From Sea to Shining Sea

As I already discussed, yesterday was a pretty big day for us in HOBY Maryland.   But, it's only what happened afterward that reminded me about how big HOBY is as a commitment, and how many individuals it impacts.   I always worry if we are making a big enough impact; if our message is getting out there.  Well, suffice it to say, it's not for lack of trying.  Yesterday was a wonderful example of just how far the message spreads.  A sampling of my HOBY day, and how much our volunteers do:

• In my meeting at the Mount in Emmitsburg (just south of Gettysburg), they asked where we were from:  I came from Rockville near Washington, DC.  Carol came from Baltimore.  Vicki came from as far away as the Pittsburgh area.  That's a four hour drive.  We mentioned that the international office is actually in LA.
• One of the first responses I got to my good word about the meeting was from Tracy, my good friend and Director of Team Alumni.  Tracy spent the last few years living and going to school in Boston.  She's now living out of NYC.  We've talked about specifically that despite new work commitments that will be coming up, how much she plans to stay involved.
• The second message I got was from Nick.  Nick has lived in MD most of his life, but very shortly will be moving to New Orleans to work for AmeriCorps rebuilding the city.  He's so excited for the new direction in his life, and we're all really excited for him.
• My friend Jacquie made the very first public comment on this blog.  Jacquie for the last few years worked for the University of South Dakota, but has now moved to Oregon pursuing new opportunities.  She's someone who never went through HOBY and yet understands why it is we do what we do.  Jacquie also led this year's Training Institute, the national gathering for volunteers, just to give you a small glimpse of her commitment.  Jacquie is also up to some real good:  she just celebrated a birthday and has asked folks to donate to HOBY South Dakota as her present.  If you a have a moment and a dollar, it would be a good cause:  http://apps.facebook.com/causes/birthdays/434586?bws=sl
• One thing I did in response to my meeting was send a message to Amanda in Mississippi.  I met Amanda at the Training Institute this year.  Mississippi has a great program they've established where they work to give the most needy students scholarships so they can attend the HOBY program.   It's something I would love to be able to provide for Maryland, and something that I know a lot sites wish they could do.
• The message that truly brightened my day was all the way from Nate in Hawai'i.  Nate read the blog and told me that he was trying to arrange something similar for HOBY Hawai'i and the University of Hawai'i.  They have a meeting coming up themselves, and wanted to be best prepared.  I was more than happy to share my new experiences and resources with him.
• On Facebook, I could follow the highlights of what my HOBY friends were doing.  Ryan in Iowa joined the Iowa HOBY fanpage.   Teressa is starting her freshman year at college.  Dan has been traveling around the world, as many volunteers have this year.  Beth is in Ecuador for the year doing mission work.  When I start going down this road, there become almost too many to name.
• And lastly, it came back home as I got an always welcome phone call from Raadha as she was driving home from work.  Raadha has just started life in the "real world" after graduating college.  She's working 12 hour days, and yet she's still trying find time to help us by writing up a grant proposal.  That's commitment.

I say all of this as today also is HOBY International T-shirt day.  We ask all of our volunteers and alumni to wear their HOBY shirts to help spread the HOBY message.  You'd be amazed how many people will ask you about HOBY when you wear a shirt, and how many people will come up to you out of the blue and say, "I went to that!"  It's always a nice conversation from there out.

HOBY volunteers are everywhere, and they're doing some great things.  I'm incredibly proud to call these people my friends.