Robert W. Runcie

The battle for quality education is the social justice cause of our time. If you believe that every child has the right to a quality education, then there is no more important work than providing the right leadership to dramatically transform public education in this country. I have found my passion and purpose in life – to improve the human condition by giving every child an equal chance to excel and achieve happiness. It all starts at the top with one of the most challenging and important jobs in America – the urban school superintendent.” Robert W. Runcie

Robert W. Runcie is Superintendent of Broward County Public Schools (BCPS), the nation’s sixth largest public school system. Runcie was appointed by the School Board to become the 20th Superintendent of the BCPS on October 5, 2011 .

Runcie was the first member of his family to attend college. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard College and a master’s degree in business administration from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management. He is a Broad Fellow and graduate of the 2009 class of The Broad Superintendents Academy.

Runcie formerly served as Chief of Staff to the Board of Education, Chicago Public Schools in Illinois, the third largest school district in the nation, with over 430,000 students. During his tenure in Chicago, he also served as Chief Area Instructional Officer and Chief Administrative Officer. He also served as the district’s Chief Information Officer where he provided leadership in implementing the largest web-based student information system in the country, guiding the district’s performance management strategies and transforming business process to drive more effective collaboration at all levels of the district. Prior to joining the Chicago Public Schools, Runcie served as president and founder of a management consulting and technology service company specializing in project management, large-scale systems implementations and organizational strategy. He began his career as a staff consultant for Arthur Andersen (now Accenture).

Runcie firmly believes that dramatically transforming public education is among the most important work to be done in this country, so that all children can receive the quality education they deserve. He has successfully applied the best business practices acquired in the private sector to improving public education operations and instructional strategies.

Robert W. Runcie

Superintendent, Broward County Public Schools

600 SE Third Ave

Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33301

T: 754.321.2600

F: 754.321.2701

E-mail the Superintendent

I have heard the statement “A mother can’t be her daughter’s best friend and be her mother at the same time.” I disagree. I feel that being my daughter’s best friend deepens and broadens the bond in our relationship. I can’t imagine my daughter going to anyone asking for advice or sharing her thoughts in fear of my reactions to her thoughts. No one should know you better than your mother.

As an only child, I was very close to my mother and her to me. I can remember the wonderful times when my mother and I would lie on the bed and talk for hours. She would always start the conversation with “How was your day?” That would get me started and I would just go on and on, because I could see the interest and love in her eyes, and that would motivate me to share even more.

I understand that as a human being there are certain things we choose to keep to ourselves and that is natural. However, over the past few years of facilitating Mother and Daughter Bonding workshops I have seen many mothers and daughters all struggling with the same issue, a lack of honest communication.

As mothers and daughters began to share their intra-conversations (on-going conversation in their heads) they started having honest, loving, trusting, and open communication that was needed to strengthen their bond and create the breakthrough for a better relationship.

How can you be your daughter’s best friend? Recapture that moment when you first looked into her eyes. Start by looking in to her eyes, giving her lots of hugs and, spending at least one hour of quality time a week together. These three things start an energy force that creates a trusting relationship between a mother and her daughter(s) and help you to develop an honest mother and daughter relationship.

It is inevitable that you will have disagreements in your relationship. Relationships are comprised of two different people, from different backgrounds, with different opinions and multi-faceted ways of looking at the world. In fact, it’s almost amazing that we can agree on any one issue in our relationships at all. But disagreeing with your loved one doesn’t mean you have to declare war and leave the battle wounded and broken. When you disagree you must enter the disagreement with the sole purpose of resolving an issue and not getting even, hurting someone’s feelings, or giving them a piece of your mind. It is true that you can win the battle and lose the war. In other words, you may win the fight but ultimately it could cause irreparable damage to the relationship. So here are the rules for fighting fair. Stick to the Facts. Place restrictive boundaries around the subject matter that’s up for debate. Don’t bring up old grudges, past hurts, or unrelated incidences to strengthen your argument. Keep it Confidential. Never argue around friends, family, innocent by-standers or co-workers. Fighting in front of your children is tantamount to child abuse. Remember others may continue to hold grudges long after you’ve forgiven your loved one. Tell the Truth. The truth is not always pleasant to hear but it will set you free. Don’t dance around the problem, be frank about how you really feel. Give the truth in love, keeping in mind that the end result is resolution, and not continued conflict.

