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DELTA GENTLEMEN CHALLENGED TO ASPIRE TO EXCELLENCE AND OVERCOME BARRIERS

By Eva Marie Pearson/COMMERCIAL ACCENT EDITOR
Monday, April 4, 2005 10:15 AM CDT

The Rev. David Smith challenged the 2005 Distinguished Delta Gentlemen to aspire to a new level of excellence and to continue to overcome barriers.

"You have already overcome barriers," Smith told the 48 young men during the 19th annual Distinguished Gentlemen's Banquet, sponsored by the Pine Bluff Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. at the Pine Bluff Convention Center. Smith is the pastor of Old St. James Baptist Church and the principal of Southwest Middle School at Little Rock.

None of the honorees is a father or an expectant father and each has done well in academics, church attendance, athletics, music -- the many things that set apart those who are being honored tonight, Smith said.

"You are a positive force, so you have met the first standard of excellence. You possess qualities that are suitable for greatness. It begins inside and you already have those things.

"If you have the potential for excellence, expect to meet that potential." The saddest thing is people who don't measure up to their full potential.

"Excellence is your achievement, Smith said. "It's not where you start, but where you end up."

Smith admonished them to become moving targets. "Society says you can't make it, but you can't be satisfied with the status quo. You can't sit back and watch."

One of the keys to success is to live a life of service. Any business is all about service, "because if you don't serve your customers, you won't have any," he said, citing the examples of Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, and Bill Gates, the computer guru. Both are filling the needs of their customers.

"Service is not weakness," Smith said. In three years, Jesus Christ turned the world around by serving people.

"Leadership is what you give -- not get from -- people," Smith said. Build something that will benefit people. "When you are on the move, you don't have time for trifling people. Link up with people who are building the world. We have enough people tearing things down. We need people to build things."

Live a life of strength. Bring skills to the table and use those that are innate. Have a vision. "See past what you can grab with your hands. Look through the years and decades to see your future. If you can't see it, you can't achieve it."

Make a habit of telling the truth. Smith said that if there were one thing he could wish for each of them, it would be that they would tell the truth and if they didn't know, just say, "I don't know."

Live a life that demands a seat at the table because the only way to get there is to look at the objectives, not the obstacles, Smith said.

Focus on empowerment and not just employment. "Make a difference in your schools, churches, communities -- reach inside and bring up some gifts that you didn't know you had.

"Be concerned about what's in the street because it will find its way into your house," Smith said, citing an example from his youth.

When he was a youngster, his mother made him sweep the sidewalks outside their home. He said that he didn't understand why he had to do this, and he did it with an attitude. When he got a home of his own, he finally understood that what's on the sidewalk gets tracked into the house.

Smith was introduced by Warren Booker Jr.

The master of ceremonies for the evening was Earnest Brown Jr., a Pine Bluff lawyer.

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