Kerry Heinrich
Episode 36

Narrator:

Welcome friends to another episode of The Story & Experience Podcast. Join your host Japhet De Oliveira with his guest today, and discover the moments that shape us, our families, and communities.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Well, welcome friends to another fantastic episode of The Story & Experience Podcast today. And it is a unique episode today, because you're going to hear in a moment who this person is, he's smiling right now, and you can hear him. I'm really keen to get into this straight away. So for anybody who's brand new, the way it works is that we have a 100 questions. The first 10 are really easy, and after 11 onwards, it just gets a little bit more interesting until you get to number 100, and our guest gets to choose which of those questions they'd like to actually go for. They don't know what the questions are. They just get to pick a number and we'll see where the journey takes us. Well, without any hesitation, now, I'm going to dive day straight in and ask our guest the first thing. What's your name? And does anybody ever mispronounce it or not understand it? I'd love to know.

Kerry Heinrich:

Hi, Japhet. My name is Kerry Heinrich, and, yes, lots of people have mispronounced my name. Growing up, it's Jerry, Terry, Perry, fairy lots and lots of names. I actually wondered many, many times about my name, and the great thing about it is that I get lots of mail, and it's gender neutral mail, because they're not sure what gender I am. And I have fun with that now, but in grade school, I hated it. I wanted a name like Bob or Bill or something clearly that you could understand gender. But now I actually love it.

Kerry Heinrich:

I once asked my mother, who was quite an artist and teacher, "Where'd you get my name?" And I think she just sort of smiled and said, "Eh, I thought it was unusual." Truth is I come from a very, very German family. And I think it was her way of saying, "I'm absolutely not going to pick a German name for my son," so that's all I can tell you.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Hey, that's fantastic. Well, I didn't realize you were called so many different ones, so that's great.

Kerry Heinrich:

Yeah. Some less than complementary, but we all went through grade school.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, we all did. We all did, indeed. All right, Kerry, tell us, what do you do for work?

Kerry Heinrich:

Well, I have the incredible privilege, honor, and I mean that sincerely it is an honor to serve with the team at Adventist Health. And titles sometimes are off putting, I have the privilege of serving as the Chief Executive Officer. But the truth is, I'm a member of the phenomenal team of people who have the privilege of working with Adventist Health. And I have come to love the team already, and have such love and respect for what we do.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That is fantastic. We are very excited for this, and excited for your new role. This is superb. Now, how long have you been in this new role?

Kerry Heinrich:

Let's see today is the 12th of January, 12 days. And it hasn't been Christmas entirely, the 12 days of Christmas, but it's been incredible to just get to know the people, get to know the company. I'm excited, because I get to go out and I'm intending to meet every single team in every single market. And I'm thrilled with that opportunity. I spent the last 38 years of my life with Loma Linda University Health, an amazing organization. I loved every moment of it, amazing people. But all in essentially one geographic location, and Adventist Health has this phenomenal geographic diversity from Hawaii to Oregon to California. So looking forward to meeting the teams in each of our respective markets. I've had the privilege of going and meeting our wellbeing division in Nashville. Wonderful, wonderful people, amazing work that's being done.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That is fantastic. Now, I do know as well that you have also been on the Adventist Health board for several years, right? And so you know-

Kerry Heinrich:

I have.

Japhet De Oliveira:

... the story pretty well.

Kerry Heinrich:

Yeah. I've had the incredible privilege of serving on the Adventist Health board for seven plus years. And it's great, because at the board you get to hear sort of the strategic planning and the vision and the goals, the direction. Very important, has helped me understand the company over the years. But on the ground, from an operational level, it's a very different feel when you actually get to meet the operational side of the company, the people that actually make the markets, and the mission of our company function, and that's a thrill.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's fantastic. Brilliant, so let's continue along the first 10 questions, and they're real easy. The first one-

Kerry Heinrich:

They get easier, right?

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah. They get easier. They do, well, the first 10 kind of do. In the morning, what's your first drink of choice? Is it like a green smoothie? Is it water? Is it coffee? Is it tea?

