Bull Gap Journal is a special feature on RadioAlabama’s family of brands including SylacaugaNews.com, MIX 106.5, and KiX 100.3 created by Robert Holmes (Brig. Gen. USAF, Ret.). Watch and listen to Bull Gap Journal and subscribe to the free newsletter below.
A note from Bob…
I’m Robert Holmes. I’m a Sylacauga native, a retired Air Force Brigadier General and a veteran. Some of you know me as Bob.
After a long-time watching people — sometimes following, sometimes leading — it’s time for me to remember people and lessons along the way that made a difference in my life. It’s time for plain-and-simple thinking about life-lessons that seemed to work — and a learning moment on ones that didn’t.
After leaving home around fifty years ago, my wife, Colleen, and I came back to Sylacauga and settled on the edge of the Talladega National Forest. Just a few miles north of our place, there’s a gap between Rebecca Mountain and Herds Mountain called Bull Gap. The rising terrain is challenging with plenty of deep ravines (“hollers” around here) and winding creek beds. Bull Gap is a trailhead for hikers today.
Growing up here, I spent time in the woods around Bull Gap. So, coming home, it just seems right to capture my thoughts on life and leadership in the Bull Gap Journal.
Three decades of serving alongside great Americans taught me a lot about life – about “following” — about “leading.”
It taught me about the power of teams and the power of the human spirit — about the will to do. This living classroom was in the middle of organizations, both large and small, watching people do incredible things.
To see people — to see myself — at our best sometimes, learning from our not-so-good times.
I have a deep sense of gratitude first to the people who took the time to teach me; whether it was a four-star or a two-striper. They trusted me and gave me “permission” to lead and learn.
These are some of those stories and life-lessons I have learned along the way. I hope they inspire you to be a better ‘you’ and help impact others in your life as well.
Thanks for reading and listening to the Bull Gap Journal and Godspeed!
– Bob
