The Inauguration and USA Service

Last week I had the opportunity to attend the inauguration of our 44th President, Barack H. Obama with some fellow BC students. It was truly an exciting occasion that I was fortunate to be at. I had never seen so many people in my life. There had to be close to 2 million people at the event. We had to wake up at 3 AM, just to get a decent spot. I wouldn't recommend standing in the cold for a whole day. Come to think of it, I don't think anyone there liked being in the cold all day. But the nearly two million in attendance saw something great, the peaceful transfer of power in democracy. What people saw, the inauguration of Obama as President, was possible because of a well managed grass roots campaign. That campaign relied upon a strong aspect of connectivity, mainly through the net. It also relied upon a huge network of volunteers around the country.

Fortunately the expertise of the Obama campaign is continuing into his presidency. It is continuing in a way that goes beyond the different political views of those in this great country and puts an emphasis on service. President Obama has introduced a grass roots effort to better the communities that we live in. I encourage each of you to check out USA Service at http://usaservice.org/content/home/. It is truly an amazing tool that enables people to host and find different community events around this country. This is a great leadership tool.

-Anthony J. Martinez

Weekly Post

I am looking forward to class tonight to work on choosing our class project!
I hope that we are able to find something that is somewhat interesting to everyone
and something that we will be able to see through from start to finish. I would like to
choose a project that will be around for years to come so that we can see Atchison and the
community grow and know that we have done something to give back to a place that
has given each of us something.

Atchison & Bio

This picture is a view of Atchison from historic Jackson Park. It presents a view of a town that is more scenic and more historical than other Kansas towns. This is one of my favorite views of the city.

Here we see the heart of Atchison from main street. In the distance you can see MGP. This is a view that so many BC students are used to seeing, as it is on the way to Wal-Mart.

To me, Atchison is a small Kansas town that goes beyond the common stereotypes of small town America. It is a very industrial town, but there are business aspects as well. People from around the world admire the quality of some of the large, stately, historic homes in this community.


I am originally from Topeka and am a senior majoring in International Business and plan on graduating this semester. I am blessed to have a great family back in Topeka. Community involvement has always been important to me throughout my life. In high school, I was involved in many different clubs and organizations. I was fortunate enough to be a member and President of the Topeka Youth Council, which acted as the mayor's youth advisory council. We advocated our agenda to the mayor and city council. As a member of the Topeka Youth Council, I was a founding member of the Topeka Shawnee County Youth Court. I was able to work my way up to being a judge.

While at Benedictine, I have been fortunate enough to be involved in many different organizations. I am the treasurer of the Young Democrats, Chairman of the Thomas M. Hoenig Student International Business Council (SIBC), and Vice President of the Hispanic American Leadership Organization (HALO). I am also a member of the Jimmy Martinez Chapter of the GI Forum and am on the team of Lucca Leadership North America (LLNA).

Perhaps my most significant involvement has been in the SIBC. I recently finished my term as President of the council, which exists to promote "Peace through Commerce". The organization works to do what is essentially international business consulting. It works to give students leadership opportunities that truly make a difference in the world, specifically with the aim of enhancing the capabilities of businesses that have socially responsible goals, particularly in the third world.

To me, leadership is a hard thing to define by words. I have traveled around the world to grasp what leadership is yet every time that I am asked what leadership is, I use different words to describe just what leadership is. I feel that to me leadership is many things. Leadership is awareness. Leadership is being patient. Leadership is being ethical. Leadership is knowing what to do in a given situation. Leadership is being humble. Leadership is knowing my own weaknesses. Leadership is empowering others to lead.

I am taking this class because I really do want to offer my skills and knowledge to the community. I also take this class with the knowledge that learning is a continual quest. I am aware of my own weaknesses and want to utilize this class as a means of improving my own capabilities to better lead.

-Anthony J. Martinez

What makes the Steelers Great?

Here is a great story about the leadership of the STEELERS owner Dan Rooney.
Is there any doubt who will win on Sunday? Go Steelers!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/sports/football/27rooney.html?_r=1

When you get right down to it any town or city is the sum of it's people. These shown here, my children are only a fraction of what makes Atchison, Atchison. Every generation has a unique responsibility to only make the community we live a better place today, but a better place for the generation following. Those ideas have to be instilled in our children or we end up in a dead end as a community. There is so much potential in Atchison. Not only as a community but also as a beacon, to say this is how we should be living. For those how don't know me I'm Chris Sandlin shipping lead at Atchison by BIC. I've lived in Atchison for nine years now and have started becoming more active in the community.

Service Project

At our next class we are going to be deciding what our community service project should be for the semster. I have done a few service projects in my day. They are the kind of projects that can be great if they are done with passion and simplicity. Sometime projects are over thought and turn out to be such a monumentaly task that it never gets accomplished. Try to think about the greater good and what the community could really benefit from. I believe that this class will do something GREAT!