Last Week's Meeting
“My name is Bill,” U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson (R, Marietta) told Rotarians while encouraging them to “continue to be leaders of progress and reason.”
Since 2011, Johnson has represented the 6th district, which spans a portion of Mahoning County and follows the Ohio River south to Lawrence County. As a result of redistricting and the loss of a congressional seat in Ohio, the 6th District has been redrawn and will include all of Mahoning and Trumbull counties. New maps will be in place for the 2022 election cycle.
Nouns and adjectives can be used to describe leadership, Johnson said. The nouns of leadership include positions held by elected officials. The adjectives describe characteristics of persons who “inspire, motivate, get results” and “care more about others than their own political interests. … We put far too many nouns in charge in Washington, D.C. and Columbus.”
Johnson believes too many of his colleagues on both sides of the aisle lack real-life experience. Congress contains more attorneys and career politicians than business owners and military veterans. Of the imbalance, “it is not inherently wrong, but it explains why America’s problems aren’t getting solved.” Business persons who don't meet customers’ needs go out of business, he observed. Veterans (including Johnson, who served in the U.S. Air Force) employ strategic thinking and demonstrate leadership in accomplishing missions, he added.
Leadership, strategic thinking and meeting needs are “what makes Rotarians important,” Johnson said.
RCY member Bonnie Deutsch Burdman, who introduced Johnson, observed that he has authored 18 bills that ultimately have been signed into law by various presidents.
