If you’ve had the good fortune of meeting Bladen Online founder Robert G. Hester, you know you’ve made a friend for life and met a man who can get things done.
Whether it was giving aspiring young broadcasters a chance to spin records at WBLA radio more than three decades ago, leading the county as chairman of the Bladen County commissioners, helping people throughout the state’s 100 counties as director of member services for the N.C. Association of County Commissioners for a quarter century, volunteering as a youth baseball coach, helping local non-profits such as Bladen We Care, being an active church member, or having the vision, along with the late Michael Simmons, to start Bladen Online eight years ago, Hester, who is now in his 70s, is a man still on the go. And still making friends.
Hester was featured recently on Dan Kenney’s Coach4ADay blog. Kenney, who was a college basketball coach for 23 years, including a stint at UNC-Pembroke, and also served as UNCP’s athletics director for 15 before becoming the school’s chief of staff in 2012, set out to learn about a friend of a friend.
Kenney, who lives in Lumberton, believes that his good friends have good friends. In his Aug. 8 post, Kenney wrote about his friend Ken Windley, who spent most of his career working in county and city government, which included a seven-year stint as Robeson County manager.
Windley, of course, knew Hester since both worked in government. So, Kenney, who is friends with Windley, learned about Hester.
Kenney writes: “If you want to find two men that know what it is like to lead sometimes in a dysfunctional setting talk to Robert Hester and Ken Windley. They will not complain about the setting they will just advise you on how to get results. The two of them are connected in helping communities get results. We need to always be on the look out for leaders like them.”
A Friend of a Friend: Robert Hester-Ken Windley – https://coach4aday.wordpress.
Dan Kenney’s Coach4ADay blog – https://coach4aday.wordpress.
Share this article using the shortlink: https://bladencounty.org/?p=21831
About Author
