The Magic of NAJAC: Donna Ross and Rob Montgomery

[Uncle Marv]
Friendship is not about how long you've been together. It's about the moments that make you feel like time stands still. Hello friends, and welcome back to another episode of Uncle Marv's Unfamous Podcast.

Today, I have two guests that you'll be hearing, each with a rich history and some long and deep connections to NAJAC and Junior Achievement. Now, listeners of the show may be asking, Marv, why did you start with a quote? And I wanted to find something that explained these two guests.

You're not going to find these two names recorded in previous podcasts. You're not going to hear me with stories about them over years past. These are both people that, even though I don't know them very much personally, they are people that when I went back to the reunion, there was a connection and a bond that we shared because of the shared experience.

And I thought that that's something too that I wanted to get across to people that a lot of the friendships that were made out of NAJAC may not necessarily have been because you worked side by side 23 hours a day with somebody. It's the shared experience of that entire conference of people that worked in a completely different area of you, but you saw day in and day out as you passed by on the streets or in the halls or at lunch, at the Coke tent or things of that nature. So that quote, I'm going to basically mention two things about it.

One, it talks about the values of experiences where the essence of friendships doesn't necessarily lie in the duration of the friendship, how long you've known each other, but in the shared experiences that create those lasting memories. So you've known this. If you have some place that you've gone and you've met somebody just for a single day and it filled you with joy and connection, sometimes that can be even more significant than years of knowing somebody in a superficial way.

And the fact that number two is the experiences create lasting memories. So those moments that feel timeless are often what ends up becoming some of our most cherished moments. Now, usually we know those as, you know, milestones, birthdays, graduations, you know, something profound, comforting somebody in a difficult situation.

But for a lot of us, you'll hear in these interviews, junior achievement and the national conference were those memories for us. And those memories are carried with us regardless of how much time passes. So let's get you on to the interviews.

First up is Donna Ross, formerly known as Donna Scarnecchia. And her journey, of course, began in junior high in Orange County, California. She did participate in the afterschool program.

She not only excelled as a delegate in 1968 but returned as a group counselor. And then later as part of the general conference staff. And one of the things that stands out to me with Donna is she doesn't look like it now, but apparently she was quite the little butterfly and was one of the few counselors that actually had her group win best group during the first year as a counselor.

That's usually not something that happens. But apparently she had a lot of enthusiasm and leadership to do that. Of course, after that, she served as a liaison for Disney, connecting them with the junior achievement initiatives.

And after 25 years at Disney, she went to go work full-time in Catholic ministry, where she has received lots of recognition for her contributions and for her generous and selfless service to the church and community. And then next up, we have Rob Montgomery, who has been a dedicated participant in junior achievement at NAJAC since his high school days, obviously. And of course, his connection deepened when he became a member of the staff at NAJAC.

Let's see, I think he was in the mid-90s. I think it continued through the mid-90s. But he had several roles at the conference, various competitions.

He helped shape the experience of many of the competitors there. And one thing you'll note is that he emphasizes the unique bonds formed at the conferences and notes how the friendships created often surpass those made in everyday life. Another reason why I wanted to put that quote out there.

So join me as I speak with Donna and Rob, and we explore their experiences and celebrate the enduring legacy of NAJAC and junior achievement through their eyes. All right. Hello, friends.

Uncle Marv here, and I am joined now by Donna Ross, formerly known as Donna Scarnecchia.

[Donna Ross]
Very good.

[Uncle Marv]
One of the things that happens when you have been involved with an organization for a long, long time. Donna, you were introduced to junior achievement when?

[Donna Ross]
Actually, when I was in high school, I was introduced, and it was an after-school program. I lived in Orange County, California at the time, and they had a wonderful center. And lots of kids participated in our area.

And so I did, and I really enjoyed it. In fact, I participated in, as I recall, my sophomore, junior, and senior year. Oh.

So yes.

[Uncle Marv]
Most of us don't get that.

[Donna Ross]
Yeah. As I recall, it was, I say, the sophomore, junior, and senior year. And it was terrific.

And different companies obviously had their mentorship, where they would send their company management and such to supervise the kids in establishing a company, you know, from scratch. So it was a very, you know, novel concept for us, but it was fun. And to get to meet kids from other schools for us at that time, too, was really interesting.

