Be the Best that You Can
When a giant of a man, tells you to "BE THE BEST THAT YOU CAN" you tend to listen. Last week's special program featured James Donaldson. At 7ft. 2inches in height, James towers over everyone that he meets on this day at our regularly scheduled Friday morning meeting. And, a Rotarian from the Bejing, China Noon Club. James spends about 9 months a year in China coordinating youth interest in basketball especially for the disadvantaged.
A star basketball player in high school and at Washington State University from 1975-79, From the college ranks to the NBA, drafted in 1979 as the 73rd overall pick by the Seattle SuperSonics. He played in the NBA with a number of clubs and several teams in Europe. James spent 20 years in the NBA where the usual amount of time is 3-5 years. No one voluntarily retires in the NBA. He is involved in One and Done program which translates to less than 5% of the players make it to the NBA. So working with the NBA, he mentors players who are no longer on in the game. Imagine, playing 3-5 years being in your early to mid 20's and you are out of the game. Most are broke by their 30's. Hard to know the direction to go from there. Most of the mentoring revolves around getting them to finish their college career and moving on in a different career and direction.
After his pro NBA career and a run at politics as a candidate for Mayor in Seattle, James devotes the majority of his time to community activities and operating the Donaldson Clinic which offers physical therapy services. He is a strong supporter of women and minority owned businesses, involved in numerous Chambers of Commerce and Rotary, he understands what it takes to sustain a strong business environment that is conducive to the success of business operations overall. He admits that in China you have to be careful what you say and again what you teach. He commented that college students should not be unionized but enhance the compensation to the college athletes including insurance that covers major injuries.
James is working on bringing more NBA players to China to train and work with the youth. Another program he is involved in is that there are about 1,500 retired NBA players to put together a One on One challenge with current NBA players and using it as a mentoring program for old and new NBA members. During James' presentation, there was an exchange of Rotary Club banners. This is one giant of a man and one of the nicest you will ever meet. So, he has exhibited his theme of "Be the Best that You Can". In 2010, James was the recipient of the NBA Legends of Basketball ABC Award, awarded for outstanding contributions in Athletics-Business-Community.