Our Story

Our Story

Overview

Way back on January 20, 1961, an eight-year old boy was lying down on the carpeted floor of his parent’s starter house in Seattle, Washington, to watch the Inauguration of President John F. Kennedy on a black & white TV. While he knew very little about politics, he was excited to learn about Kennedy’s vision for America. Though he enjoyed the entire speech, he really zeroed in when President Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” This young man, like many Americans that day, was inspired by Kennedy’s call to action and excited about serving the Nation and humankind.

The world would not learn about the concept of “Servant Leadership” until Robert Greenleaf published his 1970 essay, The Servant as Leader. That young man, without realizing it, had made a choice that day to become a servant leader, simply because it seemed like the right thing to do. As Robert Frost said so eloquently in The Road Not Taken, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”

That young man was Dick Gourley, and by answering His calling, he began an incredible life journey as a purpose-driven servant leader. His life-long journey, with many diverse experiences, prepared him to understand and discern the need for an innovative global nonprofit organization, that was committed to enabling a new generation of inspired servant leaders! Sol Duc Leadership is that innovative global nonprofit, and Dick Gourley is committed to turning Sol Duc into an enduring great organization!

We encourage you to continue reading The Rest of the Story, to learn more about the details of Dick’s servant leadership journey and development as a leader. It will help you to better understand his passion for this venture and the rationale for the idea and business model. Finally, you will learn the background on why we decided to call this venture Sol Duc Leadership!