Naming-Calling is a “No, No.” Never stoop to character assassination when fighting. It’s unfair, childish and many times unforgivable to call someone out of their name. Leave the house before you resort to slanderous name-calling. Profanity is Prohibited. As Christians we should never have cause to resort to profanity. It is very difficult to respect someone’s faith walk when they’ve just finished cursing you out. Try as hard as you can to keep it holy. Decide on your Battles. Every time you’ve been wronged or disagree with your loved one is not the appropriate time to argue. Pick your battles carefully and cautiously. Avoid Cyber-Arguing. Have enough respect and decency when resolving conflict to argue in person. Never argue via e-mails, cell phones, or text messages. The main reason for this is because the other person can and will re-read your comments over and over again until the resentment and anger boils over. End the Argument with Dignity. How an argument ends is crucial. Even if the person doesn’t apologize or come around to your way of thinking you need to simply agree to disagree. Avoid slamming doors, not talking for a week, or threatening your partner. Leave in love.

Dr. Lisa Tait

I have conducted marital counseling for more couples in the last month than I care to mention. The weight of a depressed economy is seriously beginning to take its toll on marital relationships. It seems as if people expect the pastoral counselor to wave a magic wand and make things all better in seriously damaged and sometimes totaled relationships.

I’ve discovered through my continued studies that the real problem begins and ends with the absence of “Authentic” or unconditional love. When we possess this type of love we care about the happiness of our spouse without any thought for what we might get for ourselves. This type of love keeps you from becoming disappointed or angry when the other person makes foolish mistakes, when they don’t do what you want, or even when they inconvenience you personally. Authentic love is really the only thing that matters in life.

When we experience this kind of love from another we are completely fulfilled and the longing and searching ends. The problem is that most of us have never experienced this type of love. Instead we date and marry our spouse based on “Imitation Love.”  This love is a substitute for Authentic Love and it comes in the form of praise, power, pleasure and safety. When we dated we were drawn and attracted to the praise (the approval, compliments, acceptance) we received from the other person. Or perhaps it was the power that initially drew you. You were with someone that you could control, even if only in a small way. The pleasure you received in the relationship drew you even closer and it consisted of food, sex, hanging out, and other forms of entertainment. But for many the safety was a key factor. That other person protected you from feelings of loneliness, abandonment, emptiness, and disapproval. These four components when combined in varying degrees of intensity gave you the feeling of falling or being in love.

The issue arises when one or both persons in the relationship stops giving the praise, power, pleasure and safety. That’s when we really get to see just how absolutely shallow “Imitation Love” is. Listen, the only magic wand I can offer to married couples or anyone in a troubled relationship is “Authentic Love.” You must begin to love that person with no conditions. Decide that there is absolutely no way for your love for them to cease. You will find that you react differently to them because you have made a conscious choice to embrace Authentic Love. This is the kind of love God gives to us. And perhaps that’s the other problem in our relationships – we haven’t fully accepted the Authentic Love that God gives and therefore this concept is foreign and unfamiliar to us. Do yourself a favor, learn to love unconditionally and you will discover that all your relationships (spouse, children, co-workers, church members, neighbors, and relatives) will begin to dramatically improve.

About Dr. Lisa Tait: CEO/Founder, Women of Destiny (Atlanta, GA)

Divorce and Retirement Plan Proceeds

Tunde Ogunlana, Managing Partner, Diamond Wealth Management

Unfortunately, divorce is increasingly common in our society. Because divorce entails the dividing of assets, some of which have tax implications, it is important to be aware of potential tax traps when you begin planning. One such trap in the area of retirement plan assets is the existence of vested account balances.
In the past, with traditional defined benefit plans, the plan participant was promised a retirement benefit, but he or she had no vested retirement account balance. However, with the shift toward defined contribution plans, vesting for employee contributions is immediate, and vesting for employer contributions builds quickly. Consequently, as more Americans participate in 401(k) plans and other defined contribution retirement plans, dividing vested retirement plan assets in divorce situations has created complex financial issues.

Protect Yourself with a QDRO.  A qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) is a judgment or order that involves child support, alimony, or property rights pertaining to a spouse, former spouse, child, or other dependent. A QDRO can be used to establish one spouse’s right to part or all of the other spouse’s retirement plan(s) and to ensure that the recipient spouse pays the tax.
To be protected through a QDRO, it must specify the following:
1. The name and address of the plan participant and the alternate payee (typically, the participant’spouse).
2. The name and account number of each retirement account involved.
3. The percentage (or dollar amount) of each plan that is to be paid to the alternate payee.
4. The period of time or the number of payments covered by the QDRO.

The QDRO must be a part of the divorce decree or a court-approved property settlement document. The decree should also specify that a QDRO is being established under Section 414(p) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) and the particular state’s domestic relations laws. Intent to establish a QDRO is insufficient; it must be spelled out in the divorce papers.

Getting divorced can be taxing enough, but it need not be made more difficult by mishandling the division of assets in a retirement plan. And, although this particular decision does appear to provide room for straying from the precise wording of the statute, applying the proper language in a divorce decree may help ease some of the inevitable complications that can arise, facilitating a smoother transition for all involved. Qualified legal advice should be obtained to help ensure that any desired planning actions are worded and structured properly.

