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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Greetings friends,
As we wrap up the 3rd quarter of 2019, I’m once again struck by how quickly time has passed. It seems to shuffle by so slowly when going by the hour or by the day, especially when you’re trying to make changes and see results. When I “zoom out” to a months-and-years view I get a completely different picture!
Will I get everything done that I’d wanted to? Thank goodness, no! As satisfying as it is to finish a list, I’m pretty enamored of the idea that my work is never done. “Done” is what I want my son’s homework to be.It’s my north star when cooking meat.It’s the best thing I can say about filing my tax return.“Done” is usually a relief but I can’t say that it’s fun, and I need there to be fun!
For me at least, the fun is in the challenge of getting to “done” in a new, different, and/or better way.From one season to the next the target changes, the resources change, and the audience changes. At times it is exhausting, and I have to remind myself to stop, zoom out, and acknowledge how far we’ve come…and of course to tell others in case they missed it!I don’t mean to minimize the importance of goals, only to point out that they are a transitory atlas to guide my compass. The overall success of our volunteer program is due to the sum total of goals that were met, partially met, or maybe not met at all over a span of many years.
Do you find yourself pondering progress?Are you doing it right now?!Do you celebrate in the moment or find yourself waiting until you’re “done”?If you’ve been waiting, I hope you soon get the chance to celebrate the efforts that have gone in to bringing your program to where it is today.
À bientôt,
Elizabeth Garrabrant
VAN Central Ohio President
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