StoriesThatLift - Blog

The Principle – Actions that emphasize family first reward more than family.

Who doesn’t crave recognition and rewards? Quig was certainly not immune from those cravings. As a District Ranger in the Forest Service, the pathway to promotion and higher recognition was well established and certainly understood.

Kanosh, Utah Ranger District was small by today’s standards. Budget cuts, increasing communications options, and increased administrative pressures have resulted in consolidations among National Forests and Ranger Districts. A small district in the 1960’s might have a GS-11 District Ranger and 3-6 staff. While being a District Ranger carried with it some recognition and authority, after 10 years in place the lure of promotion, greater influence, and a welcome change pressed Quig to apply for other jobs.

I recall the day he announced that he had accepted a job on the Sawtooth National Forest in Idaho as Range Staff Officer – a promotion. There is little doubt that his superiors had exercised influence in getting him this offer. The announcement of this “opportunity” was made at the dinner table. My two older sisters looked like they had been shot. Both were in high school and were taken completely by surprise.

A few of the quotes I recall include: “Are we going to vote?” “Do I get any say in this?” “This will ruin my life!” “Why do we have to move?”

I don’t recall much coming from the boys. Perhaps that was because we were too young to realize what was happening. Or maybe we couldn’t get into the conversation with the way my older sisters were carrying on.

Quig remained calm but was obviously not expecting this reaction. He kept an eye on body language – especially of Audrey, his wife – and attempted to moderate the discussion as he had done so many times before. I cannot recount all the discussions nor actions that took place, but the outcome was announced the next morning at the breakfast table. Quig would place family first and turn down the promotion and move.

I never heard Quig say he regretted this decision. It was years later that I better understood the politics and ramifications of this choice. It wasn’t until I had personally worked for the Forest Service for a decade, that I learned his supervisor had told him by turning down this promotion he would never be promoted nor advanced beyond District Ranger. Even though the Kanosh and Fillmore Ranger Districts were combined while Quig was the District Ranger, it wasn’t until he retired that the combined District was reclassified as a GS-12. Quig retired as a GS-11 and the Ranger who replaced him was a GS-12.

I am not convinced that the family would have fallen apart or some dire consequences might have befallen us if Quig had accepted the promotion. What I am convinced is that this decision exemplifies how Quig treated his family. He did not complain nor carry on about this type of choice – it was just him.

Big decisions of this type stand out as a rather dramatic demonstration of family first, but that was more the icing on the cake than it was the substance of the cake itself. Quig’s every day actions demonstrated that he embraced the principle of family first.

I didn’t understand this until I had children of my own. As their lives got busy and their activities multiplied, I gained new appreciation for Quig and Audrey. It was a very rare day if they did not travel to witness a game, a presentation, or a performance of one of their kids - often times that meant dividing up and going different directions. The contrast with some of my friends was clear. A few of them could not recall a time their parents attended an activity that was away from Kanosh or Fillmore. Occasionally I had to beg to get them not to come watch me at an event I thought I might do poorly at. I even recall how disappointed they were to learn that the high school debate team would be traveling but they could not come witness the actual debates.

Q&A’s approach to family first was witnessed by more than the kids. Even as feeble grandparents they were present for events for grandchildren. Whenever school, church, or community events involved family everyone knew Q&A would be there supporting their family.

So with such great lessons before me, am I a shining example of this principle? I don’t think I stand out in any special way against the example of Q&A, but I try. I have many regrets about my chasing the career ladder and witnessing difficult times for my children. I often wonder whether my seeking a PhD or a national assignment was a root cause of later pain for my children and wife. I suspect it is. I can’t fully explain why I seem to be different than Q&A in some regards, but I think the family first principle is one I did not necessarily excel at. That does not mean that I somehow don’t embrace this principle. In fact I am confident it brings the correct balance in life. What I know personally though, is that it is hard to live by in all circumstances.

I still had my two youngest children at home when the call came asking that I meet with my boss, Jack Ward Thomas. As it turns out he had already been informed he was going to be named as the next Chief of the Forest Service. He had been on assignment under direction from then President Bill Clinton to help solve the Northern Spotted Owl issue in the Northwest. As that assignment was winding down, a new issue was surfacing regarding natural resource issues in the interior Columbia Basin. A new process was about to be launched that would cover portions of seven states and had the potential to help solve some pretty sticky problems. Jack told me he wanted me to lead the science team that was to undertake the scientific assessment of resource conditions in support of potential decisions regarding the management of Federal lands in the interior Columbia Basin.

My ego was stroked. I recall statements about very few could succeed at this, you are trusted by both science and management, you have established the example in leading the Blue Mountains Natural Resources Institute, and on and on. In hind sight I don’t think I followed Quig’s example very well at all. I had discussions with my wife and children but really did not give them much of a voice in the final outcome. I thought duty had called and I was going to treat this like the short term assignment that was promised. To make a long story short, I accepted a nine month assignment to be the Science Integration Team Leader for the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project (ICBEMP). The headquarters for this work was some 90 miles away from our home. I committed to rent an apartment during the week and commute home on the weekends.

I called Kerry, my wife, virtually every night. We talked about how the kids were doing in school and with all their projects – I even helped my son with math over the phone occasionally. The reality of the problem I had created in accepting this assignment did not fully hit me until it was clear the nine month assignment was really going to be more like a 2 or 3 year assignment (in the final analysis the assignment lasted for over 9 years). One evening Kerry explained to me a problem our daughter was having. I said “I will talk with her when I get their on Saturday.” Kerry was very clear “No you won’t. You are a visitor in this house! I will take care of this.”

I decided then and there that I needed to get the family back together again. We moved to be together but that meant uprooting our son during his freshman year in high school. The ICBEMP was threatened every year with closure. There was no ground swell of support to solve the natural resource problems of the Columbia Basin. In fact the entire Department of Agriculture went on furlough one year, in part, because Congress refused to fund the ICBEMP. All this brought out dances I had to do with Governors, Senators, Cabinet Officers, and local politicians. But the uncertainty of it all resulted in my son deciding to take on two years of high school credits so he could graduate at the end of his Junior year for fear he would be transferred again because of my job situation. That was stressful for him and for Kerry.

I learned a lot in those years. I even thought I understood what it meant to put family first. The reality was I did not. I have attempted many sessions of penance for these actions. I suppose only my family can really attest to whether I have successfully lived the principle.

Bottom Line – If you place family first in your life, your influence will be felt and appreciated well beyond your family. Indeed recognitions and rewards will still be yours.

Thomas M. Quigley