This week's Pep Talk: "Revvin' for 2011"

At the holiday season we are reminded via television, radio, print and our souls, there are many less fortunate individuals in our world. For whatever reason, this year, when I watched, heard, read or thought about the less fortunate, my mind kept wandering back to a family of eight that lived in a cardboard shack in the Rio Grande Valley along America’s border with Mexico.

I started my television sportscasting career at KGBT-TV, the CBS station in Harlingen, Texas, one of the three major cities – Brownsville and McAllen the others – of the Valley. 25 years ago, and I doubt it’s changed much since, the four counties along the border were considered among the poorest in the United States. Each year, our station profiled families during “Christmas for the Needy” stories. As the weekend sports anchor assigned to document this family’s plight, eight amazing people entered my life. I can’t remember their names but I’ll never forget them.

Their cardboard shack had no running water, electricity and little room. It was basically big enough for two king-sized beds and a couch. The parents didn’t speak English and the young kids, six of them, struggled with it. After finishing, along with a bilingual photojournalist, interviewing and shooting some video of the family, we began the drive back to the television station. Thoughts of how to write this family’s story raced through my head: desperately poor, uneducated, but, from what I saw in the two-hour visit, rich with something very important - love for one another.

We all know the facts. Children born into poverty face a steep uphill battle in gaining the education necessary to compete in today’s global marketplace. For whatever reason, I then think of my kids. They were not born into poverty but were raised in another challenging situation: they’re children of divorce.

As we turn the calendar, the challenges of children born into poverty and raised in divorce, continue to hamper our country from becoming superior to its former self. When are we going to, collectively with a united voice, address these issues, neither of which benefits kids, 25% of our population, 100% of our future.

There’s an old saying: “There is always room for improvement.” Amen to that. As a nation, we have many areas where America can improve, reducing poverty and divorce just two of them. What about us personally? Where might it be time for the excuses to stop about underachieving in terms of relationships, health, career or volunteering? A new year is upon us and with it, a chance to improve in ways that honor us, nurture those dependent upon us and add value to the communities we serve.

Let’s get our motors revvin’ for 2011. We’ve got a fresh 365 on the clock. Let’s strive for improvement and play like champions – home, work and elsewhere!