Dwayne Keller was honored as the 2024 Catholic Professional of the Year by the Catholic Business League, accepting the award at the Catholic Business League’s breakfast meeting on Thursday, November 14th at the Cathedral of the Incarnation.
In addition to his role as a board member for Catholic Business League, Keller leads the Leadership Catholic initiative of mentorship and community involvement for rising Catholic professionals in the Diocese of Nashville. Addressing the more than 50 CBL members in attendance, Keller emphasized the value of faith in God and one simple word that can make all the difference.
“It’s amazing all the things that can happen when you say ‘yes’ and put it in God’s hands,” Keller said. That “yes” spurred what has become a thorough involvement with CBL for Keller: first as one of its earliest members, then his leadership with the Board and subsequently as President, and later his decision to join fellow member Steve Horvath to oversee Leadership Catholic.
“The best part of it,” Keller continued, “is the stories that I hear from CBL members and from Leadership Catholic graduates who tell me, ‘My wife and I were going to send our children to public school, but because of Leadership Catholic and what we were exposed to, we’re sending them to Catholic schools.’”
As Keller looked around the room and saw the numerous graduates and current participants of Leadership Catholic, his smile continued to grow as he highlighted the program’s value for so many.
“The people that I have met, the stories that they share about the impact that [Leadership Catholic] has had on them professionally …. I’ve seen people, as a result of the program, literally do a 180-degree or a 90-degree turn with their careers, because they were able to see that it was either a dead-end or that the environment or the culture was not what they wanted to be part of.”
Keller added that the strength of Leadership Catholic carries a deeper value that extends far beyond the walls of an office: “To be better Catholic leaders at home, and learning ways to live their Catholic faith without it feeling like an extra thing to do.”
“These young people are the future leaders of their companies. They’re the future leaders of the community,” he concluded.
The Catholic Business League thanks Dwayne Keller for his continued leadership, and congratulates him once again as the 2024 Catholic Professional of the Year.
Our thanks to all attendees, and a special thanks to David Stamps (Pancoast Benefits) for sponsoring this morning’s meeting.