Kerry Heinrich:

A big glass of water and a cup of coffee, black.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right, all right. Drip or-

Kerry Heinrich:

I have a routine, several years ago, our Loma Linda University church pastor challenges us to actually read the Bible, which I'm embarrassed to say that I've read lots of pieces of the Bible, but never cover to cover. So I have-

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, it's good.

Kerry Heinrich:

... a big drink of water, a cup of coffee, and read as much as I have time for in the morning. And I must say, I've learned a lot about the Bible that I never knew.

Japhet De Oliveira:

It's a really great adventure that way. That's great, lovely. Tell us Kerry, where were you born?

Kerry Heinrich:

You'll know why I'm laughing, my wife loves to jab me with this. I was born in Lemmon, South Dakota. So she likes to make comments about the Lemmon part of that. But that's where I was born, my family comes from the Midwest, the Dakotas.

Japhet De Oliveira:

So have you been back there to where you've been born?

Kerry Heinrich:

Many times. Growing up, spent summers on the farm. My grandparents were farmers in the Dakotas. Much family in the Dakotas, in the Midwest, and so very, very fond memories of going to the farm, doing lots of things with fireworks that would probably be criminally illegal today. But grew up loving the farm and the people that live in the Midwest are wonderful people.

Japhet De Oliveira:

They are indeed. They are indeed. When you were a child, what did you imagine you were going to be when you grew up?

Kerry Heinrich:

Oh, my, what a great, great question. I loved the outdoors, loved being anywhere that I could be outdoors doing things. The farm was a wonderful experience to me, because I got to drive tractors. I got to drive motorcycles. And as a kid, I just thought, what a perfect life, you live out in the country, you get to have cattle, and you get to ride motorcycles. So I thought farming was a really great gig, right up until I realized it's a really tough life.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, yeah.

Kerry Heinrich:

So then I took an exam in high school, and I scored hands down as the perfect fit for a forest ranger. So, clearly, that's what I should have chosen is to be a forest ranger. Obviously, my interest in the outdoors came out.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah. That's great. Hey, personality wise, would people describe you, Kerry, as an introvert and extrovert? And would you agree?

Kerry Heinrich:

Well, extrovert. I love people. I love being with people. I absolutely love events where I have a chance to talk to people, get a sense of who they are, what makes them excited in life, what their interests are. So I think they'd probably describe me as an extrovert. Although, frankly, much of my job today requires that I sit in front of a computer terminal and watch Zoom calls, which is the opposite of my personality. I love to be in a room with people.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Well, we're really excited that you're going to do the 2022 Connect Tour and you're going to go out and visit, and it's fantastic. Even in this perilous time, it's still great. Glad you're doing that. Tell me about habits, are you an early riser or late night owl?

Kerry Heinrich:

Easy question, I get up very early, and I'm worthless, according to my wife, after 9:00 PM. She is progressively moved that earlier and earlier in the day, I'm worried about that. But I'm certainly an early riser. I do my best work early in the morning. Don't ask me a hard question after 9:00 PM.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's fair enough. That's fair enough. Great. And then this morning, when you woke up, what was the first thought that went through your mind?

Kerry Heinrich:

Well, the people of Adventist Health were facing challenges, but my first thoughts this morning were the amazing people that I've had a chance to already interact with. And what I've been most impressed with our people is the spirit of both mission, and, yep, we have challenges and we're up for the challenge.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah. I believe that's so much about you, Kerry. And I think that's so true, in just a short time that I've got to know you, that you really do absolutely care for the people. And I appreciate all the prayers that you've been sharing as well. Even though maybe three o'clock in the morning, they are valid, and beautiful.

Kerry Heinrich:

My wife loves to remind me that not everyone is up at 4:00 AM, and so be a little respectful of that fact, and I've tried to learn that lesson.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I hear you. I hear you. I may have a similar problem. That's all good. That's all good. All right, so a leadership question here, are you a backseat driver?

