My hero Jane
"Kathy...what's the temperature in Florida this morning?....71 and sunny you say?...Why it's 17 degree below zero here and that's not even factoring in the wind chill factor!"
So joked my beloved friend, fellow mother and bullying/workplace violence prevention advocate Jane Brady Nosal from the upper peninsula in Wisconsin where she'd just celebrated Christmas with her wonderful eldest child Amy.
Jim, Caroline forever 24, Amy and Jane Brady Nosal.
We discussed our goals for the Workplace Violence Prevention Institute in 2018. I briefed Jane on a few things and she seemed pleased. That in turn pleased me as Jane's opinion carries a lot of weight.
Jane and I spoke a bit longer and then wished each other all good things just like we always did whenever we chatted on the telephone.
Jane is my hero.
No one you see has to inform Jane of the epidemic and tragedy that is workplace violence. Jane knows. She's a victim. Jane is the ultimate victim of workplace violence.
On February 2, 2016 her precious daughter Caroline just 24 was brutally gunned down as she left work by a former co-worker who'd bullied and apparently blamed Jane's daughter for his dismissal from his job 24 hours earlier.
If Jane would have retreated to her bed never to be seen again after that horrible night I don't think anyone would blame her.
But that's not Jane.
Chicago native Jane Brady Nosal, a formidable woman.
Jane cares about people. Just like Caroline did. Jane looks after people. Just like Caroline did.
The proverbial apple didn't fall far from the tree.
Jane raised an incredible daughter, a young lady who would have made an exceptional prosecutor.
"Carrie" you see couldn't look away when she saw injustice. She did something about it. She always did.
For instance: As a high school student, Carrie spoke up when a fellow student was falsely accused of theft. She could have looked the other way and not gotten involved.
Carrie did get involved. She'd served as a witness in juvenile court for the girl. Jane beamed when she told me the story. The girl was found not guilty. Carrie's testimony undoubtedly had a lot to do with that.
Rather than retreating to her bed after losing her remarkable daughter my friend Jane is doing something about the growing tragedy that is workplace violence.
Jane the advocate and philanthropist works in her daughter's memory and in a way continues Caroline's mission of helping others.
Jane is centrally involved in the WVPI because she doesn't ever want any other mother to have to ever walk in her shoes.
Carrie and Jane.
Having had the privilege of leading three WVPI programs in 2017 featuring Jane, I can say without reservation that when Jane speaks people listen. You can't help but listen to Jane.
Jane Brady Nosal: A truly magnificent woman I am proud to call friend.
Looking forward to 2018 with you dear Jane...