Purposeful Leadership
Purposeful Leadership
By Margot L. Eccles, LDI, Ltd.
Being a leader is no accident. It is, in some cases, pre-determined.
My mother Edna Lacy was a learn-by-doing kind of leader. In 1959 her husband died unexpectedly, leaving her a thriving box business with seven plants in seven states to preserve for her children along with his example of outstanding community leadership. She assumed leadership, and lead she did. During the course of her 30 years in business and service to the community she was a trustee of Franklin College, on the boards of Winona, the YMCA, the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, United Way, Goodwill Industries, Associated Colleges of Indiana, Indiana Vocational Technical College Foundation, Indiana State Symphony Society, Starlight Musicals, Economic Club, Wright Institute of Otology, Community Hospital, and the Citizen’s Forum. She also served on the advisory councils of the Small Business Administration and IUPUI. She was campaign chairman for the Heart Association and the Salvation Army as well as Chairman of Women’s Affairs for the International Mayor’s Conference in 1971. Five governors named her a “Sagamore of the Wabash .” She was elected to the Indiana Academy in 1973, and in 1974 the Sons of Indiana in New York
When her youngest son, Stanley K. Lacy died in 1973, she took two years to find the appropriate memorial to him - the Stanley K. Lacy Executive Leadership Series. It is no accident that many of our city’s movers and shakers have spent a year in this executive seminar designed to expose them to all aspects of Indianapolis
My mother also expected much of her children. Among Mother’s guiding principals were: be yourself, be honest, privileges must be earned, friends are true wealth, and we all owe a debt to the community. It is no accident that when I returned to Indianapolis in 1983, I should perpetuate the family business as well as the immense reservoir of goodwill in our community. That I have served or serve many of the same boards as my mother is a credit to her guiding stewardship: Franklin College United Way
It is no accident that I continue to advise the Stanley K. Lacy Executive Leadership Series and the Lacy Leadership Association. It was through my mother that these organizations came into existence and their continuation in the community will cause Indianapolis
Volunteering is fun! I enjoy being involved and “If I seem more or appear taller, it’s because I stand on the shoulders of those who came before.”
Margot Lacy Eccles serves as Vice President of LDI, Ltd. and and is a member of the LDI Board of Directors. “Mrs. E” began her career in 1951 as the switchboard operator for U.S. Corrugated. She worked her way through a variety of positions and was promoted to lead community relations for the firm in 1983. Mrs. E is the granddaughter of the company's co-founder, Howard Lacy. Mrs. E attended Tufts University and is a graduate of the American Theater Wing of New York City. She also pursued advanced studies in France at the University of Paris (Sorbonne). Mrs. E is an enthusiastic patron of the arts, and created and continues to sponsor the annual Indiana Repertory Theatre’s "Young Playwrights in Process" program to encourage students from 6th-12th grade to write plays. She serves as Chair of The Lacy Foundation in addition to numerous other volunteer leadership roles in the central Indiana civic, educational and nonprofit arenas.
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