Gary Sinise, “Coach Bill” Courtney Open NWFA Expo With Inspiring Talks

2015 NWFA Expo speaker Gary Sinise, March 28, 2015 in St. Louis. (Photo by David Stluka)Gary Sinise, Oscar-nominated actor known widely for his role as the handicapped veteran Lt. Dan in Forrest Gump, opened up the 30th NWFA Expo last week along with “Coach Bill” Courtney, a lumber mill owner, high school football mentor and subject of an Oscar award-winning documentary.

Sinise told the crowd seated in the Ferrara Theater, inside the America’s Center adjoining the Edwards Jones Dome, about how he was inspired to create the Gary Sinise Foundation, which helps veterans in a multitude of ways, including providing veterans who have lost multiple limbs with “smart homes” that give the veterans the ability to live more independently.

He shared his work with the Foundation and introduced the crowd to veterans who are now living more comfortably thanks to the smart homes. They received standing ovations. One of the veterans, Marine Nick Kimmel, threw the opening pitch later in the evening at the St. Louis Cardinals baseball game.

The Foundation has completed 16 smart homes and 18 more are currently in progress.

“It is so important that our defenders know their nation stands behind them,” he said.

Sinise also announced a partnership between the Foundation and the NWFA, which will involve NWFA member companies in the installation of wood flooring in Foundation smart homes.

Sinise was introduced by Sheoga Hardwood Flooring & Paneling Vice President Barbara Titus. Sheoga had donated wood flooring to the foundation and played a large role in creating the partnership with the NWFA.

Nick Kimmel, Coach Bill Courtney, Gary Sinise and Mrs. Courtney at the Cardinals game, March 28, 2015 in St. Louis. (Photo by David Stluka)Courtney’s talk centered around leadership. He said leadership is lacking on all levels of American society—in the workplace, at home and in Washington, D.C. Then he elaborated on three principles a leader should live by.

Leaders should not live in a vacuum, he said while mimicking a cyclone with a twirl of his finger. A person in a vacuum sees all the dust particles spinning, but they themselves aren’t moving, he said.

“It’s easy to mistake action for progress,” Courtney said, adding that people shouldn’t exist in a stationary comfort zone but should instead seek out people who aren’t like them, whether that means politically, religiously or otherwise.

Courtney also emphasized the importance of replacing material wealth with the wealth of reputation by making an impact on others. A person’s legacy should be worth more than the sticker prices of their wares sold at an estate auction, he said.

While Courtney coached and mentored a high school football team from an impoverished area of Memphis, Tenn., one of his players asked him if he was a “turkey person,” or someone whose acts of charity are temporary—they donate a turkey during the holidays and then drive back home.

“Don’t be a turkey person,” he told the crowd.