Greetings to the President from the Community
The Honorable Keith A. Holliday '75
Mayor, City of Greensboro
It is an extreme honor to greet each of you today, especially the man of the hour, President Kent Chabotar. It is especially gratifying for me to bring official greetings as mayor on behalf of 233,000 citizens of Greensboro, as I've held this institution so dear to my heart. Guilford has and will continue to be a wonderful asset in the City of Greensboro.
As a student of behavioral sciences here at Guilford many years ago, and yes, when I had dark hair down to my shoulders (some people can't believe that), I learned early on about how our being is really made up of learned behavior. If one can conclude that is true, then President Chabotar is actually a product of thousands of influencing factors that he has encountered in his life. Well, clearly he has surrounded himself with an abundance of wonderful stimuli and I believe we at Guilford are the fortunate recipients of this exciting and energized product.
It has been said that today the people of our world are more interested in people with authenticity, rather than charisma. Well, I believe we have touched a person who possesses both of those qualities. I must confess I have every intention of stretching our president's talents as I urge him to make a positive difference in Greensboro in addition to doing the great work he will accomplish here at Guilford.
As he becomes more rooted into our community, I know he will grow to love our city, which he will proudly call home. Greensboro is a great city. It just got better with the addition of President Chabotar. So, welcome home, President Chabotar.
June 8, 2003