Kerry Heinrich:

No, I'm a front seat driver, but philosophically, I believe you develop a team of really qualified, talent, stellar people, and you let them lead. So I'm not sure what leading from behind entirely means, but I very much love to create the comradery of a team, and build a team and then let that team go to work and solve problems. Truthfully, my philosophy is great organizations are great because they have a great team. They're not great because they have a collection of talented people. They are great or become great because they have people that learn to work together and truly have each other's back.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Wow. That's beautiful. That's a wonderful picture. Appreciate that. Well, we are done with the first 10. So now you get to pick a number.

Kerry Heinrich:

Oh, my.

Japhet De Oliveira:

You get to pick a number between 11 and a 100, where would you like to, first?

Kerry Heinrich:

Well, 11 and a 100, so I love numbers, so let's start with 11 and we'll go by 11s.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right. All right. All right.

Kerry Heinrich:

11, 22, 33, 44, there you go.

Japhet De Oliveira:

We got it. We got it. All right, here we go. Number 11, tell us about the most adventurous food or meal that you've ever eaten.

Kerry Heinrich:

Oh, my. So I'm not adventurous with food, I love, love, love spicy food. And when I learn something, I like, I tend to stay with it. So I love Thai food, spicy Thai food and spicy Mexican food. My two favorite food groups.

Japhet De Oliveira:

So if you are in a Thai restaurant, this is 11A, I know you didn't know it was there, but you're in a Thai restaurant and they say one to five, where do you go? You go to five or you go to six?

Kerry Heinrich:

Well, see, now you have to have honesty, because everybody would say, "Oh, I'm a five." No, no, no, no. If you're at a real Thai restaurant and you say five, it'll take your head off. So on an adventure someday, I'll say three, because for those of us who grew up in America, not Thailand or Southeast Asia, if you actually said five in a Thai restaurant, you would blow your taste buds out. Your mouth would burn, so you couldn't eat anything.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Well, thank you for the honesty. It's actually very true. I agree. All right. So after 11, you want to go to 22?

Kerry Heinrich:

Sure. Or I'll go numerically.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, yeah. Yeah. You choose. You choose.

Kerry Heinrich:

Let's go with 12 then, OK. We'll do it sequentially now.

Japhet De Oliveira:

OK, 22 then. Share the best compliment you've ever received.

Kerry Heinrich:

I genuinely care about people, and my team at Loma Linda, some of the kindest things they said to me were, "Your real connection with people and the desire to build up, grow, develop people, so they can thrive and be the very best they can be in wherever they are chosen to be." If I am successful at growing people, the company will be successful. And to me, that's the greatest compliment I've ever received is, "My desire to grow and develop people and help them live in an environment where they can thrive."

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's beautiful. I love that. Taking care of the people, and encouraging them is the strength. Absolutely. All right. Still ready to go 33.

Kerry Heinrich:

Sure.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right, here it goes. Tell us about the best gift you've ever given someone else.

Kerry Heinrich:

Well, this is probably because it's fresh in my mind, one of my team members at Loma Linda, at my farewell, complimented me on the fact that I always appreciated and complimented his tie. And so there at the event, he took his tie off, and gave it to me as a parting gift, and it was very, very meaningful to me. And I intend to return the favor of something special.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I like that. I like that. That's good. Good, all right, 44. What is something that you are proud have created?

Kerry Heinrich:

Yeah, it's going to be a theme here Japhet, but a team. A team of people that care about each other. With my hands, oh, that could get difficult. Because when you sit behind a desk, you don't get much time to create, but something I'm proud of that I have created, a team is more ethereal, but it is real. It is real people doing real things, working together as a team. But if you ask me something that I have created with my hands, tougher, because I don't get to do that much-

Japhet De Oliveira:

Sure.

Kerry Heinrich:

... but I like mechanical work. I like motorcycles. I like building aftermarket add-ons to them, and off-road equipment. So things that I can work on with my hands are a wonderful escape from the office.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That was beautiful. Good. Good. All right. We're looking at 55. You ready for that?

