By Glynn Gilcrease, Special for wranglernews.com
It is amazing where random acts of kindness might lead.
For author Andy Dzurinko, who has lived and worked in South Tempe for more than 30 years, it was observing noted Tempeans Dick and Jane Neuheisel and Virginia Thompson that touched him.
And former Mayor Harry Mitchell’s work founding Tempe Sister Cities and that organization’s Making a World of Difference program.
Dzurinko also was inspired by Grand Master Andy Bauman, founder of Ja Shin Do, who worked side-by-side with Dzurinko on the Governor’s Council on Health, Physical Fitness and Sports.
And by longtime Tempe Pastor Guy Davidson and veterans-education advocate David Lucier.
They all moved Dzurinko to write his third book, Inspired: Making a Mark on the World.
Dzurinko is no slouch himself. He has shared his positive spirit with all around him and in many local and national organizations for decades, making him a highly sought motivational speaker.
So it is particularly telling to read what motivates a motivator.
Two inspirational stories that Dzurinko relates in his book offer insight.
Engaging in random acts of kindness
The philosophy of Pay It Forward, a novel written by Catherine Hyde, embraces the belief that through acts of kindness toward strangers we all foster a more-caring society. In Dzurinko’s book, a social studies teacher in Atascadero, Calif., Reuben St. Clair, challenges his students to “change the world.” That’s something we would all like to do, right? What if we could change the world, even in some small way?
Among the students in the class is Trevor McKinney, who takes the challenge to heart. As he goes about his day, he wonders what he could do, as a 12-year-old student. He starts by showing kindness to a stranger and, from there, moves on to the next person he can help.
Helping others: It’s contagious
Dzurinko’s brother, John, and his niece, Nijmie Dzurinko, also moved Dzurinko.
It started with John’s nurturing influence on Nijmie. Upon her graduation from the University of Pennsylvania, she expressed her gratitude because, without John, she said, she would not have survived.
She explained how he taught her that all human beings want and need the same basic things: to be loved, to be heard and to be seen. John’s legacy was one of loving, giving, caring and helping anyone at any time. John was not an organizer, yet he taught Nijmie the skills to communicate effectively with others. As a result, she gained a passion for working with youth.
It was effort worth the doing. She now is a past executive director of the Philadelphia Student Union, an organization that gives young people a voice in their education. She began working with them in 1999 and left in 2003 to further her own education. Philadelphia Student Union has since trained thousands of young people in its leadership-development program.
To this day, Nijmie still is orchestrating effective change with youth and their ability to influence educational change all over the U.S.
His lifetime of service
Dzurinko grew up in the once-thriving steel town of Monessen, Pa., 27 miles south of Pittsburgh. Sports always were a big part of his life. He was an All-State lineman for the Monessen High football team that won a conference championship in 1960. Dzurinko attended Bucknell University on a football scholarship, playing guard and linebacker. The Bucknell Bisons won the Lambert Cup as the top small-college program in the East while he was there. he was inducted into Pennsylvania’s Mid Mon Valley All Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.
Commissioned a second lieutenant, Dzurinko served two years in the U.S. Army, including a tour in Vietnam. Upon his return to civilian life, he earned a masters’ degree at the University of Pittsburgh, where he began a 10-year coaching career that took him to Williams College and Brown University before he entered the insurance industry in 1978.
Dzurinko was director of training and regional vice-president of agencies for American United Life Insurance Company in Indianapolis. Ten years later, Dzurinko relocated to Arizona to become a general agent and personal producer for American United Life. He has qualified for the Million Dollar Round Table and the National Quality Award and has been accredited as a chartered life underwriter and a chartered financial consultant by The American College.
Although his playing and coaching days are long behind him, Dzurinko maintains an active workout and training regimen. He ran his first marathon at 56. He trained rigorously for years with Ja Shin Do and its founder. Dzurinko achieved his bucket list after age 65 by hiking Mount Whitney, the half-Dome in Yosemite, the Grand Canyon and Mount Kilimanjaro.
Dzurinko was executive director of Arizona Governor’s Council on Health, Physical Fitness and Sports, for which he received the Outstanding Council Member Award from the national association. He has given back to the community through his involvement with Tempe Sister Cities, Sigma Chi Fraternity Alumni, Bucknell Alumni and the National Football Foundation. He led the Frank Kush Youth Foundation for the past 30 years.
Dzurinko’s first two books were The Power of Optimism and LOL-Laugh Out Loud: Feel Good and Live Longer.
Dzurinko, who welcomes speaking invitations, can be reached at 480-921-0533 or by email at dzurinko@gmail.com.
