Letters: Banner is motivated by a need to do good

I was very disappointed with the story on Joe Banner ("Little big man," Thursday).

I've known Banner for 16 years, and to sum up his winning spirit as some sort of childhood defense against his stature is ridiculous and superficial. What successful CEO in America today doesn't want to win? And, by the way, they come in all shapes and sizes - tall, short, fat, and thin. It seems like the psychobabble in this story overrides the essence of what motivates Banner both at work and in his personal life.

If you want to know who Banner really is, why not reach back into his childhood and uncover how a sick boy he tutored when he was a boy himself literally shaped his sense of social obligation. So much so, that when his family sold its clothing business, he didn't sit back and goof off, but, rather, volunteered his time reading to sick children in the hospital. Then, he discovered City Year, and loved the young nonprofit program so much that he volunteered his time helping to make it the success it is today.

His drive to make the Philadelphia Eagles the iconic franchise that it is comes not from a Freudian need to be omnipotent, but from something far less complicated - he cares.

Dava Guerin

Washington Crossing