By Tunde Ogunlana

Copyright © 2009 Liberty Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Each one of us has a mission or purpose that we are to fulfill while here on this terra firma we call earth. This mission was woven into the very fabric of your being prior to your birth. We were equipped with gifts and talents to complete this mission. Our job is to develop those gifts and utilize them for the fulfilling of our mission and not for its destruction. While many of us recognize that we are called according to God’s purpose for a divine assignment we labor endlessly, unable to birth our destiny because we don’t know how to set our mission in motion. Here are some practical steps you can follow to move to the next level. First, you must clearly and succinctly clarify who you are, what you do, who you plan to serve, and what makes you unique. This is your personal mission statement and it will guide your continuing efforts.

Secondly, you must spell out your purpose or what you believe God wants you to accomplish. This is your raison d’etre or your “reason for being.” Your purpose will always be associated with your passion. How can you use what you love to do for God’s divine purpose in your life?

Thirdly, you must create goals or detailed steps to accomplish your mission. This may include goals such as create a business plan, finish a degree, develop a talent or gift, save money, deepen your spiritual life, read more, network, learn a computer program, etc. Your mission is too important to ignore, therefore you must do the work required to step into your destiny.

“I have a lot of work to do, and I intend to dedicate myself to doing it. Part of following this path for me is Buddhism, which my mother taught me at a young age. People probably don’t realize it, but I was raised a Buddhist, and I actively practiced my faith from childhood until I drifted away from it in recent years. Buddhism teaches that a craving for things outside ourselves causes an unhappy and pointless search for security. It teaches me to stop following every impulse and to learn restraint. Obviously, I lost track of what I was taught.” – Tiger Woods from his public apology

Writer and poet E. Ethelbert Miller asked award-winning novelist Charles Johnson (Middle Passage) about what teachings in Buddhism might inform Tiger Woods going forward. Johnson is the author of “Turning the Wheel: Essays on Buddhism and Writing.”

The Question: Tiger Woods made reference to Buddhism in his public statement today, how might his faith help him during this period in his life?

If Tiger Woods was raised as a Buddhist, as he says, then he and his mother embraced the first Five Precepts that laity and monks alike do their best to live by. Across the Buddhist world, regardless of one’s tradition, these first five vows are: No stealing, no killing, no lying, no sexual misconduct, and no drinking to become intoxicated.

He strayed from this path, as he said during his public statement. He caused great suffering to others and himself. But his statements reveal, at least to me, that he somewhat understands from a Buddhist perspective why he did this to himself. “Buddhism,” he said, “teaches that a creation of things outside ourselves causes an unhappy and pointless search for security. It teaches me to stop following every impulse and to learn restraint. Obviously, I lost track of what I was taught.”

Tiger must now take daily the experience of desire and craving into his meditations. He knows the external things he craved—(white) women especially—cannot bring him lasting peace or happiness. They are impermanent (anicca), ever changing, and lack an enduring self or substance (anatta). He projected onto “things outside” himself a meaning and value and “desirable” qualities they do not have. These are hard lessons for a young man to learn when fame and wealth come to him to the staggering degree that they came to Tiger.

I say he was “handled” by the world of Samsara, i.e., he allowed himself to become seduced, not simply by women, but by a society fueled by avidya (ignorance), a society that bombards us 24/7 with the sensational propaganda that life is meaningful only if one is rich, famous and sought after by others.

His challenge now is to stay on the path and not lose again the balance he referred to; he must selflessly give the best performances he can as a world-class athlete whose every move the public is watching and remain detached from that performance in terms of his ego. He must try to excel on the golf course, at home, and in his relations with others, and then “let go” of all that. His healing will be swift if he follows the Dharma like a man walking on a razor’s edge because he will see that the ego and self are fictions, creations of the mind, and that there is actually no one who needs healing and forgiveness.

DAVIE – ICABA Honors, a Premier Recognition & Networking Reception was held on Nov. 13 at Nova Southeastern University H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship. The lavish gala, unveiling ICABA’s inaugural edition profile directory, a publication recognizing and celebrating South Florida’s 100 most accomplished blacks in healthcare and law, was emceed by Calvin Hughes, the weekday morning and noon news anchor at WPLG-TV Local 10 News in Miami.

The recognition ceremony, held in Nova’s Rose & Alfred Miniaci Performing Arts Center, was a standing-room only celebration.
ICABA stands for Identify, Connect and Activate the Black Accomplished.

