Getting Things Done
Stories of Leadership from the Mayor’s Office
to the School Board, the Peace Corps and Beyond
South Bend Mayor Roger Parent
1980-1987
Former Mayor, city council president, school board president and Peace Corps Volunteer, Roger Parent never shied away from controversy to make his community a better place to live and work. Learn about Roger’s many roles, his transformational leadership and how to get things done in his new book.
“Roger’s book is extraordinarily valuable for its lessons on leadership and for its historical reflections of South Bend and beyond . . . you’ll learn much about partnerships, courage, and the hard work required of leadership to get things done.”
-Ann Hayes, President, Hayes Towers
“Getting Things Done is a ‘textbook’ on diversifying a work force to reflect the community, promoting people of color and women to high posts.”
Luther Taylor Sr., Former Fire Chief, South Bend, Indiana
October 17,2023
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$19.95 (+ plus tax and shipping)
Also by Roger Parent
The Making of a Peace Corps Volunteer From Maine to Thailand
This is a different book about the Peace Corps experience. It shows how the author’s growing up in Acadian French-Speaking Maine prepared him for service as one of the very first volunteers in Thailand. His unique background in the Acadian French culture of Northern Maine helped him to work effectively in Udorn, Thailand, and thereby helped to shape the Peace Corps in the vibrant organization it is today.
$14.95 (+ plus tax and shipping – US)
International Orders: Contact rogerbook@gmail.com
“Roger Parent’s stories of growing up in a French village in Maine and of his years in Thailand as a member of its first Peace Corps group is an important account of Peace Corps’ earliest days. I knew Peace Corps from its beginning and advised its Director, Sargent Shriver. Notre Dame trained the first volunteer group in 1961which served in Chile. The Peace Corps idea is powerful, but equally powerful were the first volunteers who in a real sense created Peace Corps. Roger also directed Peace Corps in Haiti and Grenada. His book should be read by all persons interested in Peace Corps, especially those wishing to serve.”
Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., President Emeritus, University of Notre Dame
Life is what we do and what happens to us, and my stories are about what I’ve done and what’s happened to me. These stories are suggestive of my growth and development from a nascent sense of self and consciousness embedded at birth to the end of my service as a member of the first group of Peace Corps Volunteers in Thailand (Thai I), from 1961 to 1963.
Noel Parent is the author of the two books listed below. Available now.
“The Legend of the Flute Player” is a story about the desire to share one’s truth, the search for beauty, the discovery of nature’s inspiration in all its forms, and the deeper inner spiritual truth that we are all called to discover in the silence of our hearts.
It is a story to inspire both children and adults, with beautiful illustrations that tell the story with creative revelations by my friend Marina Minina. We hope this book will open hearts and minds to new beautiful parts of themselves.”
$19.95 (Plus Tax and Shipping – US)
International Orders: Contact rogerbook@gmail.com
Yaroslava’s Flowers is a story for all children and anyone with a youthful Heart. Yaroslava is a little girl who loves flowers so much that she can hear them speak to her. When the Flower Spirit appears to her and gives her a bag of magic seeds, she embarks on a Journey of the Spirit to discover the healing and transforming power of flowers. As Yaroslava brings new life to the places and people around her, she also discovers more about herself – through the power of flowers!
$14.95 (+ plus tax and shipping – US)
International Orders: Contact rogerbook@gmail.com
© 2026 · Roger O. Parent. All rights reserved.