Robert Bonner
Episode 68

Narrator: Welcome friends, to another episode of The Story & Experience Podcast. Join your host, Japhet De Oliveira, with his guest today, and discover the moments that shape us, our families and communities.

Japhet De Oliveira: Welcome friends to another episode of The Story & Experience podcast. We have a new guest today, as you can imagine, and for anybody who's brand new, listening to the podcast for the very first time. The way that it works is that I have a hundred questions. First 10 I ask, and the guest who's sitting right opposite of me right now, here at Adventist Health, Glendale, they get to answer between 11 and 100 and they get to pick a number.

So, it's kind of exciting. We get to hear their stories and experiences that shape their lives into the leader that they are today. So, let's dive straight in. I'm going to ask the very first question here. Could you share with everyone you know your name and does anybody ever mess up the pronunciation?

Robert Bonner: Sure. My name is Robert Bonner. Most people call me Rob. Pronunciation, I've been called Richard a lot.

Japhet De Oliveira: Richard?

Robert Bonner: People forget people's names, so they always remember the R, and that started with an R, it must be Richard, so I-

Japhet De Oliveira: No.

Robert Bonner: People call me Richard quite often.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right, that's good. Well, we'll remember to call you Rob or Robert.

Robert Bonner: All right, that works.

Japhet De Oliveira: Any preference on that?

Robert Bonner: No preference.

Japhet De Oliveira: No preference. All right, brilliant. Rob, what do you do for work?

Robert Bonner: I'm the finance officer here at Glendale Adventist, which means I do the financial statements. I do financial operations. I do the business side of healthcare, which is always interesting.

Japhet De Oliveira: Wow. Yes, that is interesting. That is interesting. That's fantastic. And have you been doing this long?

Robert Bonner: I lost count. But over 20 years, yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: Over 20 years. Okay, so this is your wheel jam. This is what you-

Robert Bonner: That's correct.

Japhet De Oliveira: Enjoy the most?

Robert Bonner: Yep.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great. That's great. When you wake up in the morning, what's your first drink of the day? Is it water? Is it coffee? Is it tea? Is one of those liquid green smoothies?

Robert Bonner: I think I start with water, but I move to coffee pretty quickly.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh really? Okay.

Robert Bonner: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Right. All right. And what kind of coffee do you like? This is a test.

Robert Bonner: I like Pete's, Major Dickinson's, dark roast.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay, all right. It brings it home for you. That's good. Rob, where were you born?

Robert Bonner: I was born in Klamath Falls, Oregon.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, right, right. And when you were a child there, what did you imagine you would grow up to be?

Robert Bonner: I don't recall, but I know I was fascinated with trucks. So, maybe it had to do with fire trucks, maybe driving a truck. I don't know. I loved trucks when I was really small.

Japhet De Oliveira: Did you still love them?

Robert Bonner: No, no. I love tractors now, actually.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh really?

Robert Bonner: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: And do you own a tractor?

Robert Bonner: I own several, yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh really?

Robert Bonner: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's amazing. That's amazing. Tractors are rather interesting, interesting machines. They look really beautiful, especially the green ones. I don't know what brand they are, but the green-

Robert Bonner: A John Deere, most likely.

Japhet De Oliveira: John Deere.

Robert Bonner: And I have one, but it's not green.

Japhet De Oliveira: Is it yellow?

Robert Bonner: It's yellow.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay, I've failed. No worries. I'm learning all the time. Rob, if people were to describe your personality, would they describe you as an introvert, an extrovert, and would you agree with them?

Robert Bonner: I think they would probably call me more of an introvert, though I have my moments. So, I present in front of hundreds of people and I'm usually pretty decent at it, so I don't really ... I mean, I agree with them, but I seem to overcome it quite often.

Japhet De Oliveira: And do you feel energized when you do that?

Robert Bonner: I do. I do, actually, yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay, secretly extroverted.

