Good afternoon and War Eagle! Thank you, Dr. Roberts, for that kind introduction. And thank you to the other distinguished Auburn leaders here today. I would be remiss not to recognize my family who is here as well. It is a privilege to stand before you today to celebrate the Auburn University class of 2023.

In 1985 I was seated where you are this afternoon. On multiple occasions since then I have sat where your family and friends are now, including when my wife, our two daughters, multiple siblings, nieces, and nephews graduated as well. But my perspective from this vantage point is a new one and one that I never dreamed of having.

On May 10, 1984, I walked from where I lived on Armstrong Street, in a house fondly known as The Rock, over to the hill dorms for my first date with my future wife, Penny, who lived at Hollifield Hall. I really splurged that evening and took her to the free movie – The Big Chill - at Langdon Hall! As we started our walk across campus and I was trying to think about how to break the ice and what to say, Penny, who never thinks before she speaks said “so, a forester … do you plan to be a park ranger or help Smokey the Bear put out forest fires?”

Well, I responded to that question with a nervous chuckle because honestly, I wasn’t exactly sure what my future as a forester held. We were married 16 months after that first date and over time and with hard work, we figured out the answer to that question together. For a present on our third Christmas, she gave me a beautiful 14 X 26-inch framed version of the Auburn Creed that she cross-stitched, replete with Samford Tower at the top. It has hung in a prominent place in our house ever since. You could safely say that our family believes the words of the Auburn Creed are on par with the Declaration of Independence and the Gettysburg Address! The message is timeless, iconic, and profound.

The words in the second sentence (I believe in work, hard work) have resonated most with us over time. For many years, I thought of “hard work” in terms of my job, our business, or a task requiring endurance and hard physical labor. As I have grown older, and hopefully wiser, I have come to appreciate that our creed also says we “… believe in the human touch …” And I have also come to appreciate that it takes work, hard work to develop and apply the human touch in our lives.

Intention, commitment, and work are not only required for professional success, but also for successful relationships, whether those relationships are at work, in a marriage, with family or friends.

I’ve never conducted a job interview where the candidate asked me “How little effort can I put into this job and still reap all the benefits of being employed here?” We should be equally dismayed if that’s our attitude about relationships. All great endeavors are characterized by hard work and so it goes with the human touch as well!

The most significant support and abundant rewards in my life have come from personal connections I’ve formed. Years ago, I was looking at some forestland in South Carolina as a potential investment with a fellow forester, Sam Carlton, whom I had just met. Sam lived in Charleston and his company is a business partner with ours’. We were walking down a dirt road bordered by a fence when Sam stopped, gestured toward a fence post, and asked, “What would you say if we spotted a turtle sitting on that fence post?” I was unsure how to respond. He then replied, “The most we could say about that turtle is that he probably didn’t get there by himself!” That is very true of my own story. Over the years Sam and I had many more walks in the woods together. He became a great friend and mentor. Sam is not an Auburn man but a very proud Georgia Bulldog. That might have been his only shortfall! While our companies are business partners, our real passion is angling with a fly rod. We have done a trip together every fall for 30 years.

I am profoundly grateful for people like Sam, who have supported me, who have challenged me, who have celebrated good times with me and who have cried with me in the bad times. Rest assured, you will have good times and you will have bad times. Peaks and valleys are just part of the journey. And sometimes they come unexpectedly.

The phone call I received from Dr. Nathan inviting me to speak to you today was unexpected and the honor of a lifetime. A “peak” in every conceivable way. Two days later I received another unexpected phone call from a mutual friend of mine and Sam’s. He said “Marc, I have some bad news ... Sam died this morning”. That moment was a valley. We don’t know exactly what happened to Sam. He was healthy, active, full of energy, and just a little older than me but he simply collapsed in the woods one Friday morning while inspecting a logging job. Despite quick action by the logger to revive him and shortly after by the EMS crew, he was gone.

Three weeks before Sam passed, my wife and I were in Charleston where I had the honor of officiating my nephew’s wedding. Our lives were extremely busy leading up to the wedding and packing another commitment into an already hectic time was a stretch and certainly not convenient, but we made a point to go a day early so we could have dinner with Sam and his wife. Little did we know that would be the last time we saw him. How thankful we are that we made that extra effort!

There is a lesson here for us all. The human touch requires extra effort. It requires hard work. We talk today about being “connected” with our smart phones, zoom calls and social media. While these wonders of technology are certainly useful, they can be transactional in nature if we’re not careful. Genuine relationships are transformational. The influence of others can shape our lives and make us better. And we can do the same for others. Real connection is made with the human touch! It is authentic, it laughs and cries, says I was wrong, asks how I can help, is generous, and is humble. The human touch is a power virtue that unfortunately can be overlooked in this nonstop, me-focused world. It will take you further, sustain you longer, and bring you and others more joy and happiness than anything else I can think of.

It is more important today than ever. And it is in you. It is part of your Auburn experience. It’s woven into your Auburn DNA. The human touch is the Auburn touch; and the world needs it. I challenge you to pass it along, to share it, and to work as hard at the human touch as anything else in your life!

Congratulations, God Speed and War Damn Eagle!