Davidson coach: Just across Putin’s Russian border I see a reason to hope

A 45-minute drive from Vladimir Putin’s brutal autocracy is proof of real leadership.

Jouni Eho lives across the Russian border, in Finland. During the same year that Putin invaded and annexed Crimea from Ukraine — a bloody prelude to today, Finland’s Minister of Social Affairs awarded Eho father-of-the-year honors for his advocacy for family-friendly workplaces as CEO of a consulting company focused on regional development.

That was 2014. Putin spent the following years poisoning political opponents and squashing dissent in the media. He also propped up a puppet regime in Ukraine that ordered troops to fire on their own people.

Eho devoted that time to local industrial growth, working to build entrepreneurial and innovative ecosystems. He helped a startup accelerator, boosted student entrepreneurship and, in September 2018, was selected by the municipal council of Pyhtää to serve as mayor. That civil service post guides the administration with a mission to help Pyhtää prosper.

I draw this comparison for two reasons. First, Jouni played basketball at Davidson College, where I coach, from 2000 to 2004 and embodies the kind of leadership that we hope to cultivate in our scholar-athletes.

Second, I want you to know that there remain good, decent leaders in our world, even right next to the worst.

I want you to know there is hope.

Read more at: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/article260136820.html#storylink=cpy