If the spot’s still open, here’s my candidate for the Time Magazine “Man of the Year”: Fresno County School Supervisor, Larry Powell.

In case you missed it, this person decided to let go of $800000 in salary over the next three and a half years. The reason for his decision? He didn’t need it and he wanted to protect his pet projects from budget cuts and help restore faith in government officials.

In an era of political corruption scandals and massive unemployment in his region, Mr. Powell was looking to make a difference. While others look to take more out of the system, he decided to put some back. Among the projects he wanted to protect, is one geared to getting B and C students into college by teaching them note-taking and strategy skills.

“How much do we need to keep accumulating?” That’s the question that drives the Powell’s decision. To achieve his plan, he worked out a deal to retire and then get hired back at a much lower wage. In fact, he will be earning just $31000 a year. That’s about $10000 less than the starting salary for a teacher in the district.

There are two things that set him apart in my book. One is the realization that just because you can command a massive salary it doesn’t mean you should. In a cash strapped region, he and his wife decided they had all they needed and had no reason to take more. It’s hard to imagine a more radical idea in today’s world.

Oh wait, there is ONE idea that’s more radical, and it’s the other big reason he should receive “Man of the Year”. Mr. Powell didn’t feel the need to tell anyone what he was doing. It wasn’t until four days after the board meeting, that word got out. When it seems everyone is fighting for the spotlight, he didn’t feel the need. There were no press conferences to tell everyone what a great thing he was doing. Instead of a publicity stunt that could have landed him on half the talk-shows in the country, the privacy of his action is the hallmark of it’s authenticity.

Larry Powell: Time Magazine’s Man of the Year! Probably not, but he should be. He would make a great role model for us all.

Cheers, Winston