- Oprah Winfrey
Good Day EWI!
Well, the talk of the town here in Calgary this week was the fact that Oprah spoke here on Tuesday night to a crowd of about 14,000 people. She was, by all accounts, her fabulous self. Reading the reviews in the paper on Wednesday I was struck by this quote of hers and thought it a perfect summary of what EWI is all about. We are helping people find their purpose and allowing them to feel good about themselves and how they spend their time. I firmly believe that and can personally attest to, as I am sure we all can, that EWI enriches our lives.
I was blessed to have parents whose greatest words of wisdom to me were to ensure that whatever I chose to do professionally, make sure it was what I was passionate about and that I would love doing, each and every day. Sometimes that got pushed to the wayside in my career, but how grand is it to be turning 50 this year, knowing that each aspect of my current career brings some joy to me? It was not an easy path to get here, for sure! There was a period of my life for about eight years when I was not following my passion but rather the pay cheque. Thankfully I finally listened to my inner voice that said to me, "this is wrong and get out now before it kills your spirit entirely".
However, as you may know by now, I am a firm believer in fate. During those dark years, as I call them, I was introduced to EWI and can now look back and be so thankful that I did have that one bright spot in my life. At the end of each of those days grinding it out in the corporate world, I knew that EWI was helping me to find purpose in my life.
Life is far too short to go to work and not love what you do, each and every day! I truly hope that through your membership in EWI you are developing new skill sets that can lead you to your own "sweet spot" professionally while also bringing meaning and purpose to your life personally through the friendships made and our philanthropic efforts. Know that through your service, you are impacting others for positive change!
We had our board meeting this week and yet again, I am amazed by all the progress our corporate committee Vice Chairs and committee members are making under the stellar leadership of our corporate Chairs. I cannot thank these ladies enough for helping make our vision a reality: Darlis Vauble, EWI of Omaha, Darlene Banogon, EWI of San Diego, Kim Fankhauser, EWI of Des Moines, Jeanette Davis, EWI of Dallas, Kerry Feltenberg, EWI of Phoenix, Jenni Burns, EWI of Phoenix and Pat Evans, EWI of San Diego and Carolyn Woodmansee, EWI of Spokane. My deepest wish is that your current role as Chair is helping you find purpose each day too!
This week also brought some very sad news to EWI. Our dearly beloved Max Helen Harrison, Past Corporate President 1964-65, EWI of Fort Worth, passed away last Saturday. For those of you who knew her, you will understand what a loss this is. For those of you who did not, let me assure you that she was an incredible lady, in every sense of the word. I remember meeting her at LCAM a few years ago and she was so proud to tell me that she had actually chartered our Chapter in 1964. I feel so blessed to have met her.
Today, I believe, our search for the final resting place of our Founder Lucille Johnson Perkins, is over. Anna McCutcheon, EWI of San Diego has been digging through public records and archives exhaustively on behalf of the 75th Anniversary Committee. Thank you Anna! It seems that our Lucille tragically died at age 32, in 1942, just four years after starting Executives Secretaries. She never knew what impact she would have on thousands of lives and that makes me sad. Anna's brother is going to visit her grave and report back to us on the condition and if there is anyway we can honour her there, in this, our very special anniversary year.
We must hold on to the belief though that Lucille too must have been following a passion of hers when she started our organization. After all, she said it best of all, as in our Chartering documents it states, "She who serves most, profits best".
Cherish your days, honor yourself and be proud of how you serve others with EWI!
Have a great weekend!
-K
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