For the event, Jim Wheaton, Jeff Kaplan & Mark Evans drove roundtrip from Columbus to Nashville in one day. Mike Greeley flew in from Columbia, South Carolina where he serves as a Vice President in the Lex Health System. 

   It was Mark's idea that they come for my birthday. We five bonded during our years as leaders at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus. We continued together when I became the first President of OhioHealth.

   Yes, I was CEO, but we became pals as did other team members. The fact they stay in touch encourages me that it was not just about me being the boss. But it has been twenty-two years since I left. Why would we want to be together again after so long?

   "It is because of how you made us feel," Mark told me. If that is so it was because it was easy. Each of them were peak performers & remain fantastic people. Together with the rest of our team we created a top ten hospital & a supremely successful ten-hospital health system.

   Our work dominates so much of our lives. Why not celebrate work relationships?

   Our colleagues change us. Other than my father, the man who most impacted me was the late Bruce Trumm. If Bruce had not recruited me to help lead the old Riverside Hospital in Toledo I would still be a trial attorney. 

    I often conjure Bruce, his wry humor, his sharp commands, his deep humanity. He was family & I visited him often after he suffered a stroke. I remember CNO Marian Hamm, attorney Frank Pandora, Sr. V.P. Steve Garlock, Dr. Nick Baird & so many other leaders along with thousands of direct caregivers each of whom changed the lives of others. One of my dearest friends is former Sr. V.P. Tracy Wimberly. 

   Honor your fellow caregivers. Love the role they played in your life & play a positive role in theirs even when, like family, sharp words are exchanged.   

   We rarely know our legacy. I have been lucky that many, including these four great men, have shared what our time together meant.   

   When you reach retirement the voices of fellow workers will ring in your ears. May that sound be a bell calling you to rich memories.

-Erie Chapman 

From left, Jim, Mike, Erie, Jeff & Mark