Kerry Heinrich:

I am.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right. All right.

Kerry Heinrich:

Don't exceed the speed limit here.

Japhet De Oliveira:

No, no, we'll be safe. Share about something that frightens you.

Kerry Heinrich:

Wow, these are great questions, because you can give a superficial answer or you can dig a little deep. So I'll dig a little deep on this one. Two things, in high school and college I worked in construction, and on one particular job, I was up high on scaffolding that had been built and the scaffolding collapsed, and I was injured in the fall, some broken bones. And so today I have a fear of heights. I fly airplanes, so you wouldn't think that's possible, but see your mind tells you that you're safe inside of an airplane. It tricks you, especially if you're flying it yourself.

Kerry Heinrich:

But the more dig deep, personal side of that question is, and I'll probably talk to our teams of individuals at some point, but about five years ago, Thanksgiving Day, I went out for a joy ride, which I've done many, many times on a lake I grew up in north Idaho on. And very long story short, I was thrown out of the boat in winter, it was snowing-

Japhet De Oliveira:

Wow.

Kerry Heinrich:

... I was dressed in a parka and heavy boots, and clothes that you're not supposed to be in water in. And it's a long story, which I won't go into now, but the fact that I survived that ordeal was probably be a testament to God's grace, without question. And some tenacity to be stranded in the middle of a body of water too far to swim to shore, and no life jacket and clothes that are desperately trying to sink you. That was a very sobering experience. And what I realized in that experience is my greatest fear is to lose my family, and those nearest and dearest to me. And it changed my perspective on life.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I have to ask, because people are going to want to know this, I mean, because that's amazing, and when anyone goes through something as threatening and as difficult and complex as that, you see the value of family, what did you do as a result of that then? What did you change?

Kerry Heinrich:

Well, everybody says, "So what went through your mind?" Well, this was fighting against drowning, literally.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yes.

Kerry Heinrich:

And what kept me alive was the picture in my head of my wife, my kids-

Japhet De Oliveira:

Wow.

Kerry Heinrich:

... and after the fact, it changed my view of what matters in life, and what matters in life are your family, those you love, and those you have the privilege to develop close friendships with. And so things-

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yes.

Kerry Heinrich:

... material possessions, they just fade away and you realize so vividly that people matter.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That is the epiphany, at the end of the days, people matter.

Kerry Heinrich:

People matter.

Japhet De Oliveira:

They really do. Yeah. Good. Well, Kerry, thank you for sharing that. I'm going to go to 66, if you're good for that.

Kerry Heinrich:

I am.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right. All right. This is good. This is, tell us about one of your favorite songs, and what do you love about it?

Kerry Heinrich:

Well, I laugh at each one of these questions, Japhet, because they're great questions, because they make you dig deep, and they actually share a little bit of your personal side. So a great song for each of us is a song that instantly takes us back to a moment in our lives.

Japhet De Oliveira:

So true.

Kerry Heinrich:

People, something about that song connects us with our past, and for me, this will surprise some, I love rock and roll, and I love some of the great bands in history. And growing up with my family, we tried to spend as much time as possible in a boat, on a lake in north Idaho, water skiing early in the morning. And the family tradition for the father, me, soon to be hated by the kids was I would flip on the stereo and every time, early in the morning, as we're getting ready to go water ski, The Rolling Stones, Start Me Up.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's just brilliant. We should actually play that right now. That's-

Kerry Heinrich:

There you go.

Japhet De Oliveira:

I love it.

Kerry Heinrich:

There you go.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's great.

Kerry Heinrich:

That's Keith Richards at his best with the guitar riff that you cannot get out of your head, but that was the song I would turn on and play every morning when we'd be getting ready to go water skiing in the summertime. So that-

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's beautiful.

Kerry Heinrich:

... song takes me back to family, a boat, water skiing, and the shock of cold water.

Japhet De Oliveira:

So, Kerry, can you dance?

