A rare gift for striking balance

IT is just over two weeks now since Frank Costa left us.

So much has been written and eulogised about this remarkable man; the “big” stories of his success, positive leadership and influence — let alone his philanthropy — but also the small one-on-one encounters where Frank left a lasting impression on so, so many individuals across our community.

Thousands turned out at GMHBA Stadium and online last Wednesday to honour him and his legacy. Despite the autumnal chill, no one really felt the cold.

We honoured a fellow Geelong citizen who while, like all of us, was not perfect, he made a fundamental difference to not only our city but to who we are as a community.

I do not confess to knowing Frank very well but always enjoyed a conversation with him, appreciated his wisdom and greatly admired him as a person.

Frank had that special knack of making you feel like you were the only one in the room, even though there were hundreds of others around who could equally demand his attention. His brother Robert spoke of Frank’s constant and consistent “calming voice”.

People of Frank Costa’s ilk come along so rarely, once in every second generation if we are lucky.

While not overly well-read in Geelong’s history, when casting around for someone who has made such a significant, singular impact on our city the only name that kept coming to my mind was Howard Hitchcock. Hitchcock’s building legacy is all around Geelong together with, of course, the iconic Great Ocean Road.

Apart from Hitchcock, there are few, if any, other individuals who come close to Frank’s stature.

For all that has already been written and spoken about Frank Costa, I am sure there is still much more to come — his story is worthy of being often re-told, his messages re-heard.

Frank Costa’s ability to balance family, business success, community and philanthropic generosity over such a long period is a rare gift, speaking volumes of his character.

In fact, character was so important to Frank and his deeply held Christian faith that he instituted a company-wide character-building, values program. This engaged more than 8000 employees at the time over a two-year period.

Andrew Balaam, who worked alongside Frank for 17 years, recently commented on that program’s “positive impact on team performance, service excellence, culture and dramatic improvement to the bottom line.

Employees were regularly overheard saying they had taken home the lessons learnt to educate their families.

Of everything Frank did, this was one of his most powerful and long-lasting legacies.”

To truly honour Frank, we can learn from his emphasis on character and values.

In a recent interview in this newspaper, Geelong Cats CEO Brian Cook expressed this well in saying he would invariably be drawn back to the lessons he took from Frank’s friendship and working relationship.

“There is no way in the world I want to imitate Frank, but the way he trusted people, the way he supported people, the way he managed really tough situations in crisis management, it is those sorts of things I will take from Frank, and his love of the people,” he said.

“I will take those things and try to mould them into my own personality and leadership.

“He had these unbelievable qualities, which you don’t necessarily want to copy, but that you need to figure out which ones will make you a better person and leader.”

If, like Brian Cook, we can learn from and aspire to such qualities and values — to indeed be a better community — Frank Costa will create an even greater, lasting legacy in our community.

We thank Shirley and the whole Costa family for sharing Frank with us all — no doubt at some cost at times. In their grieving for the man they loved, hopefully there is some comfort in the utterly high regard in which Frank is held.

May Frank Costa rest well in peace after a life extraordinarily well led. None of us can emulate him, but we certainly can learn much from his character.

FRANK HAD THAT SPECIAL KNACK OF MAKING YOU FEEL LIKE YOU WERE THE ONLY ONE IN THE ROOM EVEN THOUGH THERE WERE HUNDREDS OF OTHERS AROUND WHO COULD EQUALLY DEMAND HIS ATTENTION.”