Each week, the Shreveport-Bossier Journal’s Tony Taglavore takes to lunch a local person — someone well-known, influential, or successful — and asks “What’s Your Story?”
By TONY TAGLAVORE, Journal Services
Aljay Foreman has been in a lot of meetings since going to work for Willis-Knighton Health System in 1998.
But there’s one meeting years ago he still remembers. A meeting that did not go well at all.
“He ripped me, and others, a new one. He ripped me a new one.”
He is James Elrod, then Willis-Knighton’s Chief Executive Officer who is now the system’s President Emeritus. Elrod was going to meet with visitors about a project, and wanted everything to go just right.
“Mr. E. was a stickler for details. An extreme stickler for details. Somehow, the details didn’t work out.”
And Elrod made it clear he wasn’t happy.
“He said there was an elevator not working appropriately. He said we didn’t have enough reserved (parking) spots. The presentation wasn’t ready. The computers weren’t where they were supposed to be. We’re pretty specific on how we do things when you come on (hospital grounds). We want you to feel welcomed.”
Aljay wouldn’t say exactly which choice words Elrod had for Aljay and others, but the “one-way conversation” is still talked about.
“The individuals involved, when we see each other and we’re together, it’s like, ‘Remember when . . . .? And we all die laughing.'”
Aljay told me that story, and his story, over lunch at Superior’s Steakhouse. Aljay had a shrimp po-boy and two Dr. Pepper’s. I had a side house salad and a bowl of chicken & sausage gumbo.
Now 50 years old, Aljay has earned a position of significant influence and authority at Willis-Knighton. He is Administrator of Willis-Knighton Medical Center. A big place, with a big responsibility.
“I’m held accountable for the day-to-day operations. That’s from cutting the lights on, to cutting the grass, and everything in-between. That includes relationships with physicians. Every department at the facility, I’m held accountable for . . . . From the fitness center to the HR building, to the Eye Institute. I’m held accountable.”
Aljay said he spends more time at the medical center than he does at home.
“There’s self-pressure. I want to win. I want to be the best. I don’t show that to everybody, but if there’s a score to be kept, I want to be on the team with the most wins. I want to give you my best. I want to give you the best version of Aljay daily.”
Just like when growing up in Beaumont, Texas, Aljay wanted to give the best version of himself to his mother (Patricia) and father (Aljay John Foreman, Sr.).
But especially his mom.
“She is my role model in life. I think she’s an angel walking on earth. I’m a momma’s boy.”
Aljay and his two siblings — an older brother (by eight years) and an older sister (by seven years) — didn’t go without the necessities. But there wasn’t much wiggle room when it came to money.
“In my household, I was pretty mature about the things in life. I didn’t have a social dynamic where I would come home and it was like, ‘How was work? How was this? What’s going on?.’ It was, ‘Ok, what money are we going to use to do A, B, or C? Which person can do this because of this reason.’ There were three kids, so everybody’s not going to the birthday party. I slept with my brother in the same bed until he went to college.”
From a young age, Aljay was borderline obsessed with football. He not only played it, he studied it.
“At six or seven years old, I knew a route tree. I knew how to punt. I collected football cards. I could tell you anything about football at a young age from just being around my brother and his friends.”
But it was a talk in 7th grade about academics which hit home.
“Miss Lyons was my math teacher. We had one of the most pivotal conversations I’ve ever had in my life. We were doing this Texas Assessment of Academic Skills test in math . . . . I was a decent student in math — an A and B student. I did exceptionally well on this state test . . . . She said, ‘Aljay, I know you’re good in sports. People talk about how good you are in football and basketball. But you are really smart. You need to apply yourself a little more . . . . You’re in the 99th percentile of everybody in the state, and here it is you’re making a B (in this class). Why aren’t you making an A?'”
Aljay said by the end of the semester, he had raised his grade to an A. “In high school, I know I didn’t make more than two B’s in math.”
“She saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself. She challenged me. From there going forward, I’ve always liked a good challenge. It put me on a path to know that I can do something . . . . It helped me propel myself and I used that same application to all my other classes. I started taking a little time, and developing a routine. I became very routine about my schoolwork.”
In high school, Aljay concentrated on basketball. He became good enough to be recruited by colleges. Having excellent grades, Aljay was offered scholarships at prestigious schools like Harvard, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point (Army), and the Air Force Academy.
Aljay said back then, Havard athletics wasn’t what it is now, and recruiting trips to West Point and Air Force made him realize he wasn’t military ready.
“At West Point, they said, ‘You will go four years. We will send you to the engineering school of your choice. You will do your commitment, but for every year you go to school, you have to give us two years. You will probably be here for about 14 years.’ That scared me.”
So Aljay chose to attend Centenary College. His mom liked the fact her youngest child was less than five hours away. Aljay majored in Physics, and played basketball from 1992-1996. He is still the school’s leader in career steals, and is second all-time in made three-point field goals.
After graduation, Aljay earned his master’s degree at the University of Pittsburgh in Exercise Physiology, with an emphasis on Cardiac Rehab. He returned to Shreveport, and instead of pursuing a hands-on position on the medicine side, took a management position with Willis-Knighton. Aljay was more interested in growing with a company, than limiting himself to using his degrees.
“Mrs. Elrod recommended me to the administration — Mr. Elrod. I was in his office. I didn’t have a job title. I would work two to three days in a shirt and tie. I only had three shirts and three ties. The next two days, I would be in shorts, tennis shoes, and a polo, working in the wellness center.”
Soon-to-be 26 years later, Aljay is proud of what he has accomplished — and of who he is.
“I’m not going to ask you to do something I wouldn’t do. I rarely throw my title out there. I rarely say what I do. I think if you ask any of my teammates who they would want to be on their team, they would say ‘Aljay’. They know I’m going to give you my best effort every day. I don’t have to sign an agreement. If I say I’m going to do something, I’m going to do it.”
Considering Aljay runs an entire medical center, I figured by now, he probably needed to get back to business. So, I asked my final question. As always, what is it about your life that can inspire others?
Aljay didn’t give me one answer, but rather a potpourri of bullet points:
*Nothing beats hard work and patience
*Don’t take relationships for granted
*Treat people how you want to be treated
*Never forget from where you came
*Never be on a pace where you can’t slow down and tell people thank you
With that, Aljay left for work.
And I left knowing Aljay — a momma’s boy — has made his momma proud.
Do you know someone who has a story to tell? Email SBJTonyT@gmail.com.