By: Jason A. Penrod
Have you ever read the motivational book the Fred Factor by Mark Sanborn?
Fred is a postman that does his job to the fullest and then some. He may very well be the best postman ever. You see, he doesn't just do a great job, he goes above and beyond. He packages up your mail if you are on vacation and doesn't place it an obvious spot for a potential burglar to spot. He'll wrap up your mail in baggies if it's raining. He'll even redirect other packages to the proper home when they are left at the wrong address by other people like FedEx. He is a Postman Extraordinaire.
So this motivational book uses Fred as an example on how to be great at what you do and has coined the phrase "He/She is a Fred" when you find that special someone that really stands out from the crowd.
Trudy, an instructor at the Lake Wales YMCA, is one of those extraordinary people that fit the criteria mentioned in the book. She gives maximum effort during the classes she teaches and tries to encourage and involve all participants. She does so with a great sense of humor and in a way that makes you almost forget how hard you are exercising...well not quite...but she is an excellent motivator. At the end of the class, she comes and talks to everybody individually and asks how their workout was.
What's maybe even more special about Trudy...is how much she genuinely cares about her students and the people that go to the YMCA. When Trudy asks how you are doing, she waits and listens to your response. That doesn't always happen in this day in age.
And she goes above and beyond. Tonight, she attended a Pump It Up class on her own time just because she had heard how difficult and how sore one of our friends had gotten from going last time. Trudy told her that she just needed to learn how to use some better form and that she would come and meet us at the class to help support her. She did just that and came merely to help us out.
Qute simply, Trudy is special. Trudy is a Fred. Trudy, thanks for being a Fred and even more so thanks for being you.
By: Jason A. Penrod
Nice article.
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