Right. So I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Uncle Marv]
Okay. So most of us here obviously were delegates at the National Conference and staff members at the National Conference. How many years did you attend as a delegate, and how many as staff?

[Donna Ross]
Well, in my senior year, I attended as a delegate because I was the salesman winner, if you will, for our area in California. So I came as a contestant and delegate. So that was 1968.

And then in 1969, I returned as a group counselor. And that was a wonderful experience, because at the time we were divided up, as I remember, like about 25 girls and 25 boys in a group. And so they also had a group competition.

And I was, you know, so tickled as I'm thinking back, our group was considered the best group for the conference that year. It was voted that. So we were group five best alive.

That was our little motto amongst ourselves. And then I came back in 1970, 71 and 72 on the conference staff. And I was in the main office.

And it was kind of like the central. Anything that happened came through that main office. And it was so exciting, because you really get to know a little bit about everything that was happening.

And Mr. Sweeney, it was just a phenomenal conference director, as we all know, and just a delight to he was very, how should I say very organized. And what I loved is every single person that it seemed like came to the conference, I don't know how he did it. But it was like he knew them; he knew about them.

And, and I think he was so encouraging for all of us. He, he set a high bar. And I think we all tried very hard to meet that.

[Uncle Marv]
That is true. Let me go back and ask a question.

[Donna Ross]
And then I had one more year. I'm sorry. And then I had a little hiatus for a couple of years.

And then I came back in 76 1976 is in the contest. And I was on the I was assigned to the president contest. So that was my major extent, if you will, 68 to 76.

[Uncle Marv]
Okay, I wanted to go back and ask the question about best group, because most of the time, those that win best group are usually counselors that have been there a couple of times to kind of understand, you know, what was involved in stuff, how did your group get best group in your first year as a counselor?

[Donna Ross]
That is an excellent question. Because I don't have a clue, other than the fact that we, we had a great group of attendees, and they just, you know, were extremely spirited. I had a wonderful co coordinator, co counselor, if you will, his name was Howie Shapiro.

He was from Michigan. Of course, I was from California. And we just all I know is we just did everything that was asked in a highly spirited way and found herself voted to be the best group.

So I, I have no past that. In fact, I didn't even know that until you're just mentioning it. So there you go, I guess it's all the more special.

[Uncle Marv]
It is it is. So a lot of people here talked about their activities with Junior Achievement. You know, after the conference, did you do anything with your local office or with Junior Achievement since?

[Donna Ross]
Well, actually, yes, much to my pleasant surprise. First of all, in 1969, there was a special program that JA had put together, and it was sponsored by Reader's Digest. We all remember Reader's Digest, right?

And they selected about 20 of us to kind of form a speaker's core. And what I remember is they just provided us an opportunity to get together in Williamsburg, Virginia. And we had the opportunity to not only get to know one another, but their expectations.

And I guess the idea was for JA to be able to touch bases with corporate America, and that we would be like a speaker's core that would go out on the occasions that, you know, deemed so to speak, you know, on behalf of JA and hopefully get them encouraged so that they would support the program all the more. And it was just, again, another phenomenal opportunity. I will always remember that.

And then I happened to work for Disney. Southern California, everybody worked for Disney, it seemed like at the time, Disneyland. And so when I graduated, I was promoted, in fact, simultaneous to my graduation from college into management.

And our Disney folks were very supportive of JA. And the person who was in charge of the theme parks in those days, his name was Dick Nunes. And so he knew of my JA experience, and he asked me if I would be the liaison for Disney with JA in the Southern California area there.

And so I did. So on behalf of Disney, I would make arrangements, obviously, with our management there to be the mentors in the JA program in our local center. And so I did that for a number of years.

So that was a great opportunity. And I did that as well. I was an advisor as well as getting the other supervisors to participate.

And then also Dick was very involved in, like I said, and supportive of JA. So JA would have things like the National Hall of Fame, for example, a dinner in Detroit. And he was very kind because of my role.

