Former Ky. governor speaks for Greek Week

She has dined with the Queen of England and brought hundreds of jobs into Kentucky by acquiring the Toyota plant in the 1980s. She set a precedent by becoming the first female governor in the state and doing business with the Chinese.

But, for former Kentucky Gov. Martha Layne Collins, it all began in Baghdad- Bagdad, Ky.

You just have to drop the H from that town's name, she said.

"We didn't have a stop light, even now (we don't)," she said.

Growing up, she never expected to sip tea with the Queen or meet with businesses around the world, but she said she refused to do anything other than plan on a large scale.

Collins, who served as Kentucky's governor from 1983 to 1987, shared advice and stories with hundreds of fraternity and sorority members Monday night in Brock Auditorium during inspirational, a kickoff to the Greek Week 2008 festivities.

She addressed the crowd to a standing ovation and asked audience members to tell her where they came from.

She mentioned Kentucky and Ohio by name, which brought cheers, and then asked for other states to speak up as well, which brought both cheers and laughter from Collins and the crowd.

Collins insisted on making the night informal, talking to students as if she was in a small classroom instead of a large auditorium.

She focused on competition and how it shapes people, and said that the opportunities available to Greeks are not to be taken for granted, as they can experience things normal students cannot - opportunities such as working with different cultures and team building.

Likewise, she said these experiences add responsibility as parents, instructors and employers will expect more out of those who choose to be Greek.

She also said students should look at their fraternity brothers or sorority sisters as teammates, with team building serving as a fundamental element of the Greek life.

"I'm a firm believer in teams," she said.

Numerous presidents, senators, representatives and Supreme Court members also count themselves among the ranks of the Greeks, and Collins said this affiliation gave them good training for their future positions.

However, much of her speech challenged students to understand the cultural competition around them.

As they leave college, they will be competing not only with students in the United States, but students all over the globe, she said.

She illustrated her point by asking the audience some questions.

She said students around the world were arising to a new day.

Did those students learn more, train more and do more to compete in the increasingly shrinking world than the students at Eastern did?

Collins said it was pertinent for students to ask themselves these questions as they prepare to enter the workforce, and even now as they function within their fraternity or sorority.

She related her on experiences traveling to China, where she found row after row of computers in schools, while state-wide schools talk about class reduction.

"We're training 32, [and] they're training 2,000," she said.

She also said America's influence is affected as other countries grow.

"America is the 800-pound gorilla in the room," Collins said, referring to the adage used to describe an overwhelming force. "But we're starting to lose weight. We need to make sure we don't lose too much weight."

For instance, Collins referenced the outsourcing of call centers to India, which has taken jobs from Kentucky.

She said the people in India were willing to master English and make themselves relatable to the American people, so they can "sound like us" as they help people with their washing machines or computers.

Collins said competition is not something she shies away from.

"I [love] competition; I always want to win," she said

One of Collins' main focuses today is economic development as the Chairman and CEO of the Kentucky World Trade Center.

As governor, she did battle with Tennessee to get both a Saturn and Toyota plant, losing Saturn, but winning over Toyota through what she called "special attention."

Special attention is the key to competing successfully, she said, and knowing the culture you are dealing with - whether it is Japan or the culture of another state - is vital.

The battle for Toyota began in the mid '80s as multiple states vied for the opportunity to build the plant, which would bring considerable amounts of new jobs to the winning state.

During the bidding war, Collins insisted on taking a different approach, as she had staff hand deliver a package and answer questions personally.

She also sent some of her staff to "accidentally" meet Dr. Toyota in his hotel lobby in New York City.

They told him to call her if he had any questions, and she used it as a chance to welcome him to the country and answer further questions.

Meanwhile, states were being marked off the list as the bidding war finally came down to Tennessee and Kentucky.

Collins said her knowledge of the interests of the Japanese people helped her prepare their business meeting to impress the car company.

She had a meal prepared that they would find courteous, invited the Steven Foster Singers to perform folk music the Japanese were fond of and even shot off fireworks outside the Governor's Mansion, which led to people calling the cops, fire department and mansion security, Collins said with a laugh.

But, the gesture showed that they understood and respected the culture Toyota came from, and ultimately drew Toyota to Georgetown.

Collins encouraged everyone in attendance to get interested in various cultures and learn how to compete.

She said students' decisions should not be made for next week or tomorrow, but rather made to help shape where they will be five to 10 years from now.

"This is only the beginning for you all," she said.