NASSAU CELEBRATION FOUNDERS’ DAY 17TH BIENNIAL NATIONAL THE BAHAMAS JANUARY 7-11, 2026
NATIONAL FOUNDERS’ DAY THE BAHAMAS
Left: The 73rd Laurel Wreath Laureate Rodney C. Adkins delivered words of wisdom born of his decades of achievement in business. Right: The dele- gates featured from left: 33rd Grand Polemarch Thomas L. Battles, Jr., 32nd Grand Polemarch William “Randy” Bates, Jr., Esq., 31st Grand Polemarch and 76th Laurel Wreath Laureate Dwayne M. Murray, Esq., and 27th Grand Polemarch and 56th Laurel Wreath Laureate Robert L. Harris, Esq.
“LEADERSHIP IS ABOUT YOUR CURIOSITY. LEADERSHIP IS ABOUT YOUR SKILLS. AND LEADERSHIP IS ABOUT OUR CULTURE.” - Rodney C. Adkins 73rd Laurel Wreath Laureate
every moment—from a ballroom in The Bahamas to a ballot box in Mem- phis or Atlanta—is a chance to bend history toward the better. AI AND THE INNOVATION IMPERATIVE The first day was about discipline and duty; the second day opened with disruption. “Once again, brothers, we ask that you enter the auditorium and please take your seat so that we can start the program on time,” the voice over the sound system exhorted, as familiar Kappa chants and call-and- response songs gave way to the hum of anticipation. Then came the introduction, a “legend in the business world, in tech- nology, and the 73rd Laurel Wreath Laureate,” Grand Polemarch McMikle proclaimed. Retired IBM senior executive Rodney C. Adkins (Gamma
theta 1979) walked onto the stage and was greeted with a standing ovation. “It’s great being here in The Bahamas, and it’s always great being in the com- pany of my brothers,” Adkins began. “Leadership is about your curiosity. Leadership is about your skills. And leadership is about our culture.” Brother Adkins has spent his career at the leading edge of technolog- ical change, helping shepherd the
development of Watson, IBM’s artifi- cial intelligence program that famously defeated Jeopardy! champions in 2011. This morning, he wanted to talk less about code and more about questions. He called it The Curiosity Advan- tage—three intertwined capacities: the ability to explore new ideas, the ability to adapt to the unknown, and the courage to challenge the status quo productively. “For leaders, most
40 THE JOURNAL ♦ WINTER 2025-2026
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