Spotlight COlorado  

Have You Met?

Was it fate? Kismet? Who knows for sure? When Bob and Laurel were both at Princeton, Bob first noticed Laurel sitting across a large study room at the library. They again saw each other at group outings. One group gathering led to a night when by circumstance they were alone and talked until the wee hours of the morning. The next date they went to the movie – “the Gods Must be Crazy” – and according to our interviewees,  “they” must have been. But since then it’s been an adventure and a wonderful marriage.

Bob and Laurel Davis-Mayo also married their well educated background and their passion to help others to benefit people, businesses and nonprofits.
Laurel’s parents were both on the faculty at Penn State and always evinced a  concern about the poor and those living at the margins of society. Laurel’s father advised her to get a job where she could support herself and accounting provided just such an avenue. Laurel was greatly influenced by her parents’ commitment to those in need.   It’s an interesting juxtaposition to compare the stringent rules of accounting with the more esoteric thoughts of philosophy and religion. But it’s a situation that Laurel has mastered with ease.
She has been active with Bread for the World, Church World Service (where she has worked on the committee of the “Harvest of Hope” annual dinner),  the Community Ministry Food Bank and the Mountain Area Land Trust. Laurel’s smile exudes her belief that “we are exactly where we want to be.”
Bob serves as President of Davis-Mayo Associates, LLC, a national human and organization development firm. Earlier in his career Bob taught in an international school in England with students from 42 countries and staff from 25 countries. He also counseled hundreds of couples and brings a depth of understanding of human behavior to all he does.
Bob has run two companies, two non-profits and held senior level responsibilities in a $14 billion Fortune 500 company. Over the years, Bob’s flagship customer service programs have been experienced by over 429,000 people in 47 states and 15 countries. Obviously he’s on the road a lot, but loves to come to their home in Evergreen which has a great western view of the mountains, including Mt. Evans.
One of the insights that I took from Bob’s experience was the fact that “thinking together is different than thinking alone.” While this sounds simple, the implementation is not always easy – but the outcome is always beneficial. Those wanting to know more about this approach should look to:   www.davismayoassociates.com
It’s easy to see that organizations (big or small) or individuals can benefit by working with the Davis-Mayo team.

 

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
• This isn’t really a question we dwell upon.  We do know that happiness is very much related to one’s expectations – of life, of relationship, of others – and that in great part, happiness is a choice.   Ghandi said,   “Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony.”  That resonates with us.

What is your greatest fear?
• Bob:  I see fear as an opportunity to take a peek at how we’re fooling ourselves about the amount of control we think we have, and what we’re attached to in unrealistic ways.

What is the trait you most admire in others?
• Bob:   Not taking their “self” seriously.
• Laurel:  Self awareness, non-judgment toward others, and a sense of humor about oneself.

When and where were you happiest?
• In the now.  We try to be present in each moment.  Being quietly in nature is where we find our ultimate joy.

If not in Colorado, where would you like to live?
• Bob:  New England or the Southwest –but they are both a very distant second to the Rockies.
• Laurel:  Nowhere!  The Rocky Mountains are my soul’s home.  When I visited Colorado for the first time, I said to Bob, “Why live anywhere else if we can live here?”  It’s the perfect combination of beauty, climate, blue sky and the dearth of humidity and mosquitoes.  (And since I’m allergic to mosquitoes, that last one is a biggie!)  A year after our first Colorado vacation together, we quit our jobs out east, sold most of our earthly possessions and drove cross country with a U-Haul Trailer. 

Which living person do you most admire?
• Laurel:  Bob, for his ability to think and live “outside the box” and take risks.  Because of that, our life together has been a wonderful adventure!
• Bob:  Honestly, I admire no one in particular (after counseling so many people and couples earlier in my life, nothing in human nature surprises me).  But, I do admire many wonderful traits in many wonderful people that pop up over and over again.

The most romantic gift I ever received?
• Laurel:  Bob surprised me this fall at the Harvest of Hope when he sponsored a school in Africa in my honor.

What is your greatest extravagance or indulgence?  Definitely travel for both of us.

What do you most value in your friends?
• Laurel:  Acceptance of my foibles, and a sense of humor about life.
• Bob:  Laurel is my best friend and soul mate.  I value her just being here on a daily basis.  As for other friends… open, flowing and somewhat transparent dialog.

What is it that you most dislike?
• Laurel: Runny egg yolks and mean people.
• Bob:   Hard egg yolks.

What adage captures your experience in life?
• Bob:  I often tell people with whom I’m working, “Those things about which we are aware, we can make choices; those things about which we are unaware will control us.”
• Laurel:  "It is not doing the thing we like to do, but liking the thing we have to do, that makes life blessed."  -Goethe