McCauslin set a stellar example as mentor, volunteer
Published 10:42 am Wednesday, January 28, 2009
By Staff
Thomas J. McCauslin, 77, passed away on Dec. 30, 2008, surrounded by his loving family.
He was my mentor and friend.
Whether you knew Tom or not, you, or someone you love, has most likely benefited from the countless hours of volunteer work he did for organizations in the Cassopolis community.
To name a few, he was instrumental in the fundraising effort to construct the Cass County Council on Aging building on Decatur Road.
He served on the Cass Medical Care Facility Board of Directors, which benefited from his sound business sense and financial knowledge.
I knew him as a member and president of Cassopolis Family Clinic Board of Directors.
Long before I knew him, Tom and a handful of other community leaders built a medical building at 109 School St. in Cassopolis, and then set out to recruit physicians.
They envisioned having family physicians who would live and work in Cassopolis, who would build a successful medical practice and call Cassopolis home.
Along came Dr. Aaron Warren and Dr. Lowell Smith in 1964.
The clinic that Tom envisioned in 1960 is celebrating its 45th year of service to the community and is now a federally- funded Community Health Center providing care for more than 6,000 patients from Cass and southeast Berrien counties, and now operates a second clinic in Niles, which provides obstetrical medical care for 336 pregnant women covered by the Michigan Medicaid program.
Tom served as president of the Board of Directors from 1992 to 2007, stepping aside due to health concerns.
Over the years, what started as a private practice grew into group practice, then a Rural Health Clinic, then an affiliate company of Lakeland Regional Health System and, finally, a stand-alone corporation designated as a Community Health Center in September of 2007.
Tom stayed actively involved with the board and was interested in the success of the clinic up until his death.
He and his family were patients here over the years.
He cared about the quality of medical care and the professionalism and friendliness of the staff.
When things were good, he'd say so.
When they weren't, he'd say so.
But you could always count on his honest opinions.
His friendship will be missed.
As a mentor, I grieve his loss.
He was always direct, understanding, supportive, encouraging and he reminded me to focus on how far we'd come, not just on what I didn't know.
He taught me about finance; how to demonstrate the value of the clinic, and how to consolidate vast amounts of data into one or two important messages that people could remember.
He was funny, too, and easy to talk with. He loved to tease and argue. Anyone who knew him knew they could get him going by merely mentioning anything in the news that had to do with politics.
They say a good mental exercise is to write your own obituary, imagine the things you would like people to say about you and then live your life accordingly.
Who knows if Tom ever did that?
Did he realize the impact he had on so many people? As his health failed, I made it a point to let him know how much he meant to me.
I told him how much I appreciated and respected him and thanked him for his time and his guidance.
Maybe we can learn from Tom's example of volunteering and mentoring.
While he was doing what he loved to do, mentoring and sharing his knowledge, he helped me and countless others learn to be better business people.
He made the Cassopolis community a better place.
I'll miss Tom, but his words of encouragement remain in my head: "Think of how far we've come, not just what you don't know."
Don't let the chance of volunteering and mentoring pass you by. Follow Tom's example.
Share your gift of knowledge with some organization or someone who needs you.