Holtz wisdom

Joy Ryan, President/CEO

Early in my career, I had the good fortune to hear the recently deceased Notre Dame football coaching legend, Lou Holtz, speak. If you haven’t heard of him, suffice it to say he won a lot of games and did so practically scandal-free. There was something special about the man.

When I heard him, he didn’t talk about football. He talked about saying “thank you,” specifically about writing thank you notes.

He expected everyone in his organization to say thank you at least once a day. He encouraged them to write a handwritten thank you note every day. He himself sent several handwritten thank you notes every single day. He wrote them to players and donors and restaurant servers and flight attendants and family members. He believed thank you notes reinforced respect, humility, and human connection. They cost nothing but returned immense value in morale and culture.

Ever since hearing him, somewhere between 30 and 40 years ago, I have tried very hard to follow his lead. Writing a thank you note is a wonderful way to pause my busyness long enough to recognize the phenomenal blessings from people in my life!.

I mourn the fact that handwritten letters are out of style…and I choose to not care if writing them makes me old-fashioned.

They are worth our time. How do I know? Because of how I feel when I am on the receiving end. Dakota Memorial School (DMS) is the Ranch’s on-campus school. Children in residential treatment attend DMS, as well as what we call Day Students, children who live in the community and are with us just for the school day. One of our Day Student parents recently took the time to pen her gratitude. I changed the name for privacy, but the words are Mom’s.

“I want to express something important; one thing we know without question is that Silven may not be here today without the support of your program. During his first week at Dakota Memorial, we saw a change in his voice. Our boy was coming back despite everything he had been through. We tried to show him that our family and our love was more important than all the challenges at school, but we struggled to reach him in the way he needed. We hoped his home school district would see the incredible young man we are raising, but they struggled to build a true connection with him. No matter how hard we tried to teach them about Silven, they didn’t understand him as a unique person. Dakota Memorial School knew exactly what Silven needed, and we are so grateful! You saved him. You gave us hope. Thank you!”

As we’ve shared the note with employees across all Ranch programs, the incredible impact of Mom’s words is evident in each face. This mom is my superhero.

I want to share it with you, too, because the thank you is for you, too. Without your support, families would not have the successes they are so grateful for.

Please keep the children and staff of Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch in your prayers. If you have an extra minute, please pray for Silven and his family in particular. Gratitude goes in a circle.