Community

A Message 500 Years in the Making

Note: This piece is being published in an the July-August issue of Neighbors of Batavia magazine. Reprinted with permission.   They laid the first stone April 14, 1434—three hundred and forty two years before American’s Declaration of Independence. It took 50 years just to complete the façade. Inauguration of the nave and aisles occurred in …

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Verklempt

The following appeared recently in Neighbors of Batavia Magazine. I do verklempt about as well as anyone. Recently, the Chamber of Commerce recognized 18 professionals, under the age of 30, at our first annual “20 Under 30” dinner. It was a night filled with emotion as these extraordinary young leaders gathered with the senior leaders …

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Fields of Character

In a recent blog, I wrote of “Pearls and Plaques,” and borrowed Ray Benedetto’s metaphor to speak of the unique “River of Character” that flows through the communities—be they organizational, spiritual, educational or geographical—of which we are a part. I surmised that the character flowing them is made most visible—not by the pearls of wisdom …

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Connection

Note: This post will be published as my article, Beginnings, in the May/June Issue of Neighbors of Batavia magazine. It is printed here with permission. “Don’t confuse connection—feeling a part of something larger than yourself, feeling close to another person or group, feeling welcomed and understood—with contacts.” Edward Hallowell in Connect Many years ago, when I …

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Remarks Before Batavia City Council

Thank you your Honor and members of the City Council. I’ve come before you tonight to talk about Ignite!…the community visioning session we are planning for March 26 at Waubonsee Community College. The great psychologist, Kurt Lewin, generally recognized as the founder of modern social psychology, was the first to say “Nothing is as practical …

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Ignite!…A Bright Future for Batavia

Note: This entry is reprinted with permission from the soon-to-be-released March/April edition of Neighbors of Batavia Magazine. Many things were ignited in Batavia on February 26, 1991. Creative ideas…bold projects… effective relationships…deep friendships. It is easy to pin the origins of some of those to a hotel ballroom in Oakbrook where hundreds of Batavians gathered. …

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