Fairway as foundation

There is always, for each generation, a concern over how well the next crop of humans will manage the affairs of society, keep industry and the economy going, and overall contribute to the betterment of society.

The opinion of a dominant generation regarding younger folks is rarely a rosy one.

The Greek poet Hesiod is said to have written, “I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond words… When I was young, we were taught to be discreet and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly disrespectful and impatient of restraint.”

Similar sentiments are attributed to Socrates through the writings of Plato, and also to Aristotle. I’m not a good enough history detective to figure out who really said what. But the sentiments should be familiar to anyone reading this, certainly in present times.

Even if the generalizations bear some truth, what emerges from such a discussion is a fact truer still, which is that in each generation there are somehow enough exceptions to a rule that hope exists, and that there are enough capable hands to steer the ship of society away from future icebergs.

Werlien Prosperie III is a good example of this.

He turns 26 this week, and is thus the youngest of eight people bestowed the Houma-Terrebonne Chamber of Commerce Young Achiever’s Award.

Werlien is polite and smiles easily, and he was this way the first time I wrote about him, just over a decade ago.

Football, soccer and other competitive sports were close to Werlien’s heart, but around the age of 12 he and his parents learned that same heart would not cooperate. Still, the competitive drive remained and Werlien – with the help of an uncle – found a different way to make his mark, swinging golf clubs. Werlien got so good at this that by the age of 14 he was an outstanding young golfer, one of a few local kids to join the Junior Pro Golf Association, and participate in tournaments far from Terrebonne Parish.

The heart situation righted itself, thanks to miracles worked by doctors. But Werlien, having developed a love of the game, kept on golfing.

That competitive spirit worked wonders for him as a student at Nicholls State University, and two years before earning his degree had established his own company, Diamond Communications.

It was while trying to break into the electronic billboard business that Werlien noticed, during a trip to Tennessee, TV lookity-boxes built onto gas pumps, providing, weather, news and ads to audiences made captive during fill-ups. Like every successful entrepreneur before and after Ben Franklin, Werlien uttered some important words to himself.

“I can do a better job.”

He set out to work figuring out how to improve how this was done, and did so. Today his company, Gas Pump TV, has over 400 partners throughout the U.S. He installs the hardware and sets it all up at no charge to the retailer. He is continuing to develop improvements but has found a unique niche that promises to expand in the future.

The award bestowed by the Chamber is a kudo he doesn’t take lightly, but which he accepts with modesty, praising the other seven achievers, Sen. Norby Chabert, Mary Downer Ditch, Travis Gravois, Jacqueline Marsh, Tamara Melancon, Angela Rains and Brian Rushing, for their own contributions to commerce and public service.

“I’ve been blessed to grow-up in our tight-knit community of this Good Earth,” he said, when asked about how he explains the recognition and the success leading up to it. “We have many things to be proud of as a community and many local influences that stretch far and wide not only in this state or in the U.S. but globally in industries including oil and gas, marine, medical, film, retail, media and more. All that makes good influencers to a young man coming up.”

The challenges typical to most college students and the help of academic mentors and family were a big help, Werlien said, as were the lessons learned from golf.

“Though I’m on a different playing field now, there are constants that hold true which enable me,” he said. “Those are vision, faith, hard-work, dedication and perseverance.”

Such words are a credit to anyone who speaks them and exemplifies belief in them through consistent action. They are also proof that, despite the mixed reviews young people get from society as a whole, there exist those people who easily, and gracefully, prove generational generalizations as short-sighted and in many cases wrong.

Werlien Prosperie III was the youngest of eight honored as the Houma-Terrebonne Chamber’s Young Achiever’s Award. His personality and drive impress many around him.

COURTESY PHOTO