(primarily used for the treatment of tumors and radiation therapy). In the process, he became wealthy beyond his wildest dreams. Mr. Doty is also very generous. With a net worth of $75 million, he pledged stock worth $30 million to charity. Not long after the pledge was announced, his investments were hit hard by the dot.com crash of 2000-2001. Doty lost almost everything. The only thing left was the pledged stock. His lawyers advised Doty that he could get out of the pledge. They told him people would understand that his circumstances had changed, and that they wouldn’t expect him to follow through. Doty considered his options. He later said, “One of the persistent myths in our society is that money will make you happy. Growing up poor, I thought that money would give me everything I did not have: control, power,
love. When I finally had all the money I had ever dreamed of, I discovered that it did not make me happy.” Doty decided to follow through with his pledge and give away the last of his fortune. And how did he feel after the gift was given? Doty stated, “At that moment, I realized that the only way that money can bring happiness is to give it away.” You can add one more item to Doty’s list of talents: integrity. With the price much higher than he initially thought it would be, Doty followed through on his commitment to giving. The irony is that only after the gift was given did James Doty find the happiness he had been searching for. When was the last time your integrity was tested? Stay Safe and Remember – we do not need all the operators in Texas to be a member of TWUA – JUST YOU ! ! ! !
WATER DISTRIBUTION & WASTEWATER COLLECTION | WATER SUPPLY INFRASTRUCTURE DESIGN WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE DESIGN | WASTEWATER TREATMENT DESIGN Texas Engineering Firm #470
July 2021
Texas Water Utilities Journal www.twua.org 7
