Sunday Read: Senator Elizabeth Dole is taking care of a lot of mothers

On Mother's Day it's important to honor those who serve so many and more

Caring for mothers too

With it being Mother’s Day I was thinking about some of the incredible mothers and women I’ve known over the years. I have been blessed with three strong moms in my life along with my own but I’ve also had the privilege to get to know some remarkable mothers. My mind circled back to a particular woman this week who has taken so many mothers under her wing in a truly unique way.

This past week the Elizabeth Dole Foundation held their 8^th National Convening on military and veteran caregivers. Launched in 2012, the Dole Foundation is now the preeminent organization in the nation supporting and advocating for the estimated 5.5 million military caregivers in our country. These are the spouses, parents, family members, and friends who care for America’s wounded, ill, or injured veterans.

Senator Dole has made it her life’s mission to be a fierce advocate for the women and men working hard in the shadows with the fallout of war and military service. With an incredible team she has changed lives. I am incredibly fortunate to have been there at the very beginning and it all started with an act of generosity that has paid back in a dozen ways since.

Senator Dole speaking last week at the 8th National Convening

You want me to meet who?

In 2011 I founded a small public relations and advocacy firm run out of my basement called ScoutComms. My idea was to focus on supporting military and veterans efforts from the companies that fund them to the nonprofits that do the work. We picked up a few clients quickly by partnering with a larger firm and being the military guy on their team for defense work as well.

One of my founding principles was to use our skills to do pro bono work and volunteer in the community. Not long after launching I got a call from a young man named Geoff Ball, a student at George Washington University. He was organizing a day of service on campus for student veterans and others to partner with local nonprofits and conduct projects around Washington D.C. He asked if I could help, and he went big.

The day was a huge success with attendees including the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and a host of the top veteran-serving groups in the capital region. I ended up mostly being Geoff’s driver around town because he was frantically working the phones and was scaring the absolute hell out of me.

We remain friends to this day. One day the next spring he called me out of the blue. He had scored an amazing internship in town with a new group that was only about three weeks from launching but were hitting some headwinds. He wondered if I would be interested in coming in to talk to the leadership and see if we couldn’t roll in on such short notice and help.

As you know from previous notes, my most cursed phrase is always, ‘How hard can it be?’ I immediately said yes even before asking who it was and what they were doing. He told me it was Senator Elizabeth Dole and she was launching a foundation to support military caregivers. I was like, “wait, what?” The Libby Dole? The former Senator? The former Secretary of Labor AND Transportation? The wife of Senator Bob Dole? That Elizabeth Dole?

Yes.

So, off I went to the Watergate office building to meet the foundation’s team. After a brief meeting with her temporary executive director and the incredibly young but talented team, the Senator herself came and sat right next to me at the conference table.

I don’t know what you’ve heard about Libby Dole, but one thing you will hear from everyone who meets her is that she is the kindest, sweetest, most soft spoken, human tornado you will ever know. She has a way of gently dragging you into anything she proposes, and you will do it with a smile on your face and your heart bigger for the experience. That day was no different.  

I found out that when Bob had fell ill the previous year, they had spent several months in Walter Reed. The Senator would visit him each day and met dozens of young women, parents, and even friends, of wounded and ill service members. They were trying to navigate the system with little to no support after being thrown into this difficult situation with little notice or preparation. She was spurred to action.

After an hour of chatting, we were in, and off and running. I won’t get into the details, but it was a whirlwind of work and stress from arranging a celebrity surprise that fell through because of a threatened snowstorm to showing up for a finale luncheon at the Army Navy Club to find out they didn’t even have it on the books! Incredibly, it all worked out and her bright idea was off the ground in spectacular fashion.

Not where the story ends

The launch was one of those projects I’ve done over the years that I knew would be a one-off, as her goal was to hire in-house a professional staff that would handle it all in the future. I was happy to be part of it. We learned a ton about managing that level of client with a national media focus, and interacting with the Secretary of Defense, Veterans Affairs, and celebrities. It was a great mission and one I treasure to this day.

Once you are part of Elizabeth Dole’s family, you are in for good and for the next eight years that I owned that firm she was always there for me. She would enthusiastically read our weekly newsletter and send notes to me through a staffer on what articles she found most interesting and informative.

Each year we would host a reception to celebrate our founding anniversary and Mrs. Dole would show up early, have a glass of wine, meet, and take pictures with as many guests as wanted and then quietly go back to Bob at the Watergate. Like clockwork. The most loyal and supportive friend.

Me and Senator Dole at Scout Social, our annual event in 2018

When things popped up that needed a little messaging finesse her amazing Executive Director, Steve Schwab, would give me a call and ask me to come down and meet with Mrs. Dole and help sort things out. I was sitting behind her as she testified to the Senate for the first time along with actor Ryan Phillipe. I was standing in group with her and Tom Hanks at their first annual gala. I had the good fortune to be there.

Then the pandemic struck. I made my way to New York City to serve as the Administrative Chief-of-Staff of New York Presbyterian Ryan F. Larkin Field Hospital, leaving my firm in the capable hands of my directors. They mentioned in the weekly newsletter that I had jumped into the fray in New York and word spread quickly.

That night as we frantically put the finishing touches on opening the hospital for our first patients the next morning, my phone rang from a Washington D.C. number. I answered to hear that soft North Carolina accent, “Fred, this is Elizabeth Dole and I heard you’ve gone to New York and just wanted to call and thank you.”

I shushed the crowded room and chatted with her for five minutes before we got back to work. It meant the world to me to be thought of with all she manages. That’s Elizabeth Dole for you.

Doing Big Things

Today Senator Dole is taking care of thousands and thousands of mothers, as well as wives, sisters, brothers, fathers, friends and even children who have the thankless task of caring for veteran or service member who has been injured or fallen ill. When she and Steve started we didn’t even know how many there actually were, so their first order of business was commissioning a study to find out. Since then, they have racked up win after win with impactful legislation that is changing lives.

Each year they select caregivers from across the country to serve as fellows and represent their peers in Washington D.C. and the halls of power. As Mrs. Dole so eloquently says from her decades of public service, “The best public policy is made when you are listening to the people who are going to be impacted."

I used to tell the story of meeting Senator Dole and supporting her foundation when I gave seminars on entrepreneurship. The lesson was that everyone matters and even that young college student and intern can open unimaginable doors of opportunity in your life and work. Geoff Ball went on to join the Marine Corps as an infantry officer, and was the commander of the brave Marines and sailors we lost in Afghanistan at the airport on August 21st, 2021.

Geoff and I are still in touch today and it’s my honor to be connected.

On this Mother’s Day, I wanted to honor someone who is in the trenches fighting for the many others who are doing the difficult work of caring for my sisters and brothers in arms. So, raise a toast to your mother, and hit it again for Senator Dole and her wonderful team as well. Check out their website to learn more and support her important work.

Notes:

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