News

GEORGE ISRAEL SPEAKS AT MGC FOUNDATION LECTURE SERIES
By: Tricia Purser Release Date:05/05/2011

(Cochran, GA) – George Israel, the former President and CEO of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, recently spoke to Middle Georgia College students, faculty, and staff as part of the 1st annual MGC Foundation Lecture Series. After speaking at a luncheon held in his honor, Israel, an MGC alumnus, spoke to MGC business students about his success and then offered them advice.

Israel spoke to the students about his experiences hiring and training employees. “Behavior is important,” he said. “People are key to every enterprise, so you must recruit and select the best candidates.”

After finding the right person, training is very personal, said Israel. “Employees need to be trained on how to make decisions,” he said.

Israel offered advice in the form of an acronym, ‘leadership.’ “The L stands for loyalty, which is the glue in any leadership,” he said. “E stands for example, meaning you must lead by example.”

The A represents achievement, while the D represents dedication, said Israel. The E stands for energy, and the R stands for responsibility. “These are both contagious,” he said.

The S is for service, said Israel. “You serve one another, the team, and the customer.” The H stands for honor, and the I stands for inspiration. Finally, the P stands for passion. “If you have passion and you use it, it will also be contagious and spread to others,” he said.

The MGC Foundation Lecture Series is an event held in the spring that allows the foundation to bring speakers who are experts in their fields to MGC, said Jennifer Barfield, the MGC Director of Advancement. “These speakers share their expertise and experience with our students, alumni and community members,” she said. “It provides a wonderful opportunity for our students to interact with a professional in their field of interest and brings alumni, students and the community together for the cause of learning.”

Barfield said that having Israel back on campus was exciting. “As a former student, I think he enjoyed being here, and he made a very interesting and informative presentation to our business students,” she said.