Kerry Heinrich:

Not according to my wife.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Well-

Kerry Heinrich:

That's not a pretty sight. Now, in fairness, I grew up as an Adventist. I went to Adventist boarding academy, and let's see what was the saying, "Adventist don't dance because..." Oh, I better not go there. But-

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, that's OK.

Kerry Heinrich:

... the bottom line is, in fairness, my culture did not let me dance.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's OK, we'll develop it. All right, here we go 77 then, thanks for that. I have a guess where this could be, but share one of your most cup filling experiences with us.

Kerry Heinrich:

With Adventist Health?

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, it could be. Yeah.

Kerry Heinrich:

Wow.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Or I mean, it's up to you, it could be your personal, it could be with Adventist Health, your choice.

Kerry Heinrich:

Oh, well, cup filling experiences for me is, it's not even close, it's family. It's moments that I can reflect on with my family. So my wife, we've been married 41 years. Jason Wells said it today, it's his birthday, and he said, "Wonderful in life to have married well above your station, and what you deserve," and that's certainly true of me. I have an incredible wife, dentist. I've gotten free dental care, my whole life, that's a good gig. And then family, my son finished medical school at Loma Linda is now a second year resident at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, so don't get a lot of time together.

Kerry Heinrich:

My daughter finished her MBA, and is now just starting nursing school-

Japhet De Oliveira:

Wow.

Kerry Heinrich:

... at Loma Linda. And the reason for that is, I told my daughter, "I spend in my entire life having nurses tell me what to do and where to go, so it's a great gig." And I told my daughter, she should be a nurse. But clearly what fills me up is family, time with my family. And I tell my team here at Adventist Health, "Do not ever apologize for taking time with your family." Today, I told my team members, "Family comes first," and I mean it. Family comes first, take time with your family, so that's what-

Japhet De Oliveira:

Create those-

Kerry Heinrich:

... fills me up.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's beautiful. Create all those memories. That's really fantastic. Good, 88?

Kerry Heinrich:

You bet.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right, all right.

Kerry Heinrich:

Now you skipped 77, didn't you?

Japhet De Oliveira:

No, that was a share one of your most cup filling-

Kerry Heinrich:

Oh, OK.

Japhet De Oliveira:

... experiences with us. Yeah.

Kerry Heinrich:

Got it, 88.

Japhet De Oliveira:

88, all right. Here we go, tell us about how your life has been different than what you've imagined.

Kerry Heinrich:

What a great, great question. Yesterday, I had the privilege of doing an interview with individuals from Walla Walla University, where I went to college, just doing an interview about my new position with Adventist Health, and talking about what I remember about college and all of that. And the interesting part of one's journey in life is, you think you have it all planned out when you're 18 years old, and you think you know what you're going to do, and where you're going to go. And a long, long story that I won't bore you with, but I thought that I was very clear in my plans that, although I wasn't sure exactly where I would end up, I knew for absolute certainty, absolute certain that I would never, ever, ever live in California, especially not Southern California. And God smiled, and I spent the last 38 years of my life in Loma Linda.

Kerry Heinrich:

Because you never really can plan out where you end up. It's a long story, but we went to Loma Linda for my wife to go to dental school and we promised ourselves we'd move back to the Pacific Northwest, and that was 38 years ago. I began working with Loma Linda University Medical Center, and began doing a variety of different transaction for them, merger/acquisition work, finance, a variety of things, and ultimately, was asked to serve as the Chief Executive Officer for the hospitals within the Loma Linda system. But I never thought that would be my pathway. I never thought that that's the direction I would go.

Kerry Heinrich:

And so I am quite amused when I sit down with young interns from business programs and they say, "I want to be a CEO someday, tell me the pathway I should pick to be a CEO." And I laugh, because I could never have charted 40 years ago, the pathway that I have been led on. And I can only say, God leads in mysterious ways, in ways that you never think possible. And my wife, Judy, says it eloquently, "We make our plans and God smiles."

