Introducing the Legacy Magazine’s 2020 MDI Man of the Year

Think for a moment. Who is that man, who in the past year you have seen them  in the trenches, living the mission, the core values, and is an example for successful families careers and communities?

Who is that man?

2020 is a time of separation, distance. Disconnection. Loneliness.

Then men discover a men’s team. They find connection, create bonds, show masculine intimacy, and support their men. It’s a great life, living on a men’s team. Then there are those men committed to make shit work. These men bring connection, communications, the logistics, and much more. We call them our S1s. The year 2020 required a new level of need from our S1s, and we are proud to acknowledge these men. These men are leaders in COLLABORATION!

Leading this initiative is Dave Smith, our International S1, captain of the International S1 Team.

Today, Mentor Discover and Inspire is bringing a growing number of men, from new, distant places. Let’s acknowledge the value these men provide, and let’s learn more about the men – nominated by us – that represent our finest.

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He had his international program (Team Leader Development) dissolved under his leadership and moved effortlessly into the role of International S-1 in a matter of days. Having never held the job of S-1 at any level, he has led the S-1s in MDI to be a cohesive unit taking on tasks and responsibility and collaborating in a way that has never before been seen in that program in MDI.

— Stan Snow

What this man is creating with the International S1 program is an evolution into S1s that are leaders over being taskmasters. Smith’s commitments are clear, and his actions are making a large impact on the entire MDI membership.

— Justin LaBarge

Dave Smith is a mature masculine man who lives our mission and core values by his willingness to collaborate with men and discover what is possible even if it may seem impossible.  He is a great mentor of the men around him and for me personally and always strives for excellence in all he does. I have spent many hours with Smith planning and creating and collaborating to create online systems for MDI that work to run the organization and he is always a pleasure to work with.

— Denis Moreau

Dave Smith was in San Diego for the Internationals as the VP of the Team Development program in January, 2020.  During that meeting his program was ended unceremoniously and he was out of a role.  The International S1 role had recently become available.  Smith had never been an S1 at the Region, Division, or even team level.  The way that Smith had shown up as mature masculine in that environment was an example to us all.  The President and the rest of the core team didn’t want to lose Dave from the International Core Team and offered him the role of International S1 and he took it.  This is typical of Dave Smith, he serves MDI and the families and communities that we serve, selflessly and without any recognition.  He’s a quiet man, but his commitment is loud.  He’s quite simply one of the best men I have ever met and he has been serving men and communities in MDI and our predecessor organization for at least 26 years.I don’t have specifics about how Dave may have promoted MDI in some public way, I’m sure he has, but I don’t know about it and he would never tell you about it, he would just quietly do it.  We could not pick a better man of the year, if awards aren’t for taking heroes that work in the shadows, out of the shadows, what are they for?

— Geoff Tomlinson

Dave Smith started the year as the Vice President of Team Development for Mentor Discover Inspire (MDI).  However, through no fault of his own, the program was ended, and he was out of a job.  There was an opening for International S-1 and Smith accepted the position.  Smith was now the International S-1 but he hadn’t risen through the ranks in the S-1 Program.  Smith’s experience was with building and supporting teams and he wasted no time in building the Regional S-1’s into a world class team.  When the pandemic forced us to stop meeting face to face, Smith and his team organized the distribution and scheduling of Zoom lines for every men’s team and leadership team in MDI and they did it in just a few days.  The Regional S-1’s have taken on providing Zoom admin services and training to our international training courses & town halls.  Finally, Smith’s team is responsible for maintaining and updating our membership rolls to ensure accuracy of our records and integrity between MDI and its members.  Smith and his team have redefined what it means to be an S-1 and have brought honor upon themselves and Mentor Discover Inspire.

— Benjamin Estes