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The Jon Gordon Podcast

Against All Odds: A Father's Remarkable Journey to Make His Daughter's Wedding

The Jon Gordon Podcast

Jon Gordon

Leadership, Teamwork, Success, Positiveuniversity, Jongordon, Health & Fitness, Positivity, Education, Positiveu, Happiness, Teambuilding

4.81.2K Ratings

🗓️ 1 November 2024

⏱️ 36 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode of The Jon Gordon Podcast, I’m joined by David Jones who shares an incredible story of resilience and love. When Hurricane Helene hit, David was determined to make it to his daughter’s wedding, despite facing impassable roads and challenging conditions.

David’s journey took all night and involved a 17-mile walk on a narrow, unlit road, using only his cell phone light and a makeshift reflector for safety. His story of overcoming obstacles with vision, goal setting, and perseverance is both inspirational and moving.

Join us as we discuss the themes of positivity, persistence, and the powerful role of strong father figures. You’ll be inspired by David’s dedication and his commitment to both his family and his principles in business.

 

About David,

David is an instructor, consultant, and executive coach with McClaskey Excellence Institute. He has over 35 years of experience in the manufacturing, education, and health care sectors. He is passionate about helping individuals and organizations reach their full potential, particularly through the use of the Baldrige Criteria.

Concurrent with his teaching and consulting, David was an engineer and manager with Texas Instruments, Siemens, EPIC Technologies, and Mountain States Health Alliance. His areas of expertise span Management, Leadership, Performance Excellence, Strategic Planning, Manufacturing, Marketing and Sales, ISO 9000, and ISO 13485.

In 2007 he co-founded Edamar, Inc., an award-winning educational products company serving the K-12 science classroom with innovative hands-on teaching tools.

David has over 25 years of hands-on experience with the Baldrige Framework at the state and national levels as an applicant, examiner, examiner training facilitator, judge, and consultant.

He has consulted with numerous state quality award winning organizations and two Malcolm Baldrige Award winning organizations.

He has served on multiple local, national, and international boards. He has also been an adjunct instructor in the College of Business and Technology at East Tennessee State University and in the MBA program at Milligan College. He is currently an instructor for the American Society for Quality (ASQ) where he earned certifications as a Certified Quality Engineer (1985-2011) and Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence (1995-2011).

David holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from Purdue University and a Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering (Engineering Management) from the University of Tennessee.

 

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Welcome to the John Gordon podcast where we share John's interviews with guests as well as key strategies and lessons from his keynotes, coaching, and more.

0:09.6

We want to encourage you to check out John Gordon Certified.com if you're interested in growing as a leader, coach, speaker, or trainer.

0:15.9

When you get certified, you'll be able to teach, coach, and train others on John's most impactful mindset, leadership, and teamwork principles.

0:22.7

For more information, visit john Gordoncertified.com.

0:25.8

That's J-O-N-Gordon certified.com.

0:28.8

Now let's jump in to today's episode.

0:31.9

Hey, this is John Gordon with the John Gordon podcast.

0:35.1

And today my guest is David Jones.

0:37.4

David, how you doing? I'm doing Jones. David, how are you doing?

0:38.4

I'm doing great.

0:39.5

John, how are you?

0:40.7

I'm doing great.

0:41.9

And you have an incredible story.

0:44.7

I want the listeners to hear this story.

0:47.9

When I heard it, I said, everyone needs to hear this story.

0:51.4

It's miraculous.

0:52.8

It's a story of grit, perseverance, and ultimately,

0:56.4

what matters most. Let's start with, take us back to where you live and talk about where your

1:05.9

daughter lives and what she was getting ready to do. All right. So my wife, Debbie, and I recently moved to

1:14.4

Boiling Spring, South Carolina, just about two hours away where we lived before, which was Johnson

1:20.5

City, Tennessee, which is where my daughter, Elizabeth, lives. And she was getting married on Friday,

1:30.9

I'm sorry, on Saturday, September 28th, but on Friday, an uninvited guest crashed the party. Hurricane Haleen. So Hurricane Haleen

...

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