Robert Bonner: Secretly, it's part terror, part ...

Japhet De Oliveira: Everybody has that. I knew this really famous speaker who used to do pushups every time before he spoke, like 10 and just get his blood going.

Robert Bonner: I'll try that.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, you try that. That's a lot of fun. Hey, that's great. Are you an early ... This is about habits now. Are you an early riser or late night owl?

Robert Bonner: I'm both.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, great. Oh, great. Okay.

Robert Bonner: So yeah, lately, the last two years I've been waking up pretty early. But I have the old habits of staying up late, so I make up for the weekends. I catch up on my sleep.

Japhet De Oliveira: Do you really?

Robert Bonner: I do.

Japhet De Oliveira: Does that really work, Rob?

Robert Bonner: No.

Japhet De Oliveira: No, I was going to say, I don't know... So, when you say early, what's early for you?

Robert Bonner: About 5:30.

Japhet De Oliveira: 5:30, okay. Good luck with the weekends. Hey, this morning when you woke up, what was the first thing that went through your mind?

Robert Bonner: Honestly, I had a California tortoise show up on my doorstep, and I wanted to see if it was okay.

Japhet De Oliveira: A what?

Robert Bonner: A tortoise.

Japhet De Oliveira: Did you really? On your doorstep?

Robert Bonner: Desert Tortoise, yep. Showed up in my driveway. I live in a ranch, so it's remote. I was a little worried about it so when I woke up, it was the first thing-

Japhet De Oliveira: I was thinking of downtown Glendale. I was like, "Okay. All right."

Robert Bonner: Now I live on a ranch.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh my. So when did you see this tortoise? Last night, or this morning?

Robert Bonner: Actually, it walked up to my house yesterday afternoon. And my girlfriend found it. You're not supposed to touch him or anything, and we know that. So, I just watched it. It just sat there looking in our window and it was still there this morning.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay, okay. All right, all right. So, you just left it?

Robert Bonner: Yep, just leave it there, making sure it's okay. And it's just hanging around and I mean, it must ... It's probably 50 years old.

Japhet De Oliveira: Wow.

Robert Bonner: So it has probably lived there all this time. Had a lot of rain and it must have just came out because of the rain.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's amazing. All right, that's great. You only see those are movies, really, so that's great. Hey, here's a leadership question for you. Are you a backseat driver?

Robert Bonner: I actually cannot stand when someone else drives. I'm afraid of heights, so anytime there's a mountain road in it, I have to be driving. Very few people don't terrify me. So, I wouldn't say I'm a backseat driver like I tell them what to do. But I sit there terrified. So I tend to drive a lot.

Japhet De Oliveira: You tend to drive a lot.

Robert Bonner: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: And then when it comes to leadership, do you take that same principle?

Robert Bonner: Yeah, pretty much. Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. That's fair enough, that's fair enough, that's great. Well, see how easy it was. It was fantastic. Thank you for sharing those. And so now, I hand it over to you, the driving, and you choose between 11 and 100. Where would you like to go?

Robert Bonner: Let's go 21.

Japhet De Oliveira: 21, all right. Brilliant. Share the very best compliment you've ever received.

Robert Bonner: Wow. When people emulate things that I do, I think that as a huge compliment. And especially professionally. So, when I create something new and I think it's really nice, and then other people, especially my peers, other CFOs, take it and emulate it and start using it, I really take pride in that kind of stuff.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's fantastic. Hey, that's really good. That's really good. Yeah, especially because so much thought's gone into it, right?

Robert Bonner: It just validates me.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Why not? Why not? All right, so that was 21. Do you want to go up or down?

Robert Bonner: Let’s just go to 35.

Japhet De Oliveira: 35, all right. Oh, share a special interest or unique talent that you have.

Robert Bonner: Well, very few people know that I am an avid salsa dancer. I'm not good at it, but I do enjoy it and I can do it.

Japhet De Oliveira: Really? Okay.

