10. I want to ask you three additional questions about your various community involvements:
First, what motivates or inspires you to engage in civic activities and causes?
We all have to admit it’s about personal satisfaction. There may have been a time in my life when I would have given a more lofty answer like, “I want world peace.” But it really is about personal satisfaction and relationships. There is so much satisfaction in living in a community like this that values wellness, relationships and quality of life. I am highly motivated by what is happening here. We have great things being accomplished by extraordinary people, for example our dynamic young woman mayor.
Second, do you feel that you are sacrificing anything in your life by being deeply involved in our community’s civic organizations?
No. If I have to, I set limits. My involvement in community, social, family, personal, and professional life has blurry lines. It is important to me that my kids see that this is what is important to me, and that it is integrated into my life in a balanced way.
Third, what personal benefits do you get from your civic involvements?
Feeling part of a community, especially the feeling of being connected to something bigger than myself.
11. Let’s turn to a different topic: Is there a relationship between your role as a working professional and your personal involvement in our community’s civic organizations? If so, how would you describe it?
Mostly it is one in the same. Pretty much everything I do connects back to community health and wellness. I help one of my kids to fundraise for animal rescue organizations, and my other is in Little League. I also support their schools. It’s all connected.
12. Do you see yourself continuing along the same career path with increasing responsibilities and leadership roles? Or at some point do you see a different path for yourself?
I’m probably moving more and more back into consulting again. I’ve learned so much from being with the health department, and I’d like to see myself helping other organizations with their planning. I’ll always be involved in community wellness. I’m working a lot in the disability field right now. Although the content is new to me, the need to build organizational capacity is not. This involves helping organizations to identify the results they want, engaging them in strategic planning to get those results, and then measuring to see if results have been achieved. I’ve always wondered if I’d move in another direction, but I don’t see this changing.
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