This past week my husband and I joined a group of fellow Rotarians to serve dinner to residents of the YWCA Family Center.  It was a very emotional evening as we watched family after family gather to enjoy a meal during desperate times in their lives.  We were touched by their devotion to family and gratitude for this important safety net.For me, it was particularly emotional because just a few years back Clary Communications worked with the YWCA to create awareness for the need for such a Family Center.  We knew we were doing important work back then, but to see the fruits of our efforts and how they they impact real families every day was a humbling experience.The YWCA Family Center fills an important role in our community and I am proud to continue to be a part of it.

It is definitely summer.  Hot, muggy, pop-up storms, all the signs of the season.  Plus barbeques, outings with family and friends, parades and picnics.My husband, Tom, and I have taken on a new activity this summer.  We are walking dogs at the Franklin County Animal Shelter.  This is a really dangerous thing for me to be doing.  Without fail, I fall hopelessly in love with every dog I meet.  And, since we already have Lizzie (a Golden Retriever) and  Hazel (a junkyard dog), we’re about as populated with animals as we need to be.We do get real joy when we learn that our dogs have been adopted.  We watch the website regularly (http://www.franklincountyohio.gov/commissioners/ancl/adoption) to see who has found a new home. And, thank goodness, that happens a lot.Our adventure is really gratifying and brings new meaning to the dogs days of summer.

For a number of years now, I have had the pleasure of being a pen pal to a third grader at West Broad Elementary School.  It’s a great program that is organized by my Upper Arlington Rotary Club. 

We write each other monthly and talk about all kinds of things - family, holidays, favorite subjects, new year’s resolutions and more. 

And, each May we have the privilege of meeting our pen pals, face to face at an Ice Cream Social.

I so look forward to my letters from my pen pal, but I particularly enjoy meeting him or her on that special day in May.

You may think this is a great program for the students.  I’m sure it is.  But, it is equally important for those of us who volunteer to be pen pals.  It keeps us grounded and focused on what’s really important: Connections with people, big and small.

Economists tell us that professional services and logistics will lead us out of the recession. But, I believe that entrepreneurs will get that job done.I am a member of the board of directors of The Entrepreneurship Institute. We recently hosted a day-long program for C-level professionals from a wide variety of industry segments. Many of them were entrepreneurs.The room pulsated with optimism and determination. It was refreshing and inspiring to be with people who had visions for the future and were ready lead the way to a stronger economy.

I love the renewed energy that comes with a new year. I always feel like the year to come is a blank slate and I am ready to conquer it. I’ve been feeling the same sense of determination in others around me. This is particularly welcoming after so many suffered setbacks in 2009. It’s good to feel optimism and hope.Clary experienced this refreshing approach to the new year when we asked our friends to tell us their new year’s resolutions. If we keep just a portion of our resolutions, it looks like we will be better people making a better world.Check them out at:http://www.clarycommunications.com/2010_resolutions/?p=1&cpage=2#comments