By Kim Fernandez

Every so often, my dad would go into our family room and sit on the floor in between two giant, mustard-yellow fabric-covered, 1960s stereo speakers, lower the needle on a record, and just listen. He had three favorites: Juice Newton, Crystal Gayle, and Kenny Rogers.

Everybody liked Kenny Rogers back then but my dad really liked him, and one day, I asked him why. He told me that leaving a concert one night, he and my mom had circled behind the arena to get to the highway. There was a homeless man sitting on the sidewalk, eating a meal, and crouched down next to him was The Gambler himself, fresh off the stage. Two guys having a conversation on the street, economic class and social construct rendered totally irrelevant.

Kenny Rogers was a gifted musician, but it was his act of kindness that made my dad a lifelong fan. A lot of us would have had the same reaction. And I think kindness and respect have never been more important than right now.

We’re collectively facing some really hard stuff. We’ll come out the other side—we always do. When that happens, we’ll remember the tough moments and the stress, but the most cherished stories we tell will be of the kindnesses, from the people we know and those we’d never met before. I’m already hearing those stories as people rise to the very best versions of themselves and reach out to those around them. It’s not the stock ticker or the annual reports that come from this, but the men and women who figuratively crouch down on the street to make a human connection with someone who needs it. That’s what we’ll remember. Those are the stories that matter.

Kim Fernandez is IPMI’s director of publications and editor of Parking & Mobility.

By Shawn Conrad, CAE

One way I like to stay on top of things is to follow trends. I especially like to watch how issues are trending throughout the year. Current industry issues like Complete Streets, Vision Zero, regulating TNCs, or combating disabled parking  abuse are trending in many municipalities.  But I also follow trends in technology, sports, politics, travel, business, consumer attitudes, investments,  and even in the entertainment  business. Don’t judge me on that last one.

Following trends is more than just having things to talk about at work functions or family gatherings. I like the feeling of learning new things and researching items I know very little about to better understand why they’re gaining traction–though at times, some trends seem like the proverbial flavor of the month and can disappear as quickly as they appeared.

Lately, one trend that seems to be getting a lot of attention is kindness. There may be several reasons for kindness’s popularity but I’m seeing kindness trending in publications, blogs, TED Talks, social media, and even at the end of national newscasts. Acts of kindness seem to be a focus everywhere we turn.

Recently, I picked up a golf publication to find a feature article on golf’s kindest players. Players and many other golf industry employees measured how golfers treated each other, and branched out to the kindness of clubhouse employees, equipment manufacturers, sales reps, and even groundskeepers. Essentially, they were seeking those who displayed kindness when they weren’t on camera or in front of an audience. The magazine article mentioned that acts of kindness in golfing circles are trending up.

My hope is that parking professionals, especially parking enforcement officers, will be on the receiving end of the kindness trend as they go about their daily responsibilities. While parking professionals provide a  valuable service, interactions with customers can at times be trying–even unkind. It may be difficult to be kind to someone who is irate, but as history has it, Aesop, the ancient Greek storyteller, once said, “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” And it may even be contagious!

It’s cool to be kind–that’s a trend we should all follow.

Shawn Conrad, CAE, is IPMI’s CEO.