Laury Hammel at Susan Labandibar

Archive for the ‘Laury Hammel’ tag

Laury Hammel’s Birthday

Before I met Laury Hammel, I had many heros. People like Wangari Maathi, Mohammed Yunus, Mother Teresa (yes, I know they’re all Nobel Peace Prize winners.) Not that I was friends with these people. In fact, I have never met any of them personally.

When I first met Laury, it didn’t occur to me that he would become one of my heros. I thought he was more of a character, a rebel, and an idealist. He showed up at meetings dressed in gym clothes, even when they were held in formal settings. He would say injudicious things. Like the time he clashed with someone over a green justice issue before he had really made the connection between the problems of the inner city and the degradation of our environment. And I thought he talked too much at our Sustainable Business Network board meetings.

But, I was wrong. Laury did not talk enough. So it took some time for me to learn that there are hundreds–no, thousands–of people whose lives he has enriched. Read the rest of this entry »