Robert Bonner: So, I don't look like a salsa dancer, but I am.

Japhet De Oliveira: Well, people are now imagining what a non-looking salsa dancer looks like, and so we'll just let the imagination go there. So you like salsa dancing? All right?

Robert Bonner: Yeah, yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's fantastic. What created that love?

Robert Bonner: Yeah. A friend of mine got me into it against my will, and I just kept going.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's fantastic. I wish I could dance. I'm with you, but well done for achieving that. That's great.

Robert Bonner: Thank you.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. After 35, up or down?

Robert Bonner: Let's go to 42.

Japhet De Oliveira: 42. Do you have a photo, I'm hoping you have a photo, on your cell phone. And could you tell us a story behind it?

Robert Bonner: Want me to look?

Japhet De Oliveira: Sure, yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira:

Do you have a photo? Do you photo of-

Robert Bonner: I have a photo of the tortoise, let's see. Oh, I have a tarantula.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. Tell us the story behind the tarantula.

Robert Bonner: I found it in my house.

Japhet De Oliveira: Seriously? Have you thought about moving?

Robert Bonner: I do, I have a lot of wildlife near me, yeah. So my daughter said, "There's the biggest spider in the world on the wall," and it was in my ... I have a basement and there's a stairway going down there. And I looked, yeah, it was a tarantula. It was a small one. It was only about the size of my phone.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh yeah, sure. That's small.

Robert Bonner: But I left it there for two days because it was ... I didn't want to mess with it. And finally, I just caught it and let it go outside.

Japhet De Oliveira: Very generous of you.

Robert Bonner: Yeah. Well actually, they're very-

Japhet De Oliveira: Delicate aren't they?

Robert Bonner: Delicate animals and they're very beneficial because they just eat crickets and stuff.

Japhet De Oliveira: They also can make our heart run a little bit faster and cause the blood to travel.

Robert Bonner: Yes, yep.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, that's pretty impressive. All right. All right. Where'd you want to go next? That was 42.

Robert Bonner: Oh, let's go 50.

Japhet De Oliveira: 50.

Robert Bonner: That's got to be a good one.

Japhet De Oliveira: Rob, tell us about who has influenced you professionally.

Robert Bonner: Well, when I first started my career, there was a guy named Ike Hoffman He was the controller for the hospital that I worked this as in Oregon, the state of Oregon. And he had been there for 48 years.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh my, yeah.

Robert Bonner: He started as an orderly and he had worked at every department in the hospital.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh my.

Robert Bonner: And he ended up in accounting, ended up the controller of the hospital. And he lived his life in such a way where he was so down to earth. And he really taught me, learn every department. He knew every department because he worked at every department for so long. And there's always ... things are never, always as you think until you go and actually see it for yourself. So, I learned that from him. He was very influential. I was so young when I met him, and he basically kept me grounded.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, that's a really great principle. How do you do that? I mean, you're here at Adventist Health at Glendale. How do you do that here? With keeping your job and also learning about every department?

Robert Bonner: I think it's progressed into experience, where I know there's more going on. So, I don't jump to conclusions, I don't react, I always ... I mean, I go myself. I may have someone else go. There's too many things to do. But I always look for the truth behind the initial data point that I'm reacting to. I think it's helped me a lot.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great, yeah. That's really good. Good tip, fantastic. All right, so that was 50. Where next?

Robert Bonner: Oh, well let's go to 52.

Japhet De Oliveira: 52.

Robert Bonner: Because that's my age.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great. Hey Rob, share with us what motivates you to not sleep, apparently.

Robert Bonner: Well, my brain doesn't turn off, so that's part of it, I can't ever stop thinking. So people will say, "Need to work longer hours." I can't possibly work longer hours because I never stop working. So, my motivation is really the puzzles. The puzzles, the things that are unknown. I have to find the solution and I can't stop thinking about it until I do. So, that's really my motivation, is just finding the answers to problems.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's really good. Malcolm Gladwell talks about when you're writing a great story, that you should actually create puzzles inside there. So, the fact that you think of the puzzles, it's actually fantastic. That's good, that's good.

