Nearly twenty years ago, our family shifted from sending Holiday season cards to sending Thanksgiving cards. Not only did this shift take some pressure off during very busy Decembers, it encouraged us to pause and appreciate all that the year had gifted us AND express our gratitude to the many people who have contributed to our annual journeys.
This year’s card was full of gratitude for transitions – our son who graduated from high school, our daughter who graduated from college, my wife who finished her PhD in Higher Education. . . and my beginning a new job as President and CEO here at the National Association of Workforce Boards.
Having reached nearly three months here at NAWB, I can truly say how grateful I am to be in this role at this time. So many of you have taken the time to send me notes of both welcome and encouragement – I deeply appreciate each one. For you to take the time to reach out speaks to who you are, and I am honored and humbled to lead an organization dedicated to supporting you.
So, this season, I am grateful for such an amazing, dedicated Board of Directors. They have supported not just my onboarding but have also provided invaluable counsel as I craft a vision for NAWB’s next chapter.
I am grateful for my NAWB colleagues, each one so deeply committed to providing high quality support for you as you seek to serve your respective communities. Their creativity, passion and thoughtfulness give me energy each and every day.
And lastly, I am grateful for you – NAWB’s members. I am thankful that you are so deeply committed to your communities, that you are constantly seeking new ways to better connect people to trajectory-changing careers and bringing about economic vitality for business and neighbor alike. Your work is critical and vastly important – you sit at the epicenter of so much transformation taking place in economies, and lead as communities navigate that transformation. I am grateful for your belief in the dignity of work and the power it has to change not just lives but also transform communities.
May this Thanksgiving for you be one filled with a deep sense of both appreciation for the gifts and blessings in your life and being appreciated for the important work you do.
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