Sun, March 07, 2010 - 10:55:53

A Small Investment

Grace Groner was, by all accounts, an everyday woman.  Having never married, she lived a modest life, alone in a small cottage in Illinois and worked for many years as an administrator at a local technology company.  But Groner had one big secret—and it had more than a little to do with the power of small.

After Groner passed away in January at the age of 100, her alma mater, Lake Forest University received the surprise of a century.  Grace Groner had bequeathed them $7 million.

No, this wasn’t an instance of “little mistakes spell disaster.”  The sum wasn’t a typo.  In fact, over the years, Groner had humbly—and quietly—become a multi-millionaire thanks to one small investment of $180 she made more than 60 years ago. 

After taking a job as a secretary at Abbot Laboratories, Groner was given the opportunity to purchase three shares of the company stock, valued then at $60 each.  But, as the years passed, the shares slowly grew in value until they were worth an astounding $7 million. 

That’s the power of small. And it’s just one more example of how even our smallest actions can have a dramatic impact on our lives and in the lives of others. Although Groner probably never imagined that her little purchase at the start of her career would someday help her fund a new program allowing college students to study abroad, that one small action in fact had the power to effect great change in the lives of others for years to come. 

Posted by Linda and Robin