Jerome Hutchinson Jr., ICABA’s president and CEO, said that ICABA Honors has brought the company’s mission full circle. ICABA began as the brainstorm of Hutchinson and his late wife, Pamela, while they were working on the inaugural edition of Who’s Who in Black South Florida. The couple realized that more than a traditional publication identifying accomplished blacks in South Florida was necessary. Black professionals consistently expressed the need to connect. At the recognition program, ICABA unveiled its social network ICABA World.com designed to connect black professionals and entrepreneurs worldwide. Hutchinson is quick to point out: “Recognizing black accomplishment is important; however, connecting accomplished blacks and activating relationships among them is productive.” ICABA uses its multi-media platform of publishing, interactive and events to Identify, Connect and Activate the Black Accomplished!

The inaugural directory honors the legends of pioneers and other luminaries include Raleigh R. Rawls, the first black attorney in Broward County to pass the Florida Bar (1957); Dr. Calvin Shirley, Broward County’s first black ob-gyn; Honorable Ed Rodgers, the first black prosecutor in Palm Beach County, a county judge, a circuit judge and the first black chief judge of the Circuit Court; Dr. George A. Simpson, the first black to perform major general surgery at Jackson Memorial Hospital, among others in Dade County, and his wife, noted trailblazer Dr. Dazelle Dean Simpson, the first black board-certified pediatrician in Florida.

Early pioneers, including Dr. Von D. Mizell, Dr. James Wilson Bridges, Attorney Gwendolyn Sawyer Cherry, Dr. Samuel McKenzie Frazier and Judge Lawson E. Thomas are also honored.

Kesha Davis, who said she attended the event “just to network,” admitted staying for the recognition ceremony because she was “so impressed with not only the turnout, but the caliper of people present.”

A National Urban Fellow, Kesha Davis described the attendees as “South Florida heavy hitters.”

Honoree Jaret Davis agrees. “This is a great turnout,” he commented, “and I am honored to be a part of and recognized by this event. It’s a great opportunity.”

Jaret Davis, a shareholder with international law firm Greenberg Traurig, P.A., is profiled in the directory as a Rising Star.

After reviewing the directory, South Florida educator Akilah Laster said she wants to take the directory into her classroom. “The kids need to see that there are many options for success, not just music and sports.”

Laster, also one of the directory’s contributing writers, commented that she would like to invite some of those profiled into her classroom to speak with her students. “They can then have a visual,” she said, “and see that everyone looks like them.”

During the event, University of Miami student Sheila Collins was awarded a $2,000 scholarship by the Pam Hutchinson Bridge Builder Foundation, an organization created in the late Hutchinson’s memory.

The foundation awards students, individuals and organizations in the black community who are dedicated to enhancing further socio-economic empowerment through collaborative initiatives and activities.

Sam Hines, the board’s vice president, described Collins as having “embodied the true legacy of Pam.”

Collins said that she was “so inspired by those profiled” that she would “hurry up and do all of my homework so I can be like you all.”

The event’s program included a musical tribute by students from the Dillard Center for Performing Arts and a tribute to the late Pamela Hutchinson.

The problem is that most of us have never experienced this type of love. Instead we date and marry our spouse based on “Imitation Love.” This love is a substitute for Authentic Love and it comes in the form of praise, power, pleasure and safety. When we dated we were drawn and attracted to the praise (the approval, compliments, acceptance) we received from the other person. Or perhaps it was the power that initially drew you. You were with someone that you could control, even if only in a small way. The pleasure you received in the relationship drew you even closer and it consisted of food, sex, hanging out, and other forms of entertainment. But for many the safety was a key factor. That other person protected you from feelings of loneliness, abandonment, emptiness, and disapproval. These four components when combined in varying degrees of intensity gave you the feeling of falling or being in love.

The issue arises when one or both persons in the relationship stops giving the praise, power, pleasure and safety. That’s when we really get to see just how absolutely shallow “Imitation Love” is. Listen, the only magic wand I can offer to married couples or anyone in a troubled relationship is “Authentic Love.” You must begin to love that person with no conditions. Decide that there is absolutely no way for your love for them to cease. You will find that you react differently to them because you have made a conscious choice to embrace Authentic Love. This is the kind of love God gives to us. And perhaps that’s the other problem in our relationships – we haven’t  fully accepted the Authentic Love that God gives and therefore this concept is foreign and unfamiliar to us.

Do yourself a favor, learn to love unconditionally and you will discover that all your relationships (spouse, children, co-workers, church members, neighbors, and relatives) will begin to dramatically improve.
Visit: http://www.womenofdestiny.org

Lisa Tait
Women of Destiny Ministries
President
LISAMTAIT@aol.com

Dr. Lisa M. Tait, CEO of Women of Destiny Ministries. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Howard Univ., her Master of Arts degree in General Psychology from American University and her Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees at the School of Theology at Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia.