Dear Friends of Shriners Hospital for Children (SHC) – Spokane,

Every organization needs and typically has a “Chief Courage Officer”.  You all know this man or woman.  They are the ones that say what needs said, do the right thing even if it is not popular, push back to leadership if they feel the organization is not being true to its mission.

Of all the historic decisions made in San Antonio, Texas last month, perhaps one of the most profound was the decision by Trustee Bob Smith not to run for reelection.  With this single pronouncement and act later next year we will loose our “Chief Courage Officer”.

Loosing Bob Smith in his role as a trustee will impact SHC – Spokane locally, but the impact will be felt much more broadly across our system.  I like to think that Bob has an unjustifiable overcommitment to Spokane and the rest of the Shrine hospital system.  Why else would anyone spend so much time, energy and their own resources working on behalf of this hospital and the larger hospital system.  Bob will be the first one to tell you that in his role as a trustee he must not play favorites, but we also know he has a deep love for our hospital and the work we do here.  

You may know that Bob has chaired or served on numerous Joint Board committees.  He has served in the trenches where the real battles are fought.  In each of these roles Bob has acted as the Chief Courage Officer to ensure the right decisions are made for the good of our system.

We also know what usually happens to Chief Courage Officers in industry and government.  They and their views are subject to withering attacks by those with agendas threatened by their thoughtful review and scrutiny.   Most decisions are made for rational, emotional or political reasons.  The Chief Courage Officer typically helps the organization apply the right reason for a decision, at the right time for the right purpose.

There has never been a time in our nation’s history where we needed Chief Courage Officers more.  I would venture to say there has never been a time in the Shrine Hospital System existence when we needed a Chief Courage Officer more.  Big decisions were made in San Antonio.  The question now is do we collectively have the courage to step through the doors open to us.  This can only be achieved if we are united in the way ahead. 

Trust me when I say there is a lot of broken china to be cleaned up out of the Imperial Session.  Heck I feel as if half of it was broken on my head and that of my hospital.  Who do you think will help us clean up the broken china and move forward as an organization?  Without men like Bob Smith I wonder as well.

I don’t know if Bob’s decision can be reversed.  If not, then I would ask you all to express your gratitude to a man that worked very hard for this hospital and our system and make sure that he knows how much we all appreciated the fact that he was our Chief Courage Officer.

Sincerely,

Gene Raynaud, FACHE
Administrator