Building Character, One Virtue at a Time

What mother doesn’t want her son to be respectful? What father doesn’t want his daughter to be chaste? While Americans might disagree about a lot of things, it seems we are united by a basic set of socially objective virtues that transcends religious and political differences. We can and should use this common ground to help us reconstruct and solidify our moral foundations. It’s no wonder so many of us are sick. In order for our teens to gain emotional, social, and spiritual health, we need a model for life that is based on virtue.

Building Character: One Virtue at a Time contains a treasure trove of inspiring quotes, stories, and essays about 52 unique virtues. Readers will begin to form a more virtuous self image as they identify who they truly are, where they belong, and where they need to go in order to be contributing members of our society and to live fulfilled lives.

“Coach Traeger sees firsthand the problems facing our young people today. Rather than curse the darkness, he has lit a beautiful candle to help us find our way. After diligently studying the most effective ways to teach virtue concepts within a society that seems more interested in devaluing them, he has created a valuable tool for any coach, teacher, or parent. His concise, bite-sized lessons and activities will help us get back on a more virtuous path. This is an impressive book.” -Mark Speckman, running backs coach for the Montreal Alouettes, Canadian Football League; 2008 Liberty Mutual National Coach of the Year Finalist

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Author Bio

Randy Traeger is executive director of the Virtue First Foundation. He travels the country, speaking on the importance of instilling positive virtues, and produces the “Virtue of the Week” internet broadcasts. Other books by Randy Traeger include The Encyclopedia of Virtue, Voices of Virtue, and Fruit for the Spirit, Meat for the Grill. An award-winning high school and collegiate football coach of thirty-five years, Randy currently serves as assistant coach and character coach for his alma mater, Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. He has also enjoyed successful careers as a businessman (Traeger Grills), politician (mayor of Mt. Angel), restaurateur, firefighter, and medic. Randy and his wife, Lynnette, have seven children and seven grandchildren.

Check out this article in Our Town about how faith helped Randy through the tough health situations he began to explain in the in the introduction to Fruit for the Spirit, Meat for the Grill: “Dodging Death—Randy Traeger Faces His Toughest Opponent” (page 18).

In September 2017, Traeger was interviewed on Mater Dei Radio about healing, the National Alliance for Character Development, and a few events related to his passion for building virtue in teens. Listen in here!

 

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