Japhet De Oliveira:

I love, Kerry, how faith is such a big part of your life.

Kerry Heinrich:

It is.

Japhet De Oliveira:

It's evident in who you are, your character, and not only these answers, but in your history as well. It's beautiful to see. Faith is important.

Kerry Heinrich:

It's everything. I will say it, and you'll hear me say it over and over again, Adventist Health, we are a faith-based organization that means something. It's not just a slogan. It's who we are.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah. Beautiful. Well, we have time for two more and you-

Kerry Heinrich:

All right, well-

Japhet De Oliveira:

... are technically at 99, if you want-

Kerry Heinrich:

... 99, and you can go back to then 12.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Okay. All right. There we go, and 99 it is. What is the most difficult truth that you've ever had to tell?

Kerry Heinrich:

Oh, the hard part of that question is to sort through, do you talk about your career? Do you talk about your personal life? All very hard questions and those are questions, Japhet, that you have to dig deep for.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yes.

Kerry Heinrich:

But certainly on the career side of the equation, the very hardest thing for me is to look a person in the eye and say, "This isn't working in your current role, we need to transition you to a different role or out of the organization." I care about people and doing that is extraordinarily difficult for me to do, but it has to be done.

Kerry Heinrich:

On the personal side, the most difficult things are facing truth with your own family. And for me, I would simply say, at a stage in my life, a very hard conversation I had with my wife, where I said, "I don't like what I'm doing, I need to change career directions." And that's hard to do, because there's lots of emotion and-

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yes.

Kerry Heinrich:

... feelings built up in a career path that you've chosen. But the honest conversation with your spouse, if they're truly honest, they have to be the hardest, because you're opening your soul, and you're saying what you truly believe and think. But that's how you grow closest together is when you're truly honest with each other. So those are both personal, I can get more personal if you want.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Sure. I mean, I believe that the stories and experiences that shape us actually make us into the men and women that we are today. So if you are open, we'd be open to hear.

Kerry Heinrich:

Well, I went on a career direction, went through law school, yeah. Was practicing with a firm in the Pacific Northwest, and, there are many stories, I could tell. I came to the realization that the career I had chosen simply wasn't working. And I had to be honest with myself, and changing jobs, changing locations moving is an extraordinarily difficult proposition, but I had the courage to admit, at that point, as hard as it was, that it wasn't working, that I needed to change, and we did. It ultimately led to us moving from the Pacific Northwest to California.

Kerry Heinrich:

One would say, "Well, you just made a big change going from Loma Linda to Adventist Health, why?" That's a question that just got asked of me yesterday, "So why did you make the change?" And the honest answer to that question is, Adventist Health is an incredible company. I've watched it at the board level for almost eight years, and the chance to be part of a company that you can help grow and expand and dramatically increase its ability to reach and help people is exciting. And yet at the same time, it was a deeply difficult decision for me, because my family, my friends for-

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yes.

Kerry Heinrich:

... 38 years were, in fact, Loma Linda. And to leave that was a very difficult decision, but I chose to make that change, because I am so committed to expanding, growing, developing the mission of Adventist Health and Adventist Healthcare. We are different than a for-profit company

Japhet De Oliveira:

That is beautiful, Kerry. And, again, speaks to your character, to your faith, and the willingness to make difficult decisions, because you love it, because you love people. So glad for that. We technically could go all the way to number 12, if you want to go for 12 and wipe-

Kerry Heinrich:

Sure.

Japhet De Oliveira:

... it up. And so-

Kerry Heinrich:

You bet.

Japhet De Oliveira:

All right, then this is your final question then, for today.

Kerry Heinrich:

So now you have to go 12, 24, 36, 48.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah, we should. We should. What is your favorite movie or book of all time?

Kerry Heinrich:

Favorite?

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yeah.

Kerry Heinrich:

Favorite book, I'll start there. I am a huge fan of Churchill. I have learned much from Winston Churchill's life and leadership. Although, I haven't adopted the walking around naked with a drink in my hand in Buckingham Palace.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's fair enough. That's fair enough.

