Serving

“We are prone to judge success by the index of our salaries or the size of our automobiles, rather than by the quality of our service relationship to humanity.”

- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

We are beginning a new year full of hope and promise in a most successful province that still has vast unrealized potential. There is opportunity awaiting us in the areas of financial wealth, career advancement and quality of life. Have you thought about your personal plan for giving back to your community?

Many people will be setting goals at this point in the year, and I encourage you to include a goal that will see you taking steps toward leadership in an area that is important to you. With the opportunity we are facing comes longer work hours and more commitment to family and career objectives, so it will take a conscious decision and a concerted effort from you to stay involved once you decide to join a volunteer organization. However, doing so will add a dimension to your life that will help define your character as a humanitarian.

Reflect back on your formative years or your early career – what organizations helped you get where you are today? Chances are you learned about agriculture, public speaking and volunteering through a 4-H club. Perhaps your town had a Boy Scouts or Girl Guides squad, a hockey team to which you belonged or a softball team. These clubs exposed you to the concept of teamwork and demonstrated the value of a combined effort to achieve a goal. The skills you learned from a mentor are within you now.

As our civic and service organizations – Lions Clubs, Church boards, sports teams and youth groups – evolve, so too does their leadership. It is incumbent on us to be proactive, to join our communities’ volunteer organizations to strengthen and replace the long-time leaders. Learn from them and succeed them.