KAPPA AUTHORS
Son, Listen Real-world Advice Every Boy Needs to Hear
Damon R. Willis III (Southaven (MS) Alumni 2016), a native of Memphis, Tennessee, is an accomplished supply chain professional and doting father of three boys. He has managed to balance the demands of his career working with Fortune 500 companies such as Apple and Nike along with his desire to be a present father whose legacy is his sons. He and his family reside in the Atlanta, Georgia area.
He has written a book, "Son, Listen."
From left to right: Christian Willis (age 9), Caleb Willis (age 4) and Chance Willis (age 2.5).
A s a young man growing up in Memphis, Tennessee, I learned a lot from my father. From teaching me how to fish to showing me how to throw a spiral; my father was a strong, present figure in my life. That presence however was untimely removed when at the age of 54 my father passed away from a massive heart attack. I was 10 years old at the time. My mother later re-married a great man, Bill who picked up where my father left off. Over the years as I transitioned from a boy to a man, Bill was with me every step of the way providing guidance and encouragement that only someone with a wealth of real-world experience and wisdom could provide. However, as a young man and even now, well into adulthood I often find myself in a situa-
tion pondering what my biological father would do in the situation, or what type of advice might he provide. Though, he’s been gone for nearly 25 years, the void left by his untimely passing continues to haunt me to this day. Now a father myself, of three spirited boys, I feel I have an obligation to provide them with advice and guidance that all boys should come to expect from their father. My father’s premature passing taught me how truly fragile life can be and that nothing is truly promised to us save the moment we currently have. As such, two years ago I sought to create a sort of credo that would ensure my words of advice and wisdom would always be available to my sons should they need it and I was no longer around to provide it
myself. After two years of pieced together iPhone notes taken during my business travels; I had a very rough completed manuscript that I felt proud to pass on to my sons. Upon sharing my completed work with my wife Yashira, she felt as though I would be doing other young men a disservice if I did not share and make this advice widely available to any young man willing to listen. Son, Listen: Real-world Advice Every Boy Needs to Hear, is the culmination of my efforts to share with my own sons and other young men the same advice and wisdom passed along to me that I feel has truly shaped my life and directly contributed to my success.
84 | SPRING 2017 THE JOURNAL
Publishing achievement for more than 100 years
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