FALL 2004
Tom Smith
Director of Institutional Advancement
ugust 18, 2003, I became the assistant for the Department of Institutional Advancement for Friends Home. July 12, 2004, I became the Director of Institutional Advancement. What happened between these two dates has changed my life forever.
My life has been blessed with experiences both good and bad. I have for the most part learned from the bad experiences and to the best of my ability shared the good experiences with others. I have always been a spiritual person continually searching for ways to enlighten others to see the big picture of life. The marriage to my wife, Karen, and the birth of our two children, Madison and Danny, has clarified the purpose and has solidified the efforts of my spirituality. For those of us blessed with children, seeing the face of God every day when they smile is fuel for the soul.
But as I quickly learned, my soul was still not full. How could this be? I have God, my wife, my children, my family and friends. I have grown spiritually everyday of my life. What was I missing?
I then figured it out. I was missing August 18th. But I already had a collection of dates. May 2nd, November 28th, December 22nd: my wedding anniversary, Madison’s birthday, and Danny’s birthday respectfully. August 18th was the day that I made some new Friends.
Thoreau once wrote: “If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” I could never have imagined that so many people, all with this same vision, could be behind one mission—a mission that is the epitome of what Thoreau wrote.
Friends Home has touched the lives of thousands of people since 1897. Residents, employees and the families of both have known what I did not know August 17th. They know that theirs has been a place built and maintained by the spirits of all those who have walked through its doors. Every brick, every shingle represents the unselfish efforts of people who saw the vision, who converted the dream, and who built a place that provides tribute and shelter for the spirit that our residents possess. This mission is my void, the void my soul once felt.
My high school reunion is coming up this fall, and the person coordinating the event whom I graduated with asked me what I did for a living. My response to her was, “ Have you ever heard of Friends Home...?”
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Last modified:
Saturday, August 28, 2004 at 09:52 PM
