Air Force Major General Bill Essex inspired Liberty Christian parents and grandparents at the Liberty Business Connections (LBC) Breakfast on Feb. 20. LBC provides Liberty families the opportunity to connect with other business professionals within the Liberty family and hear from renowned speakers.
Mr. Essex began his 34-year military career in the ROTC. While in pilot training, Mr. Essex became a Christian, and during his career, said it was always an honor to serve the United States of America. Although he considered moving to the private sector several times during his career, he chose to stay in the military.
“I always had the feeling in the armed forces that I was doing something important for our country,” he said.
One of the many things he admires about the U.S. military is its commitment to developing its people, an important trait for any organization. A graduate of Miami University, Essex went on to receive master’s degrees in Business Management and also National Security and Strategy. He also completed Senior Management programs at Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School and Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
In one of his last appointments, Mr. Essex was the CEO of the $9.5 billion Exchange, a global, multi-channel retailer, operating on military bases in 34 countries and all 50 states.
He is now president and CEO of On-Time Supply and Logistics, a customer-focused provider of transportation services that uses the most reliable and efficient carriers to deliver all types of freight virtually anywhere in the world. The company is based at the DFW International Airport.
He also serves on the Board of Directors for Snowball Express, an organization that offers hope and new happy memories to the children of fallen military heroes who have died while on active duty since 9/11.
Mr. Essex said an important ability for anyone, that he believes the military does very well, is being able to look at operations or any task in life with continual “fresh eyes,” not accepting the status quo.
“In every area, we are also a nation based on service,” he said. “We will continue to have success as long as we have servant-leaders who support the non-commissioned officer core of our military.”
The audience also gleaned from his message to stay positive and connected in their Christian faith even in difficult situations, for in these, there are still valuable lessons to learn.
Vivian Nichols is part of the public relations team at Liberty Christian School.
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