Robert Bonner: Thanks.

Japhet De Oliveira: Do you feel that you solve all your puzzles?

Robert Bonner: I have to, otherwise I don't sleep. No, I don't. I either solve them or decide they're unsolvable, and so then I stop worrying about them.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, that's a good technique. All right, that's great. Good, all right. That was 52.

Robert Bonner: Let's go to 60.

Japhet De Oliveira: 60, okay. When in life have you actually felt most alone?

Robert Bonner: Well, there's a period ... I've had some dark periods in my life. I've been divorced, that was ... been through major custody battle for my daughter right after that. And there was a period there, where I was…

Robert Bonner:

... pretty alone and changed careers a few times, rapidly. Trying to find myself. There was a period, probably about 20, about 15 years ago that ... 15 to 18, though, that period of time where it was pretty dark. A lot of growth happened as well. Learned to be alone, learned to be happy alone, and just wasn't in a healthy place to be with other people, romantically, for example. I did my job, I did it very well. Actually. I focused on work and-

Japhet De Oliveira: A lot more.

Robert Bonner: Yeah, a lot more. And everything works out in the end.

Japhet De Oliveira: For anyone who's going through something like that, what would you say to them to encourage them through that period?

Robert Bonner: Just that, that it doesn't last forever. I mean, sometimes it feels it, seems like you're getting boxed in a corner, for example. And there's no way out of it but there always is. And there's always a light then the tunnel. And eventually, you get there and you look back and you think, "You know, that was hard, but it really wasn't that hard." So, in the moment, it feels bad and it feels hard, but it won't always feel that way, to just keep pushing forward, one day after the next.

Japhet De Oliveira: Good perspective. Appreciate that. Right, that was the 52.

Robert Bonner: Those get pretty intense.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, no, hey.

Robert Bonner: No, didn't I say 60 last time? Yeah, that was 60.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh no, that was 60. Yeah, that was 60.

Robert Bonner: Let's go to 72.

Japhet De Oliveira: 72, right, yeah. Tell us about what you want to do when you retire, and then why are you waiting?

Robert Bonner: You know, that changes a lot. I mean, when I wanted to retire, I wanted to travel for quite a while. Now, I don't, well, I do. I guess that's still a goal, just to travel. But my main thought when I think about retirement is just kind of a freedom. So, this really goal, is get to a place where I feel like I have the independence and the freedom to do whatever I want. That's really my appeal of retiring.

The reason I don't is because I know it's short-lived. I think that feeling would be with me for a year or so, and then I would be, what do I do now? I do really enjoy what I do. I financially could retire right now, so I don't ... just my decision not to. So, it's really the puzzles, more puzzles, more things to solve. I think I have a career where I can help people indirectly. I don't like blood, I don't like-

Japhet De Oliveira: That's okay, that's okay.

Robert Bonner: ... I can't do any of that, but I can help them.

Japhet De Oliveira: I am glad you're not working with blood, you stay in the finance area, that's great.

Robert Bonner: Yeah, I can't do it, but I can help my way. So I do that.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good. That's good. Hey, I totally understand. That's fantastic. All right. Where next?

Robert Bonner: Oh, let's go back down. I'll take a break. Let's go to 44.

Japhet De Oliveira: 44, okay. All right. Well, this will be fun. What is something that you are proud to have created?

Robert Bonner: Well, outside of healthcare, I created a horse ranch.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, really? Okay.

Robert Bonner: Where I live, and it's my hobby, but I don't really ride very often. I'm not really into that. I've created something, or a place where people can come. They have their horses, they hang out on my property, and they really love to be there. It's just something to see. I mean, otherwise, you just have a bunch of space just being wasted. And I generally turned it into a place where people can come and enjoy themselves and enjoy what I've built.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's fantastic. And how many years did it take you to get to that space to do that? To build a space?

