What Waiting Tables at Pinehurst Taught Me About
Leadership, Talent, and Timing

When Phil Werz invited me onto his Podcast Paradise in the Pines, I thought we would talk about golf art and U.S. Opens. Instead, his questions took me back to something far more important, the turning point of my life.

I was born in Pinehurst but did not grow up there. It was years later, after struggling in high school and doubting myself, that I returned and finally found direction.  My GPA was nothing special. No university was recruiting me. Then during my senior year at Pine Forest High School, we hired our first art teacher, Ms. McDuffie. She saw something in me and told me to pursue it.

That one voice changed everything.  Sandhills Community College became my second chance. I took my first serious art classes there and went from near the bottom academically to earning straight A’s. For the first time, I was not drifting. I had found my calling.

To pay my way, I bagged groceries at the local A&P, worked customer service at a candle company, and eventually became a waiter at the Carolina Hotel. That dining room was a classroom of its own. I observed excellence, confidence, and culture up close. I learned how to read a room, how to connect with people, and how to serve well.

Those lessons would later shape my business, my art, and my keynote speaking.

Years later, I returned to Sandhills Community College as Alumnus of the Year. And after my days serving tables at the Carolina Hotel, one of my proudest moments was coming back as a guest. The boy who once struggled academically would eventually become the Official Artist of the Men’s and Women’s U.S. Open.

That journey holds powerful lessons for leaders.

Three Leadership Lessons Pinehurst Taught Me

A Mentor Can Change a Trajectory
Ms. McDuffie did not give me talent. She gave me belief.  Association leaders and meeting planners understand this better than most. The right voice at the right time can unlock potential that has been sitting dormant for years. Your conferences, your programs, your platforms matter more than you realize.

Humble Work Builds Lasting Confidence
Bagging groceries and waiting tables were not detours. They were preparation.  They taught me discipline, humility, and how to genuinely connect with people from every walk of life. Those skills are the same ones that build trust inside organizations and create cultures people want to belong to.  Leadership is rarely forged in comfort. It is shaped in responsibility.

Environment Elevates Vision
Pinehurst models excellence. Tradition is honored. Standards are high.  When you surround people with excellence, they rise to it.  That is what great associations do. They create environments where members see what is possible and are inspired to elevate their own performance.

Reflection for Leaders

Looking back, Pinehurst gave me what I now call A.R.T.  Awareness, seeing possibility where others may not.  Resourcefulness, using whatever is in your hands.  Timing, stepping forward before opportunity passes.

These are not artistic principles alone. They are leadership principles.  Sometimes the place where you struggled most becomes the place that shapes your greatest strength. And sometimes the young waiter who once wondered if he belonged eventually returns not to serve a table, but to serve a larger purpose.

If your association is looking for a keynote that blends storytelling, leadership insight, and practical encouragement your members can apply immediately, I would be honored to bring that message to your stage.

Because there is an A.R.T. to making a difference, and every organization holds the brush.