February 19, 2020

The year 2020 offers an opportunity for new beginnings, new challenges and growth. While January has already passed, we must remember the intentions we set for ourselves in that first month; the resolutions, the promises to make change happen. But, as we are now well into the second month of 2020, we may be wondering to ourselves, how can I approach this new change? How can I successfully achieve the goals I set for myself? February is the month of love, appreciation and kindness; and that is how we can make our intentions come to life. I am excited to begin this new year with all of you.

At our meeting last December, I shared my personal story about how and why I joined AHRMA. I introduced you to our theme for 2020: Be… curious, courageous, bold, and you will belong! I want this for each of you as much, if not more, than I want it for myself.

At that meeting, we asked you all to write down your intentions of what you wanted to “Be…” in the new year. We gathered your statements and created a graphic which displays them all.  Take a look at the words you, as a whole, came up with. The size of the word indicates the number of people who chose that word. The biggest ones are “Be Helpful.  Be Strong. Be Bold.  Be Courageous.  Be Joyful.  Be Intentional.” Do you see your Be… statement in the heart? So, what does this mean and what do YOU do with it?

Be helpful; what a wonderful statement. As our world continues to shift towards less face-to-face human interaction, the need for connection and to serve others only becomes more apparent. Service is an incredibly powerful word; a call for action. Service allows the chance to expand horizons, and celebrate diversity and inclusion; a chance to be helpful. 

“When we dream alone, it is only a dream, but when we dream together, it is the beginning of reality.”
A quote by Nancy Sutter, Volunteer Coordinator for Peel Children's Centre.

With this statement in mind, I am pleased to announce that Soledad Summer has accepted the role of our Community Service Chairperson as we kickoff our “From Passion to Action” program. I was inspired by all of your intentions to be helpful this year, and I invite you all to make those intentions become reality with kindness and love, and by being courageous and bold…

• If you or someone close to you has been a victim of a natural disaster or has experienced loss due to a fire, please stand.
• If you or someone you know has a child with a critical illness, please stand.
• If you or someone you love is battling leukemia or lymphoma, please stand.
• If you feel in your heart that you want to help others in your community that have been affected by these hardships, please stand.

Thank you.  Look around!! What do all these people have in common with our communities? They are a representation of the need for people with a servant heart. You may be seated.

If you answered “yes” or stood up, this is our official call to BELONG and participate in our 2020 Community Service Program called “From Passion to Action!” Starting in a few weeks, we will be kicking off this program in partnership with the Austin chapters of the American Red Cross, the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I am thrilled that we have a community as strong as AHRMA and that we have the ability to do significant work with these organizations.

In closing, I ask you to reflect on this quote from Thomas Jefferson, “May I never get too busy in my own affairs that I fail to respond to the needs of others with kindness and compassion.”

This presidency’s dream is a call for you to be curious about being a servant leader. To have courage to stand up for others in our communities.  To be bold in how we fight for a better quality of life for others. 

I am looking forward to beginning this new year with all of you,

With love,

Lisa Blanton
AHRMA President for 2020