LF_111518

4 | November 15, 2018 | The lake forest leader NEWS
LakeForestLeader.com
Local veterans speak words of wisdom at luncheon
Alyssa Groh, Editor
In honor of Veterans Day,
the Lake Forest-Lake Bluff
Chamber of Commerce
welcomed two members
of the military to speak to
residents about service,
leadership and a mindset
for success Nov. 2 at Gorton
Community Center.
Inside a packed room, Lt.
Cmdr. Michael Keppen, the
chief learning officer at Recruit
Training Command,
Naval Station Great Lakes
and Navy SEAL Master
Chief Stephen Drum,
a combat-tested leader,
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mentor, and trainer of elite
military soldiers and highperformance
teams spoke
about the variety of service
members in the community
and ways to achieve success
and to change your
mindset to achieve success.
Keppen spoke about his
perspective on those who
give service to the community.
And contrary to popular
belief, to him it is not
just military members — it
is more than that.
“I have a confession,”
Keppen said. “I don’t
consider myself a hero.
Although I have been deployed
around the world
and I have flown in combat
and I have led many men
and women, all of my successes
and sacrifices hail
in comparison to what all
of the other warriors have
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done in service to this great
nation. All the men and
women like yourselves,
have sacrificed much more
and I am grateful that I
have had the opportunity to
serve along your side and
continuing your legacy.”
Keppen went onto explain
when he is out in public
grocery shopping, eating
at a restaurant or doing
speeches like this, he is often
thanked for his service.
He noted that many times
it sounds sincere, but other
times it sounds automatic.
But, often times he is unsure
of what he is thanked
for. Is it his service? His
sacrifices? His commitment
to serve the country?
“When I am thanked
in public, my response is
never you are welcome. It
is simply you are worth it,”
Keppen said. “No matter
your skin color, your gender,
your income, your age,
your faith, your sexual orientation,
your zip code or
your political party, you are
all Americans. Each and
every one of you are worth
it. You are worth fighting
for. You are worth it every
single day that I wear my
nations cloth. I mean that
from the bottom of my
heart.”
He went on to talk about
all of the men who have
served in his family and
that serving in the military
runs in his family — even
though serving was not always
part of the plan for
him.
He spoke about the sacrifices
the military makes
day in and day out. But, he
also credited the sacrifices
the families of service men
and women make on a daily
basis.
While talking about the
commitment and dedication
military members and
their family have, he also
spoke highly of community
members who also
have commitment and who
make sacrifices on a daily
basis.
He thanked a variety
of community members
whose work has directly
helped and supported his
family while he was away.
He thanked the teachers,
postal workers, first responders,
farmers, nurses
and doctors, electricians
and more.
In closing, Keppen left
the audience to take away
one thing from his speech.
“Its not what you know,
it’s who you know. But,
even more importantly
than that, it is how you
know them,” he said.
“I have learned it is about
the connections you make,
the support you give one
another and it’s about the
shared struggle, the pain
and the grief that binds us
together as human beings.
Its about the joy and happiness
of sharing simple
things in life.”
He challenged the audience
to think about how
they want to be defined and
what their legacy looks like
in their community.
Drum stepped up to the
Please see luncheon, 10
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Lt. Cmdr. Michael Keppen, the chief learning officer at Recruit Training Command,
Naval Station Great Lakes, talks about what it means to give service Nov. 2 at Gorton
Community Center. Alyssa Groh/22nd Century Media