Robert Bonner: It's been about five years now, so it took me a good five years.

Japhet De Oliveira: From scratch? From scratch to there. That's not bad.

Robert Bonner: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Oh, fantastic. That's really interesting. All right. That was 44 then.

Robert Bonner: Let's see. Let's do 68.

Japhet De Oliveira: 68, all right. If you could learn one new professional skill, what would it be?

Robert Bonner: I think I would do something completely different because it's all been about computers and accounting, and strict business and entrepreneurship, and it's all that stuff. I think I'd want to learn something like play the guitar.

Japhet De Oliveira: Really?

Robert Bonner: Yeah, I think if I could be ... Something musical anyway, maybe not ... Maybe piano, guitar, something like that. Except I've never delved into that side of my possible-

Japhet De Oliveira: Creativity.

Robert Bonner: Yeah, creativity. It's always appealed to me, but I never took the plunge. So, I think if I had the opportunity, I would do that.

Japhet De Oliveira: You should make that opportunity happen.

Robert Bonner: I agree.

Japhet De Oliveira: And obviously a guitar is easier to carry around, but ...

Robert Bonner: True.

Japhet De Oliveira: No, you should do it. You should. The fact that you think of that, that's great. Good, all right. Where next then?

Robert Bonner: Oh, let's see, let's do ... let's go up there. Let's go 85.

Japhet De Oliveira: 85, all right. Describe a role model you aspire to be like.

Robert Bonner: That's a good one. I mean, people who have had major accomplishments in their lives have always appealed to me, the Elon Musk, those type ... taking politics out of everything. I'm just looking at accomplishments.

Japhet De Oliveira: We have to these days.

Robert Bonner: Yeah. I mean, let's just talk about Elon Musk for now. I mean, he went from a techy guy. He created a mapping system and he ended up selling it for a couple hundred million. Most people would be done right there, 200 million or 200 ... whatever it was. It was up there. Instead, he reinvests all of it into two things. One is Tesla and the other one is SpaceX. Either one of them, or both of them could easily just went bankrupt, he could have lost everything. But instead, they both are huge now. And now he's one of the richest man, I think, he is the richest man in the world.

Japhet De Oliveira: I think that's true.

Robert Bonner: Or he was, before Tesla crashed. But just having that sheer mental fortitude to risk that much. Maybe it was easy come, kind of his thing. But he risked it all. And he seemed to get rewarded from it. And I'm not sure exactly how he's successful, and maybe I should look into that. But just the accomplishment alone makes me think that must be an amazing person.

Japhet De Oliveira: You like the idea of the feats that he's actually done, and grandeur and scale.

Robert Bonner: I mean, he built things that he thought the world needed and made them successful. If I had billions of dollars, maybe I'd do that too.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, that's great. That's great. All right, good. Where next then, after that?

Robert Bonner: Let's see what 90 is like.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. Tell us about how you overcame something that was seemingly insurmountable. An obstacle that was just like ... I don't know, and yet you overcame it.

Robert Bonner: I'm partially fortunate that I don't have a lot of problems like that. But I've had problems. I mean, I've worked for hospitals that were bankrupt and did turn them around. I never did feel they were insurmountable though, they were difficult.

Japhet De Oliveira: The puzzle for you.

Robert Bonner: They're part of the puzzle, yeah. Insurmountable. I just haven't had an insurmountable problem yet.

Japhet De Oliveira: You're not phased by any of those?

Robert Bonner: Not phased, or if I have, they're still insurmountable. I haven't fronted them yet.

Japhet De Oliveira: Were those one of those puzzles where you just put it to the side?

Robert Bonner: That's true, I do that. So, yeah, I can't answer that one.

Japhet De Oliveira: No, no, that's good. That's good. That's fair, all right. That was 90. So you want to go up or you want to ...

Robert Bonner: Let's go to 95.

