These Are My People

Sigh… it’s over. SuperConference 2007 has come and gone in a blaze of glory. We had the usual glitches and speed bumps, and a couple of grand hurrahs. My blood pressure was elevated to record levels when I got the word that maybe our keynote wouldn’t make it after all. (Emergency dental procedure – luckily, he showed – and then went back to the dentist. What a trooper!!! And that man is TALL.) A couple key conference announcements (like the fact that conference evaluations will be sent my email this week) were lost in the shuffle and now I’m playing catch-up from it all.

The workshops were great, the speakers were great. But the people were the highlight. Sometimes we get all caught up in the business of the work and we don’t take time to notice the folks doing it. Our sector is filled with some amazing individuals! All you have to do is sit quietly at a lunch table and listen to the stories, or see the furious scribbling when a presenter suggests a new approach that might help more people…

And then I flew right out to Salt Lake City for the National Council of Nonprofit Associations Member Meeting. MORE cool people. MORE great stories. MORE rest and rejuvenation for a weary spirit.

I have decided that I work with the best of the best. We’re not perfect. But we share a concern and a caring for a common good. Other people generally matter more than things, and sometimes more than ourselves.

A few weeks back, my 8-year old daughter had a homework assignment for school. She had to watch three television commercials, discuss them with her family, and then decide if they were good or bad. Well, first of all, they were all about stuff. (bad, votes Mommy) But then – in true analytical fashion – Hannah disagrees. “Yeah, it’s stuff. But it’s ART stuff. They want kids to be creative. Is THAT bad?” Touche’.

My daughter reminds me of the people I work with. There are two sides to every story, and you get to choose the one you hone in on. Instead of blocking out and running away from a world of poverty, inequality, violence, hunger and stuff-ism, I am surrounded with people who choose to jump in and make good of it. Lemons and lemonade, to be sure.

In our very first Emerging Leaders class, one of our participants made a bold announcement. Towards the end of the session, she proclaimed “These are my people.” We laughed a bit, but all took the sentiment to heart. (Somehow I still envision Maria in a Moses robe, raising her hands to the masses in a grand pronouncement of unity. If I remember correctly, she was actually in khakis and a sweater.)

I am happy to say, after 10 years with MNA and several conferences under our collective belts, I still feel like this sector is where I belong and I am ever grateful to have found my people.

You guys ROCK.

Submitted by Robin Lynn Grinnell

**editor’s note – Robin’s denouncement of stuff is her personal opinion and in no way represents the opinion of MNA staff or volunteers. Some of them have very nice stuff, and they enjoy it immensely. Robin has cool stuff, too, although she hopes to dump 50% of her worldly possessions at a yard sale in June. More on that later.