My "Life-Changers"

A  Small Tribute to "Life-Changers."
Those You Touched Richard Mayberry's Life
 and Others in a Huge Way

My father encouraged me to acquire as much education as possible; "an investment in myself."  My mother encouraged me to be the "best I could possibly be, and then stretch to excel beyond that."

I was raised in the Finger Lakes region of western NY in
Newark NY [population <10,000]. A farmer and  Boy Scott Troop 124 Leader 
Elwood Covey [pictured left] instilled  "mental/physical toughness" from winter camping on bluffs over looking Lake Ontario and wilderness hiking on Philmont Scout Ranch. 
 
Newark NY High School English Teacher Wendell Morris  showed us what "excellence in learning and teaching" looked like.


Both my mother and I  graduated from Hartwick College near Cooperstown NY. Hartwick offers a uniquely experiential approach to liberal arts to prepare graduates for life and contributing to our country - not just getting the first job. 

Hartwick College Professor Emeriti and Chair of Sociology Edward Ambrose fostered in students a "seriousness and focus on one's profession" and developed my life-long interest in small group behavior and theories of society.

"I thank each one of you and others un-named. I hope, in some small way, to have passed on these traditions to my children and others"     Dick Mayberry

Hartwick Prof Gerald Perkus "inspired passion for the pursuit of life's adventures"; giving me a love for James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mahicans. 

Hartwick College President Adolf Anderson  was a

true visionary, presided during culturally treacherous years 
1969-1976. "Andy" as he liked to be called, instilled in us to " embrace, not feared, change." This adaptive ability derived from our liberal arts education in practice, a concept Hartwick focuses on today. Although shocked, I and my sons were prepared to respond to 9-11, 2008 recession, and other vagaries of the world beyond our control; as well as transitions in our personal, family and professional lives.

I graduated from Gonzaga University Law School with a J.D.
and George Washington Law School with a Masters in Law or LL.M.  Gonzaga Professor Smithmore Myers [pictured right] and GW Adjunct Professor [a top U.S. Supreme Court pleader and author Supeme Court Practice, today still top authoritative source] Eugene Gressman, left an indelible impression that "fair dealings" and "civility" were strong indicators in a lawyer of what the word "successful' meant in the legal community.