Friends,
As some of you know, I run a foundation called mikeroweWORKS. Relax, I don’t want any money. The purpose of mikeroweWORKS is to reinvigorate the skilled trades and encourage all forms of retraining and entrepreneurship. Things are progressing quite well at MRW, but several of my supporters in that endeavor have visited this page and expressed some concern that my postings and photos here have nothing to do with my proposed goal of challenging the prevailing definition of a “good job” or the primacy of a four-year college degree. As one poster grimly noted, “pictures of large stuffed animals lying in the street and images of you at home, swilling wine from a bottle, do not seem consistent with a serious attempt to close our country’s skills gap. Nor do they bolster your image as a role model for the youth of today.”
Hmmm.
Perhaps this dynamic photo will help assuage concerns?
This is me in Washington, DC ,two weeks ago, speaking to an assemblage of terribly important people. The meeting was sponsored by The National Association of Manufactures, and includes some big shots from Caterpillar and Skills USA, both of whom I’m pleased to call partners. You’ll notice in the photo that I’ve removed my hat and adopted a very earnest expression. That’s because I care deeply about the topic at hand, and wish to be taken seriously by all those in attendance. As you can plainly see, this is a winning strategy. People are riveted, and with the exception of the first gentlemen to my right, almost completely awake.
This meeting was both important and productive, and I believe this photo to be undeniable proof that I can be a thoughtful and serious person when the circumstances require it.
I will now wait for it to go viral.
Carry on.
Mike Rowe, Role Model for Today’s Youth