Everyday People, Extraordinary Leadership

CHAPTER 2Model the Way

ERIN BYRNE MCELROY keeps herself very busy. She works in business development and brand engagement in a manufacturing firm, volunteers regularly with local nonprofits and civic organizations in her rural suburban county in the Midwest, and enjoys daily activities with her family. But in March 2020, like everyone else in her community, Erin was ordered to shelter-in-place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She found it hard to sit still.

As someone deeply involved with her community, the pandemic caused Erin to wonder how local businesses would adapt, and she worried about the health of frontline workers who were caring for others and unable to shelter-in-place. Wanting to do something to help, she reflected on the values that mattered the most to her: “I returned to my core values and took an internal audit of my heart and mind.” “Service to others” was most important to her, along with warmth, graciousness, gratitude, connection, kindness, and being the difference. But how could she put these values into practice during a pandemic?

Erin thought there might be a way to achieve a doubly impactful objective—supporting the local restaurants and at the same time feeding frontline workers. Knowing she couldn't achieve this goal alone, she called up four close advisors and confidants—Rod Crandall, Anne Marie Brown, Devon Tessmer, and Alexandra Eesley—with whom she ...