Japhet De Oliveira: 95, all right. Tell us, Rob, about how you see your faith walk and your life intersecting.

Robert Bonner: It goes back and forth because I worked for profit companies, had no faith-base whatsoever, and I learned a lot from them. Not on the faith side, but on just how to do things and how to do these logically. And usually the motivation is profit.

And then I've worked for places that have, like Adventist Health, that has very, very strong faith. The latter is preferable. I mean, it meshes with my personal faith. And you feel like the reason you're doing it, even though what I do is very similar, depending on the way I'm working, but who I'm working for and why makes a big difference.

So, I feel more fulfilled. I feel my personal faith, I'm doing His work. I'm not doing some shareholders' work. So, it's a whole different feeling. I would never go back. I'm glad I did it because I'm using those tools now for His work. And if I hadn't done it, I wouldn't know some of the things I know now, maybe a lot of the things I know now. So, the path was back and forth a little bit, but now I'm where I could apply what I've learned to His work.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's fantastic. Yeah, appreciate that. That's good. Thank you, all right. That was 95.

Robert Bonner: I got to see what a number 100 is.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, you want to do that right now? We can, yeah, okay. So, this is the question 100. Not a lot ask that, by the way, just-

Robert Bonner: Really?

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. So, tell us about one question that you just don't want to answer.

Robert Bonner: Wow, that's a tough one, let's think for ... Let's pause this for a second.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, pause. Take your time. Take your time. Absolutely.

Robert Bonner: The question I don't want to answer?

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. What's the question you don't want to answer?

Robert Bonner: I don't really have any skeletons or anything like that.

Japhet De Oliveira: It may not be a skeleton. It may be something that you don't want to spend time in right now.

Robert Bonner: All right. I got the answer.

Japhet De Oliveira: Oh, okay.

Robert Bonner: I got it.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right.

Robert Bonner: Okay. So the question I would very hesitant to answer is my political affiliations. Because I live in California, it's very liberal, it's very anti ... I am a Republican. I feel like on the financial issues, because I'm a financial person, the Republicans make a lot more sense. On social issues, I don't agree with much, to tell you the truth. But I do consider myself a staunch Republican and it doesn't always mesh with the people I work with or the organizations I work with. But that's who I am and I just fit better on that side.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good. That's interesting because I mean, not only did you share the question, but you also spoke to the question. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I appreciate that. I appreciate that. Brilliant, well that was 100. So where would you like to go next?

Robert Bonner: Only can go down from there.

Japhet De Oliveira: Well, down is a bad term, but I'm with you, so you can go ... yeah.

Robert Bonner: I can always go lower in numbers. No, let's go down to a number of 40.

Japhet De Oliveira: 40, all right. Oh, tell us about a time that you failed.

Robert Bonner: Failed. Professionally or personally, or do you care?

Japhet De Oliveira: I don't mind. Because maybe you feel this way as well, but I do believe that all of these things were, wherever they happen, they shape us.

Robert Bonner: Well, I was a single father. I still am actually, of a daughter. I got divorced when she was two and a half. So raising her, I think I've made a lot of mistakes. I think she turned out great, but I definitely failed many times along the way. I don't want to go into details about it, but yeah, I think if I could do it over again, I would be a much better parent to her. But I think in the end, maybe it made her stronger because I wasn't perfect.

Japhet De Oliveira: A lot of parents feel the same way, right? Or actually, all parents, if they're honest would start to feel the same way. We're not perfect. What do you think would help your daughter with this, knowing these things that you've gone through as a parent, that would help her be stronger in the future?

Robert Bonner: I think when she becomes a parent, someday she'll know what-

Japhet De Oliveira: She'll see.

Robert Bonner: ... not to do. I think I did a lot of things right and some things I didn't do right. And I think it will help her and she'll be a better parent than I was.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great, that's great. Well, that's good as well. That's all good. All right. All right, that was 40.

Robert Bonner: Let's go to 20.