And it's not easy necessarily being a liaison, you know, in a big company like that, and making sure that everything's running smoothly. So he was very kind to invite me to attend the Hall of Fame with him and some of the other Disney executives. So I did.

And so what a wonderful opportunity. Those are not things that would have happened otherwise, you know, had not JA existed in my life.

[Uncle Marv]
The big thing that a lot of us have noted while we're here is the level of friendships that were formed and have been maintained over the years, and thus the reason for having this reunion. What was it that you think got you to say, you know what, I need to show up here?

[Donna Ross]
Well, that's a particularly interesting question, especially in light of the fact that I just had to attend a conference in Indianapolis a couple of weeks ago. And when we originally were deciding on the date for our reunion for this particular NAJAC get together, if you will, the dates were a bright and consecutive, you know, days and weeks and what have you. And so it's like, oh, great, I'll go to Indianapolis and then I'll just hop over to the NAJAC reunion.

It'll be perfect. I'm right there already. But then the days got changed to a couple weeks later.

And I'm thinking when I first heard about that, I said, well, I'm not going to go back to Indiana twice in almost two weeks. That's a little much, right? And I really thought about it and reflected on it.

And it's been about 50 years, you know, this is 2024, not to date your program, right? And my last year here was in 76. So it's a long time since I've been back here.

And I was thinking, I don't know that I'll be here for the next 50 years. So I think that I need to take the opportunity to really come, you know, come back to our old stomping grounds, a lot of fond, fond memories, people that I haven't seen in almost that many years, in most cases, and just really just bite the bullet and do it. And all I can tell you is I'm very happy I did.

Walking on this campus, which first of all, I want to totally compliment Indiana University. I have been nothing but impressed as to how they maintain this campus. It's absolutely beautiful, not only their renovations, their landscaping, their general, you know, maintenance, their expansion.

There's a pride here that you can see and feel. And so it's really nice to be back. And so many of the places that, you know, we occupied during our time at NAJAC, the Briscoe, which I spent three years in the conference office there, you know, just to be able to see it.

And, you know, the McNutt’s, and we were at the auditorium, which for me, I was sitting there. And, you know, I know we all remember different things in our background and other things for whatever the reasons, they just kind of, you know, go by the wayside. But when we had our opportunity to tour the auditorium yesterday, I was sitting there.

And I thought, Oh, my gosh, I had forgotten. Really? Well, I guess I just haven't thought about it much in the last 50 years.

But I was in the sales contest, as I mentioned, in 68. And in those days, normally, the sales contest, as I understand, was held at the sales and marketing executives convention each year. But for whatever the reasons that year, it wasn't, they decided that it would be held here at NAJAC.

And so what they did is they had the sales contestants, and there was five of us, as I recall, compete with our little spiels and what have you in the auditorium in front of all the delegates. And it's like, Oh, my gosh, I had forgotten all about that. And, and I have to say, when you're in competition like that, to begin with, it's a little nerve wracking, right?

But then you have the whole conference staring at you in the process while you're being judged. But it was so, so, what can I say, phenomenal, what an experience, you know. Obviously, it was such a good one that I came back and continued to be involved for years after that.

[Uncle Marv]
So, right. Well, Donna, you actually answered several of my questions. And it wasn't a matter of dating, it was more a matter of that nostalgic feeling that, you know, I've had the opportunity to come back here several times.

[Donna Ross]
Yes.

[Uncle Marv]
And each time, you remember something different. Each time is precious, especially being able to share it with different people each time. So I wanted to get your feedback as to, you know, being away for so long and then being here.

And, you know, what, what has it felt like being here, not just on campus, but reliving the stories of NAJAC through the eyes of others?

[Donna Ross]
Yes. And I have to say, even, you know, you talk about relationships, that co-counselor that I was in group five with in 1969, we still are in contact. It's just, you know, those are special relationships and not a lot of people have those, you know, especially for that period of time.

So I think that, you know, Junior Achievement coming together and in a very unique opportunity, when kids get together from all over the country, they experience things they often would not have the opportunity in their own backyard, in their own hometown. You know, that's unique in its own right. When you get 2,000, 3,000 kids coming in for a week, you know, to spend, and these truly are achievers.

They are junior achievers. And I think that the memories, the experiences can't be described. They need to be experienced truly.

