Annual Dinner lifts spirits

Posted on June 18, 2009 by Randy Maiers

When Tom Hunter was Chairman of the Community Foundation several years ago, he and I developed a slogan, or a theme if you will, for the Foundation.  It was simply this;  “Do great things, and then tell people about it.”  While this saying is simple, getting it right isn’t.  But when we do, we’re reminded of how much pleasure we get from philanthropy.  The “doing great things” is really the part of our work that is helping others. 

Whether it’s through our Scholarship programs, our Youth Council, helping kids get into college, teaching people about the arts at Studio 1219, or supporting the revitalization of our downtowns, we do great things when we combine the financial strength of our donors, with the passion and dedication of other nonprofits, our hundreds of volunteers, and our many partners. 

I have to admit that all of the negative news, both locally, nationally, and globally, had me feeling down lately.  But our Annual Dinner last week changed all of that.  It was a combination of honoring the lifetime achievements of Jim Acheson, and the recent “Match Day” program we ran on June 4th.  Those two events came together in one fabulous evening on June 11th.  The Acheson family has been doing great things for this community for many, many years.  Jim Acheson has taken that to a whole new level since the late 1990’s.  So we wrapped all of that up into our Match Day program.  The result was an overwhelming response from the public and a lot of money raised for some great local nonprofits. 

Watching Jim and Sue Acheson hand out $122,000 in grant checks at our annual dinner was a great experience.  The gratitude of the recipients…especially the woman who whispered a request in Jim’s ear….for a hug….was touching and inspirational. 

Philanthropy is a complicated experience.  It has many moving parts.  Many issues and challenges.  Yet, when it’s done right, it’s as rewarding to the giver, as it is to the recipient.