Japhet De Oliveira: 20, all right. Oh, tell us something that you would rate 10 out of 10.

Robert Bonner: Just anything? 10 out of 10.

Japhet De Oliveira: In anything that you would say, "This is 10 out of 10." It's going to be a marker now, we're going to know.

Robert Bonner: Yeah. I don't know if I want to give my endorsement of anything that strongly.

Japhet De Oliveira: Well, that's why it's a 10 out of 10.

Robert Bonner: I got to say, plugin hybrids are amazing. I can plug in at home, drive to work, plug in at work, drive home. When I bought one, my first one I bought was January, 2018. I didn't put gas in it until September.

Japhet De Oliveira: Wow.

Robert Bonner: Because I just drove it from work. It was a great commuter ... just a commuter thing. I didn't put gas in it once. So, I highly recommend them, if you're ever-

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, 10 out of 10.

Robert Bonner: ... if you have a commute where you can do that, it's a 10 out of 10.

Japhet De Oliveira: So, it's not the hybrid version, it's the actual plugin version.

Robert Bonner: It's the plugin type because you can ... I mean, gas prices weren't what they were back then, or ... I still drive it today, so it's still-

Japhet De Oliveira: That's fantastic.

Robert Bonner: ... lifesaver.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, that's great. That's great. Good, all right. That was 20. Where next? You have time for two more, by the way.

Robert Bonner: All right. Let's do 36.

Japhet De Oliveira: 36, all right. Let's go here. Tell us about one thing you hope never changes?

Robert Bonner: The climate. It's getting hot. I know I hear a lot about climate change.

Japhet De Oliveira: It is. It is getting hot.

Robert Bonner: But I really hope it doesn't get any hotter because I live in a partial desert and it's-

Japhet De Oliveira: Do you feel it? Do you feel it?

Robert Bonner: Oh, I feel it. My electric bill feels it and yeah, I'm hoping the climate does not change.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Well, we got a lot of work to do to get that. All right. So, your last one, what would you like to end on that?

Robert Bonner: Let's do 62.

Japhet De Oliveira: 62, all right. Oh, what does a sense of community mean to you, Rob?

Robert Bonner: Sense of community. Actually, it's very important to me. It's giving, it's being part of society, doing something that as a whole, no individual can do. So you do it for the community and the community benefits from it. So I mean, I feel like at Glendale Adventist, we're part of the Glendale community, and it goes into every decision we make, is what can we do ... What does the community need? And it's a big part of our lives. As an executive at Glendale Adventist, is what does the community need and how can we fulfill it? How can we meet its needs, what do they know they need? What do they don't know what they need? How can we fill all of it? So, that's where I live, basically.

Japhet De Oliveira: I like that. I agree with you, that our hospital can be seen as a place, that actually people just go when they're sick. But actually the hospital influences so much of the community wellbeing as a whole and has a voice and a responsibility for all those areas. So, I love that you feel the same way as well. And to be honest, I have heard amazingly good things about you. So, people are talking about you already-

Robert Bonner: Really?

Japhet De Oliveira: ... and saying good things. And so, it's fantastic. It's fantastic. So, thank you for being here in the short time. It's great to have you part of the team.

Japhet De Oliveira: Listen, I just want to encourage everybody who's listening to do the same thing that Rob and I just did right now. Connect, get a cup of coffee. We don't have one here, we should have had one, feel bad about that, cup of tea. Sit down, see each other, ask good questions, listen to each other. Because you change, I change, we all grow from it. Rob, thank you so much for your time.

Robert Bonner: Thank you very much, I really enjoyed it. It was a pleasure.

Japhet De Oliveira: Absolutely, absolutely. God bless, everybody. You take care.

Narrator: Thank you for joining us for The Story & Experience Podcast. We invite you to read, watch, and submit your story and experience@adventisthealth.org/story. The Story & Experience Podcast was bought to you by Adventist Health through the Office of Culture.