[Uncle Marv]
Right. And that's what we're trying to do and relive here and carry that memory on. Well, Donna, thank you very much for sitting down and sharing.

You didn't think you'd have anything to say, didn't you?

[Donna Ross]
One never knows. But no, thank you. It's truly, it's a wonderful opportunity to be able to share.

And I haven't thought about it for a number of years. So to come back here, it's really brought a lot of things to light again for me. And quite frankly, I would say a spirit of appreciation and gratitude for all that Jay contributed in the beginning of my years.

[Uncle Marv]
Well, thank you very much for having a second thought to come here. And like I said, a lot of times we get to hear stories we hadn't heard before. And thank you for sharing yours.

I think a lot of people were inspired just by listening to you. It's a different path, but we all have something to share and to pass on. So thank you very much.

[Donna Ross]
As they say, God is good all the time, isn't he? And Jay has been good for me as well. So thank you very much, Marvin.

Thanks, Donna. Bye-bye.

[Uncle Marv]
Hello, friends. Dr. Marv back with another friendly interview from Bloomington, Indiana, here at the NAJAC reunion. And I'm here with Rob Montgomery.

And this is the first time we've had a chance to sit down and do this. So it should be interesting. Rob, thanks for sitting down.

Well, Marv, looking forward to talking with you today. Okay. Let me first ask a softball question to you.

How's this weekend been for you?

[Rob Montgomery]
Oh, it's been great. I was able to come five years ago and saw a lot of people that I hadn't seen in a long time. And actually, there was a reunion 20 years before that.

So I came to that reunion. So I've had the opportunity to enjoy spending time with people that I got to meet at NAJAC years ago.

[Uncle Marv]
So let me ask your connection. And I'm going to go backwards, I guess, in a sense, your connection since the conference in terms of JA. Have you been involved directly with JA or just kind of stayed in touch with friends?

What's that been like?

[Rob Montgomery]
Well, of course, I was on the staff at NAJAC through the mid-90s for a long time. And at the time the conference was no longer held, I still was serving on my local JA board, achievement board. So I had some time on that board for three or four years.

But then because of work, I was no longer able to continue on the JA board. So essentially, I just kept up with friends after that over the years. So actually, there were a couple of people that were here at NAJAC that I met only through NAJAC from elsewhere in the country that were in my wedding.

And so there were probably 10, 15 people that actually came to Kingsport, Tennessee, my hometown for our wedding. And so I've kept up with them over the years too. So that's generally what I've done, junior achievement and wise since the conference.

[Uncle Marv]
One of the themes that apparently is happening this weekend is people being able to explain amongst ourselves, because we get it, the closeness of this NAJAC family, that in a lot of cases, the NAJAC family is closer than people we grew up with, went to school with, and stuff like that. Is that the same for you?

[Rob Montgomery]
In many ways, yes. I'm not sure I can explain it. It's really kind of interesting when you only see people, say, for one week a year, and they're not people that you see on a regular basis, and they're not from your town.

Oftentimes, you share things with them that you might not necessarily share with the people at home. It's kind of like you sit on an airplane and you start talking to the person next to you, and all of a sudden, they're telling you all sorts of interesting things about what their life is like. I think JA at NAJAC is similar.

You have people that are interesting people. They like to share, and they'll share with you, and you can share with them. In turn, it builds a closeness that oftentimes doesn't exist at home, the people you see on a daily basis.

[Uncle Marv]
So let's now shift and go back to your beginnings with JA and NAJAC. What was it that got you started with the conference?

[Rob Montgomery]
Well, I participated in Junior Achievement while I was in high school. I was in the nighttime program and involved in a company my junior year in high school and then my senior year in high school. In my senior year, I was president of my company, and my company did well.

As a result, our local area sent 10 people to the conference, and I happened to be one of the lucky ones that got selected to go. So that's how I started at NAJAC. I had a really great experience as a delegate for only one year.

So I had two counselors that encouraged me to consider applying to be on staff the next year, group counselors, and I did and was lucky enough to be invited back. I'll say I continued to find places that could use my skills. Even though I was not a business major, I was not going to go into business.