Kerry Heinrich:

Probably won't do that at Adventist Health, but there are two biographies of Winston Churchill that I have learned so much about leadership and the courage to make difficult decisions during incredibly tough times. You study Churchill's life, when he took his position, Dunkirk had just happened, and he's asked to lead a country at its darkest hour. So I find great inspiration in learning and studying Churchill's life. So that's my favorite-

Japhet De Oliveira:

Beautiful.

Kerry Heinrich:

... book, two books there actually. Movie, I'm a pilot, who doesn't love Top Gun and Tom Cruise and the arrogance of a fighter pilot? I hope I'm never arrogant, but I just love-

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, I know. I know.

Kerry Heinrich:

... movie lines like, "Your ego's writing checks your body can't cash." I hope I never lead that way, but so I'm a pilot and I love to watch high performance aircraft.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Oh, that's beautiful. Well, hopefully the second Top Gun will come out sometime in the next 10 years, and will be released for us.

Kerry Heinrich:

That's right. That's right.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Everyone's going to go see it. That's beautiful. All right, so I've got to say this though, people are going to want to know if you're going to go for at least 100. Would you be willing to-

Kerry Heinrich:

Well, come on, Japhet, I went from 99.

Japhet De Oliveira:

So let me ask you 100, and then you can decide what you want to do with this, or so you may say, "That was a bridge too far." Tell us about one question that you don't want to answer.

Kerry Heinrich:

A question I don't want to answer. Wow, that's tough for me actually, because there are questions, of course, I won't answer that cross lines of family confidentiality-

Japhet De Oliveira:

Sure.

Kerry Heinrich:

... and cross lines of business confidentiality, but I can't actually think of a question I wouldn't answer. I've said this to the board of trustees, "Ask me anything you want to ask and I will do my best to answer it." So other than lines of personal family confidentiality and business confidentiality, I actually can't think of a question I wouldn't answer. Other than, do you dance? I'm going to avoid that question.

Japhet De Oliveira:

That's fair enough. Well, and we are excited that you're going to be holding several town halls at various points, and Q&A is something that you actually enjoy, which is great.

Kerry Heinrich:

I do. I love... One of the most disappointing things to me in a town hall is when nobody is brave enough to ask a question, and it defeats the whole purpose. I mean, you have an individual who's there, and I think part of it is people don't really believe you that you actually want them to ask questions. But I think true human interaction, growth, credibility, trust building happens when people are authentic, they ask the hard question, like, "When are you going to give us a pay raise?" And, "How come you raised your pay, but you didn't raise our pay?" I mean, those are fair questions.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Yes.

Kerry Heinrich:

And your willingness to actually engage and answer questions that people ask builds trust that you genuinely care. So I hope at town hall meetings, people will ask the hard questions.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Hey, we hope so too. And we look forward to them. The honesty and transparency is fantastic.

Kerry Heinrich:

Thank you, Japhet.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Well, Kerry, look, thank you so much for taking the time. I know you have an incredibly intense schedule, and thank you for taking the time to share some of the stories and experiences that have shaped your life. We are incredibly excited about the future and your vision and your passion, your faith, and your love for people. It only hurts if it's really love, right? And so-

Kerry Heinrich:

That's right. That's right.

Japhet De Oliveira:

So we-

Kerry Heinrich:

That's exactly right.

Japhet De Oliveira:

... appreciate that Kerry, and really glad... And to everybody who's listening, I just want to be able to say you have stories and experiences as well, please share them. Please listen to others, and together you can be absolutely a force for good, and you can change the world to be a better place.

Kerry Heinrich:

Beautifully said. Beautifully said. Thank you.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Thank you.

Narrator:

Thank you for joining us for The Story & Experience Podcast. We invite you to read, watch, and submit your story and experience at AdventistHealth.org/Story. The Story & Experience Podcast was brought to you by Adventist Health, through the Office of Culture.