GRAPEVINE
Seeding Our Future Success
BY ANDRE SHASHATY
AFFORDABLE HOUSING FINANCE • OCTOBER 2007
They say great minds think alike. As
we worked on the profiles of the
2007 inductees into our magazine’s
Affordable Housing Hall of
Fame for this issue, I realized that
powerful leaders often dream alike.
This year’s inductees all had a powerful
vision for the future that seemed risky or even
outrageous at one time. But they turned their
ideas into realities because they always
believed in what was possible and inspired
others to share their optimism.
In a famous movie from 1946, Jimmy
Stewart played the son of the pioneering
founder of a small “building and loan,” or what
we more recently called a
“savings and loan.” He
wanted to leave his small
town life for bigger things,
but he was called on to stay
and take over the institution
and he did. When he
despaired about the meaning
of his life, he realized,
with the help of an angel,
how important his work
had been to the people he
helped to buy homes.
The movie is It’s a
Wonderful Life, and it was
the favorite film of
Terrence R. Duvernay, one
of our Hall of Fame inductees.
I never discussed it with him, but I bet
Terry loved the movie because it showed what
one person can do by working hard and staying
true to the ideals laid down for them by
their mentors. It showed what can be
achieved through the power of principle, persistence,
and yes, compassion for one’s fellow
man.
For me, the film suggests the need to
keep the bigger picture in mind. The daily
work of developing housing is often tedious,
and it may seem like a thankless job, especially
when the homeowners near a proposed
project site are threatening to kill you for
proposing affordable housing. But over time,
all the hard work adds up to make a tremendous
impact.
Few of us will ever have the magical
experience of seeing our impact on the world
as Jimmy Stewart’s character did in that film.
But we have Duvernay and our other
inductees to remind us, through their example
of what we can do working together, and
to inspire us to keep pushing.
This is the point where I should say it’s
too bad there are not more people like our
inductees, visionaries with the guts, smarts,
and dedication to change things for the better.
It’s easy to be cynical, especially when
you think about the political hacks who run
our federal agencies today.
But compared to our inductees, George
Bush’s cronies are like insects buzzing around
a giant Sequoia tree. They will leave no legacy
greater than a smear on the windshield of
some car on a back road somewhere.
As we honor the leaders of the past, we
must also look ahead and do what we can to
find new leadership in Washington, D.C., and
in our own hometowns. It’s time to start thinking
about the next generation of great leaders in
housing and community development. I know
they are out there. Help me find them.
Nominate someone under the age of 35 for
inclusion in a new feature we are planning:
Young Leaders of Affordable Housing. For
more information, click here, and send your
nominations to ashashaty@hanleywood.com.
Then, when you meet someone you think
has that kind of leadership potential, make
yourself available to mentor them and help
them see their own potential.
This industry has made enormous
strides in the last three-plus decades, thanks
to our inductees and others like them. If you
want to see as much progress in the next 30
years, nurturing tomorrow’s leaders is not just
a good idea, it’s essential. It is seeding our
future.
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