I was going to probably be a lawyer. At the same time, I had apparently skills that they felt like was useful at the conference. I participated over 20 years.

[Uncle Marv]
Now, of course, all of us usually start out as program group counselors and then, you know, upgrade to other positions. What was your journey?

[Rob Montgomery]
Well, I was a group counselor one year, and the next year when I came back, I was moved to competition. So I've worked in the corporate secretary competition, vice president of sales competition. At one point in time, there was a competition for outstanding young businessmen and women of the year, and so I was involved.

Actually, the first year they set up that competition, and then the last few years I was involved in helping select and or elect conference officers to preside over the conference the next year. So that was the last several years.

[Uncle Marv]
Okay, and a lot of your group continues to come to these conferences. It seems you guys have a pretty close-knit family there.

[Rob Montgomery]
Well, I think it's part of the nature of the work responsibilities we had in competition in that we were often together in the same places a lot of the time. You know, group counselors, you know, you have two group counselors off with their group. They weren't necessarily spending a whole lot of time with the other group counselors, whereas those of us that were in competition, we would be in the same room.

We may not be like right beside each other, but we were in the same room, and so we saw each other a lot more often than maybe some of the other divisions. Yeah, that is true. That is true.

[Uncle Marv]
So you've been coming to the reunions. Let me ask the same type of question I've asked the others in terms of what is it that keeps you coming back, and what is it that you take away?

[Rob Montgomery]
Well, I guess the one thing I would say is that it's always great to catch up with how people's lives are going because we all have similar things that go well in life with our children and our spouses, and then we also have things that perhaps we lose, you know, a parent, and so we have job changes for whatever reason, and so it's an opportunity to catch up on those things. But then the other thing is that it's great to get an opportunity to reminisce about what happened 20 years ago, or 25 years ago, or 30 years ago, because, again, as we go through life, it goes through your life, you remember, hey, NAJAC was a great place, and I enjoyed the opportunity to be with the students and delegates and help them, and also to spend time with the other staff that were here.

But it's good to talk to them to help remind you of some of the things that you've forgotten that really still were a big part of your life at one point in time and still have great memories. Anything stand out from this weekend in particular? Well, I just participated in the JA Bowl, and it sticks out in my mind that I don't remember as many trivia question answers as I used to.

That's one thing that sticks out in my mind. The other thing is that I'm also reminded about what a beautiful campus Indiana University is. It really is a special place, and so it's always great to get back and see the university.

[Uncle Marv]
Yeah, that is always an interesting, you know, whether you're walking around yourself or you're doing the caravan, just remembering the sites and what happened in those compacted days. Kind of like I came up with a word with Helene where this crucible of how much happened, you know, from Sunday to Saturday was just amazing.

[Rob Montgomery]
Well, yes, and I would agree with you on that. The other thing that's amazing about it is that virtually all the staff were volunteers, and they didn't really spend their time at home planning about what they were going to be doing once they got here to the conference, but after they got here to the conference, we all had assigned responsibilities, and, you know, we were able to get it done in a very, I think, effective and relatively efficient manner.

And, you know, looking at it from the outside, it looked like a well-oiled machine, but once you dig deep into it, you realize that all these people are volunteers, and you wonder, how did that happen? How did that happen? And I think it went, I think it probably was based on the simple fact that the individuals that selected volunteer staff knew what they were doing, and they had a good model.

You know, Jim Sweeney was essentially the mastermind behind the conference for a number of years. In fact, we had an opportunity to, he has a scholarship named after him now at the Kelley School of Business here at Indiana University, and several of us have helped contribute towards that scholarship, but Jim was the person that saw to it that NAJAC expanded from 60 students to over 3,000 delegates over a period of 30 to 40 years, and it was his organizational skills and his ability to work and select staff that I think made the real difference.

[Uncle Marv]
Yeah, a fantastic logistical miracle is basically how I look at it, to have that much happen almost seamlessly, even though we know it wasn't, but it felt that way. So, John, I mean, Rob, thank you so much for sitting here and chatting. Oh, Marvin, this has been great.

Thank you for including me in this group. So, I look forward to seeing you the next one. I'll count on it.

Right. Thank you much, sir. All right.

Thanks.