Who is Gradon Tripp’s mentor?

June 2nd, 2009 · 3 Comments · Career

[This post is part of a series on Mentors and Heroes]

Gradon Tripp does fundraising at Firstgiving, and is the founder and editor of DesignBoston. He is also the founder of Social Media for Social Change (SM4SC), an organization that leverages the power of social media to raise awareness for worthy causes. Follow him on Twitter @gradontripp.

Gradon Tripp’s mentor is…

Marc Marshall, Sales Manager

How long have you known each other and how did you first meet?
We first met in 2001. I was referred to work at the same car dealership he worked at. In fact, I was referred there because he worked there. He passed away in 2006.

How would you describe how you related to your mentor?
I was definitely an apprentice. This was my first automotive sales job, and he taught me what it was to work a little-respected job – sales – with a high level of class.

How formal or structured was the mentorship? Did Marc know you consider him a mentor?
We met with the intention of his tutelage.

What is one piece of advice your mentor gave you that has stuck with you the most?
On my first day, he sat me down and asked me, “What is your job?” “Um, selling cars?” I replied. “No, your job is taking care of your family. This,” he said, waving his hand around the dealership, “is what you do to allow you to do your job.” No matter how busy we were with work, how involved each of us had to be, he could always balance his work life with his family life.

What else do you want the world to know about your mentor?
The last line of a blog post I wrote about his passing said, “I only hope that I can be half the man Marc Marshall was.” That still holds true. He was a great business man, and a fantastic father.

Thank you Gradon for sharing your mentor with us!