A lesson of inclusion from my father still resonates with me.

My father turns 80 today. He was born to Ermilia "Emily" DeDominic and Saverio "Sam" Monastero in Norristown, Pennsylvania on November 24, 1940.

My Dad played many roles in his life and still does to this day. A water ice truck entrepreneur in his youth. Factory worker. Construction team member. Salesman. Manager. Director. Labor Relations MBA from an Ivy League institution and a Fortune 500 IT executive who brought increased diversity and inclusion to Xerox. These days he’s a retired gourmet chef.

I was 8 when my father gave me an administrative task, to sort giant index cards from job applicants. The cards were of various shapes, textures, and colors

Maybe it was the look in my wide eyes and a tilt of the head about putting the cards in various piles according to various characteristics for later counting. I recall him saying something simple enough for a young kid could understand: "It's important to our company, and for all companies, to improve and ID how well we recruit women and minorities. This makes our company better." I think he added something like, "It's not easy because some people don't want this change."

Happy 80th Birthday, Dad.