that you don't feel a passion for , because you won't be a good advocate . So look for one you really feel strongly about . You might be an officer with them , but in any event , pick your organization carefully and then support its mission . Don't go around saying I don't like the ideas , I don't like any of that .
If you have criticism , take them to the organization itself , don't make them public .
Excellent advice , very well received , and I think everybody should adhere to that . And you've certainly been around long enough to see the good and the bad of some of those experiences . Well , we've had 25 years of the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation .
You've been involved in practically every one of them in some way , shape or form , but now we've got 25 years ahead of us . So where do you feel the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation should focus its attention or give some thought to this community and the area that we live in ?
I have a strong advocacy for keeping focused . When I see an organization sending out vibes in too many directions , hey , hold off . You can't handle more than three or four at a time and do it well .
So I urge you and other foundation execs , keep your focus on purpose , and you know , four or five initiatives will probably tax the organization in terms of the ability to do them all well .
Well , great advice for sure . Is there anything that we haven't talked about today that you'd like to bring up to the audience ? You've had a long history in this community and we certainly want to celebrate you as a Cornerstone awardee but I certainly want you to share anything that you'd like today .
Well , I'd like to tell you about my love affair with Manhattan . I came here in 1960 , expecting to be here three to five years , expecting to be here three to five years . Back in the 60s , the only way to get a pay raise in academic was to move . And so I came here in 60 , expected to stay three to five years , and I fell in love with K-State .
I had three small children when we moved here . Never a better city in the world to raise kids . At that time we had a very low crime rate and I never locked my car when I parked it . I just found this to be the kind of a town I wanted my wife and I to live in .
School system great See , my kids were five , seven and nine years old when we moved here , so they went through . All three graduated from . K-State so they went through all our grades here and the high school and I look back on that . I think we've had a tremendous education system in Manhattan .
There are a lot of criticism , a lot of people saying it's no good , but I tell you , you compare it to other places .
We're very good . Yes , I would agree .
You look at our students who graduate and go to college . Their ACT and SAT scores are right up at the top 10% .
Right . Well , this has been a wonderful opportunity to visit with you and get your thoughts and express our appreciation again for receiving the Cornerstone Awards . See , clyde , I thank you for being with us here today and wish you all the best . Happy birthday every six months . I know you celebrate that at 101 .
You keep having those birthday parties and hopefully we can have many , many more .
I'll put December 21 next year on your calendar for my 102 .
102 . 102 . Well , it'll be there and I'm sure several of us will celebrate and tell the same stories over and , over and over again . So God bless you and thank you again and congratulations on the Cornerstone Award .
Thank you , Vernon , for having me . I appreciate it very much .
Thank you for joining us today where we look inside the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation . You can always learn more about GMCF at our website , mcfksorg . We invite you to subscribe to Flansby Today , wherever you get your podcast .
I am Vern Hendricks and have enjoyed hosting our Cornerstone Award Series in the Ad Astra Cast Studios here in downtown Manhattan , kansas .