As my three children were growing up, there was a special doorway in the kitchen where their heights were measured with the passing years. We all gauge our lives with little notches along the way. Sometimes the increments are small; sometimes they seem gigantic.
There is a striking parallel as I think about my tenure with the Central New York Community Foundation. Those little notches we made in the wall here after each passing year have added up to big things. The assets have grown from some $7 million when I joined the Community Foundation in 1984 to around the $120 million mark now.
The number of people who touch and are touched by the Community Foundation’s work has also grown – our contacts database has nearly 10,000 records today. We have also grown our cadre of professional staff who are engaged in the ever-evolving process of gathering, managing and granting of the Community Foundation’s resources.
I look back with a sense of satisfaction at these “notches” marking the Foundation’s growth – and my own. As I prepare to step down from my post in mid-2008, I am confident that there are others positioned to carry on the important work of nurturing and supporting the community I love.
I do not wish to overplay my importance nor my indispensability! Just as I cannot take full credit for the wonderful adults my children have developed into, I know that the successes achieved by the Community Foundation are also the work of many. The contributions of others to the development of the Community Foundation are at once critical and immeasurable. Thank you all for the role you have played in our collective success.