I definitely think that the best definition of success is contentment. The happiness of knowing that you are working toward your goal, doing your best at all times and knowing that you have done a good job.
-Charles Glover
Heroes for Humanity, and the world, lost a true hero with a passion for journalism, business and philanthropy, with the passing of our beloved Charles Glover.
Co-founder and visionary of Heroes for Humanity, Chuck was a courageous and powerful man, with a loving heart. From the time we are children, many of us dream of leaving a lasting legacy in the world. He did just that.
Chuck Glover was a role model to so many who have guided Cox’s newspapers,” said Jay R. Smith, president of Cox Newspapers Inc. “He taught us that a newspaper’s service to readers came first. Profitability essential to maintaining a strong newspaper would follow, he said. We believed him and tried to meet the high and tough standards he always set. For no one wanted to disappoint Chuck, given the deep admiration and respect he deserved.”
Chuck grew up in Dayton Ohio, where his mother was a teacher and his father a housepainter. After serving with the Navy in the Pacific in World War II, and then completing his degree at Ohio University, Chuck began as a cub reporter at The Daily News. It wasn’t long before the editor of the Dayton Daily News asked him to be managing editor; he says Chuck was “one of the most brilliant newspaper men I had ever seen. He had an extremely quick mind, great sense of humor, but he also had real managerial and leadership ability.”
Over the years, Chuck held many posts at Cox, ultimately becoming editor-in-chief of Cox Newspapers, a publishing group that included 21 dailies. In a column in 1970, editor Jim Fain described Chuck as “one of those citizens who keeps struggling away so that life can be a little better for all those trapped in the human condition, and he has done as much for honest newspapering as anyone I know, but he is a guy who is seldom at a loss for a phrase … and has a rapture in the ridiculous that is a joy to behold.”
Chuck’s son, Mark Glover, automotive editor of the Sacramento Bee, said one of the most amazing things about his father was his ability to balance his newspaper work with family life. “I now know what he did was pretty much impossible,” said Mark Glover. “He achieved enormous success professionally at the same time he still managed to spend a great amount of time with his family. He was there for baseball games and school plays.”
“He was my hero on a lot of levels. I will miss him but I will always carry his lessons with me.”
We at Heroes for Humanity feel the same way. We cherish the time we had with Chuck and thank him for the leadership, inspiration, and support he always provided. He was our champion, our mentor, our friend and our truest hero.
In honor of this great humanitarian, friend and mentor we’d like to share our final interview with Chuck. We think you’ll see just how special he was to us.
Why do you think that Heroes for Humanity is so important?
I have been involved in this program for almost four years now. To be in these troubled times, people are seeking good news. Certainly, we have enough bad news. I think people want to feel good about things and they want to admire heroes. I believe that Heroes for Humanity accomplishes that goal for feel-good, positive news.
The whole concept of heroes has changed since 911, given the fact that the NY firemen and policemen risked and, in many cases, gave their lives to save people in those Twin Trade Towers. So I know that we are on the side of the angels on this one.”
What qualities do you think make a great leader?
“A great leader is one who sets goals, then finds people to join him or her in achieving those goals. A leader is one makes it very clear to his people what he expects or she expects of them.
When I first became publisher of the papers in Dayton Ohio, the guy that succeeded me used to take a vote on decisions. He took a vote so, when something went wrong, he could say that they all voted for it. My first meeting I said, I’ve got all the votes. I will listen to you, but I have all the votes. I told them, I am not going to ask for undated resignations. That is probably too extreme, but I do have a club in the closet. If you make me open the door and I show you the club, you are in trouble.
When I was a young, as a member of a Navy assault unit in the Pacific, I came to admire Winston Churchill a great deal. He precisely gathered the support of the English people. He told them of Hitler and Hitlers desire to conquer their island. He told them there must be war and then sent then into battle. Winston Churchill offered the English people nothing but blood, tears, sweat and toil. He told them concisely, “Therefore, let us brace ourselves to our duties and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say that This was their finest hour.” Winston Churchill made it clear what he expected of the English. So, I came to admire him as a great leader.
Later in my life, I knew a young teenager named Danny McCormick, who was a friend of one of my sons. One winter day in Ohio, he turned his back into the wind on a highway, was hit by a car and became a quadriplegic. Danny has since had the courage to go on and graduate from college. He has several graduate degrees, has written a book and still writes with a pencil in his mouth tapping out the characters. Courage makes a great leader.
Can you talk about setting goals and how that empowers peoples lives?
Well, I think that you set goals and sometimes goals are hard to achieve. I think what matters most sometimes is that you just take chances. You research the facts before you take that risk; therefore, the odds are pretty good that you are going to succeed. You know, the last thing that I used to hate to hear is that it cant be done.
I remember a strike on the newspaper in Dayton. The teamsters struck the newspaper and stopped delivery for seven days. I crossed the teamster picket line and broke the strike on the eighth day. Everyone said it could not be done. The newspaper had me under guard and my house under guard. The teamsters had me tagged as number 99. I put on a T-shirt with 99 on it and had a truck filled with guards and the newspapers. We crossed that picket line to the post office, sent the papers through the mail and let the Feds deliver them. The teamsters did not dare interfere with the Federal government. That is the sort of thing that you do. You take some risks. I set that goal, figured out a way to achieve it and found the right people willing to help me.
How do you define success?
Success I guess is what makes you happy. Not necessarily tied to compensation. You set a goal and you achieve that goal. I would like to think that you find contentment in that achievement. No matter which level of society that you are in, I think success is working hard and feeling that you have accomplished something. It does not matter if you are a CEO or in any other position. You do your job the best that you can, no matter what your job, in order to advance to a better position.
I definitely think that the best definition of success is contentment. The happiness of knowing that you are working toward your goal, doing your best at all times and knowing that you have done a good job.
They also say that to be a success in business you should tend to be good to the people going up because you may meet them again on the way down.
Who is the person who had the biggest effect on your life?
My mother had the biggest effect on my life. She had polio as a teenage and was crippled all 95 years of her life. Within her difficult circumstances during the Depression, she lived in a rooming house and shared a bathroom with two other families. She had a two-year college degree, and she told me of the better things in life. She bought books for me. She bought the complete set of Stephens and Mark Twain for me. My mother paid a quarter a week for them, which was an immense amount of money considering the times and our poor economic state. She was my true inspiration in life.
Chuck always said that Heroes for Humanity was on the side of the angels, and now we know we know its true.
From all of us at Heroes for Humanity, we love you Chuck