The travel bug has returned

I’m pretty sure I’ve packed more travel into my life in the last two months than in the last several years. BK (before kids), I was a traveling fool, and my passport got a workout. Once the first boy arrived and the second one followed, I was fully tethered to them and our local environs. [...]

By |2024-08-15T16:17:54-06:00August 15th, 2024|Community, Community Events, Introspections|0 Comments

Leadership training for the ages

This was a big week for the Center for a Vital Community. On Tuesday, we graduated our seventh class of community leaders through the CiViC Leadership Project, the CVC’s flagship program. We also celebrated one of our trainers who has been with this program since its inception eighteen years ago. Incredibly, over 170 women and [...]

By |2024-04-29T16:23:16-06:00April 29th, 2024|Community|0 Comments

Legacy – it’s not just for the rich and famous

The term ‘legacy’ is intimidating. Defined as the long-lasting impact of a person’s life, it’s usually used to describe political figures, sports legends, and millionaires. The average Joe and Josephine probably don’t walk around wondering what their legacy will be.  Maybe they should. In the last few months, Sheridan has lost several people who embodied [...]

By |2024-04-29T16:20:14-06:00April 29th, 2024|Community|0 Comments

Don’t wait. Just do it.

I was just in Peoria, IL, right after my niece’s extraordinary wedding because my dad had another major stroke in mid-September. He’s currently in a fantastic rehab/skilled nursing facility and doing a lot of physical, occupational, and speech therapy. I don’t know if he will ever leave, but at least they’re doing everything they can [...]

By |2023-11-06T09:40:08-07:00November 6th, 2023|Community, Introspections|0 Comments

This could be you

My first involvement of being involved with a nonprofit was somewhat unconventional. About a year after I moved to Sheridan, my brother was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Scared and wanting to do something proactive, I met another Sheridanite who had fought and was beating the same disease.  His family and a few other passionate friends [...]

By |2023-08-30T16:56:44-06:00August 30th, 2023|Community, Community Events|0 Comments

Civity – the gift that keeps giving

Did everyone survive Thanksgiving a few pounds heavier but with familial relationships mostly intact? ‘Tis the season for ugly political discussions over the big bird. There’s nothing quite like mixing alcohol, simmering resentments, buttery carbohydrates, and long-term misunderstandings to make for unfortunate dinner conversations featuring raised voices and pounding fists. Here at the CVC, we’ve [...]

By |2022-12-06T13:16:39-07:00December 6th, 2022|Community, Community Events|0 Comments

Back-to-School Realities

If you missed the ads in between the political spots, it's back-to-school time. I have no idea why January, February, and March can’t go by as fast as June, July, and August, but they don’t. It’s a cruel cosmic mystery. My 17-year-old son, Nick, is a senior this year. This is impossible to fathom. I [...]

By |2022-09-22T10:45:12-06:00September 22nd, 2022|Community, Introspections|0 Comments

A rude awakening

I’ve recently returned from our youth leadership camp, CampFIRE.  Thirty-six incoming high school freshmen from Sheridan and Johnson counties kept Julie, I, and the YMCA camp counselors active and on our toes. It’s a 5-day, 4-night camp up at Camp Roberts above Buffalo, and I am not exaggerating when I estimate that 65-90% of the [...]

By |2022-07-11T10:45:33-06:00July 11th, 2022|Community, Introspections|0 Comments

Building Bridges

I find it mind-blowing that we hosted Thrive vs. Survive Study Circles on Poverty ten years ago.  Ten years!  My children were ten and seven, my face was unlined, and spare time was a distant dream.  Now I have teenagers who drive, I read novels, and our community has Parent Liaisons, a Big Brothers Big [...]

By |2022-05-23T11:36:12-06:00May 23rd, 2022|Community, Community Events, CVC|0 Comments

Reflecting on retirement

March 31 was a big day for my friend, Sandra. When you read this, she will be one of the few, the proud, the voluntarily retired. I know this because she's been making her friends look at the retirement countdown on her phone daily. Sometimes more than that. And once in a while, we'll even [...]

By |2022-04-13T11:17:42-06:00April 13th, 2022|Community, Introspections|0 Comments
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