What It Means to Be a Vistage Chair | 2025 Don Cope Award Winner Beth Adkisson

Our 2025 Cup Award winner is someone who's built a legacy of excellence and caring, chairing nine groups in 2025 with a total of 103 members, including four CE groups and five leadership development programs. Beth Ason. Yes. — When I was little, I read a poem, I shall not live in vain by Emily Dickinson. And it was about saving one bird from falling off the nest. Making the difference, helping one person be the best they can be. So, it's not about me. It's about helping them see how to be the best they can be. And when that happens, it doesn't get any better for me. When a whole person walks in that door and you can't bifrocate that person and what's going on inside, it's kind of like the iceberg. On the outside, you only see a small part, but what's on the inside is really important. For example, when we do host presentations, I have them talk about their family. How did they get to where they are now? So we can understand the person, you know, to be listened to. There isn't anything better. And so like at a one:1, I want to be fully present. The place could be burning down and I just want to be with you. It's been a journey and so many people have held my hand and walked with me. They've been there through the good times, the hard times, through the deaths and celebrations, and they've challenged me to be the best that I can be. Where else can you find a community like that? I'll get emotional. When I first became a chair, I looked up on the stage at my first annual conference and I saw the Cocoa Award winners and I thought, "One day, one day if I could be the chair of chairs, how great would that be?