Robert (Bobby) Charles, Maine’s Republican nominee for governor, is a former assistant secretary of state, federal investigator, litigator and naval intelligence officer.

One day, when serving as assistant secretary to Colin Powell, my family headed for an apple orchard. My daughter announced she wanted “to pick apples for Colin Powell.” Funny, but she did. Next day, I delivered them, what dads do.

What Colin Powell did next … is what leaders do.

Powell was a remarkable national security advisor to President Reagan, a superb Army general and chairman of the Joint Chiefs who stopped Defense Secretary Dick Cheney from using tactical nuclear weapons. Powell was a great secretary of state, but most of all, he was a kind man.

Until near his death, we kept up. While we never talked politics, we did talk diplomacy, history, Reagan, life, even about Maine. He had a servant’s heart. He was unapologetically concerned for people, not always easy in high politics. He valued people and the American Dream above all.

When he first got to State, he spent days going from building to building, meeting hundreds of people, shaking hands, asking names, about families and work goals. People connected with him.

Two years later, a member of my team who worked across town came to a meeting looking puzzled. I asked what was up. “It has been two years and he remembered me by name … and my kids’ names,” she said. “How does he do that?” I had no idea, but knew he cared deeply about people. He said: “If you care about your people, they will care about you.”

Powell was that guy who came from nothing, worked hard, served 30 years in the U.S. Army, which cannot have been easy in the 1960s for a Black American. One of his secrets was — and we saw it daily — he took nothing personally.

If you are looking for a mentor, a man who works hard, loves America, stays calm under fire and cares about people — to the point of knowing their names, families and dreams — Colin Powell was that man. His example was inspiring.

Years earlier, he had been a “warden” in the Episcopal Church. A priest left with these words: “Always show more kindness than seems necessary, because the person receiving it needs it more than you will ever know.”

True, isn’t it? We know people for their public side — and yet people, even those we think we know well, often suffer in silence, need the kindness that costs us nothing. As Jimmy Stewart’s character in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” George Bailey, learns: “One life touches so many …”

Powell knew that truth, and lived it. Think about these words, direct from Powell — part of his leadership philosophy: “Don’t just show kindness in passing or to be courteous. Show it in depth, show it with passion, and expect nothing in return. Kindness is not just about being nice; it’s about recognizing another human being who deserves care and respect.”

So, here was a boss who — with our whole team — went after bad guys around the world, was a lifetime soldier, helped take down terrorists, drug traffickers and crooks without apology, yet gave what he had, while he could, to others.

That was a man America had in leadership — under multiple presidents — for 50 years. To this day, those who worked with him benefit from that leadership example, much of it forged in adversity, Vietnam, Soviet Union, Middle East.

So, what did Colin Powell do when my young daughter’s dad delivered a bag of apples to Helen, who then passed them along to the Secretary, explaining the story? At 10 p.m. that same night, as I worked away down the hall, his executive assistant showed up in my doorframe.

“Bobby, the Secretary wanted me to give this to you,” he said. Then he was gone. It was an envelope. In large handwriting, so my young daughter could read it, the secretary of state, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs, four-star general and national security advisor to President Reagan had written my daughter’s name.

That weekend, my daughter was thrilled to open the envelope, and we to watch. Inside was a card. On it, the Secretary had written: “Dear Sophia … Thank you. I love apples, thank you so much for picking those for me. Your friend, Colin Powell.”

If he did that once, he did it 10,000 times.

That is leadership. Always, the leader for whom others will do anything is the one who cares about his people, really cares, is determined that caring matters, and who is kind. We need more of them.