by Amanda Landreth, STCU
EWI of Spokane Chapter President
Thank you to Jene Ray, Northeast Community Center for hosting our January Chapter meeting. It was a wonderful meeting and reminded me just how important the mission of EWI is. Promoting member firms, enhancing personal and professional development, and encouraging community involvement. Dave Richardson, the Executive Director for Northeast Community Center, and long-time advocate for EWI of Spokane gave an amazing inspiration to start our meeting. I asked Dave if I could share his words in our February Connect. I felt it was important to memorialize these inspiriting words. While re-reading, I am even more thankful to be a part of this wonderful organization that is truly making a difference in our communities. Please take some time to read Dave’s inspiration below.
To say our last Chapter meeting was amazing may be an understatement! We were fortunate to have Julian Guthrie, the founder & CEO of Alphy, an innovative new tech solution to help companies better recruit, retain, and advance women. Julian is an outstanding advocate for women and making sure important stories of women all over the world are shared. A few things Julian discussed during her presentation that really stuck out, “We have 3500 years of recorded history. Yet only 0.5% is dedicated to telling the stories of women. We need to tell our stories.” (Julian Guthrie). What a great reminder, encourage and build others as we walk through this journey!
Also during our January meeting, the Chapter celebrated two of our member representatives. Jene Ray, Northeast Community Center, was recognized as New Player of the Year. Karen Klein, Vitalant, was recognized as this year’s Rep of the Year. Congratulations to you both, very well deserved and we’re thankful to have you apart of our EWI of Spokane Chapter!
Dave Richardson’s Inspiration:
Service clubs: Rotary, Lions, Kiwanis, Shriners; all of these service clubs, once the backbone of community service have been in significant decline over the past 2-3 decades. It is not that service oriented clubs have changed. We, as a society have changed.
In his 2000 book, “Bowling Alone “ Robert Putnam documented that attending club meetings, such as those held by Rotary and Kiwanis groups, has declined by 58 percent in the period 1975-2000.
This trend continued and even accelerated. Putnam notes it’s part of an overall trend by Americans who also have 43 percent fewer family dinners. Thirty-five percent fewer of us have friends who drop in to see us at our homes. The latest numbers I’ve seen, annually 44,000 new members joined Rotary, 51,000 quit
So why has Spokane’s EWI Chapter continued to thrive and grow for nearly 44 years? Let’s tie it to the EWI vision of Connection, Careers and Community
- Connection: it’s what people desire most, an opportunity to connect with one another. People like bonding with other people. It’s human nature. EWI creates a social environment and provides opportunities for people to connect around careers and community. EWI gives its members the opportunity to lead and make extraordinary things happen.
- Careers: you as a collective group encourage each other. You provide personal and professional support and help champion each other’s businesses and dreams, even when at times you are completely overwhelmed by your own stuff…but together, you all grow and succeed.
- Community: Have you ever really thought about the actual impact that EWI has on the community or on others? The impact that a Scholarship has on an adult student striving to achieve their educational and career goals while overcoming adversity, or, a kid from Rogers high school (Andre Ramsey) whose dream was to go to Harvard and becomes an Entrepreneur, CEO to then pursue a career in politics. Oh and by the way, he was accepted to Harvard
Your community is watching, listening and paying attention…
EWI has a huge impact on others: Reading Rallies, Literacy programs, Meals on Wheels, Clothing Drives, Coats for Kids, Santa Express and, a favorite of mine, Parade of Paws.
So, to steal a line…
This I believe
Passions are put in our hearts for a reason.
You never know who’s actually watching or listening to you – so make it good.
“If Your Actions Inspire Others To Dream More, Learn More, Do More and Become More, You Are a Leader.” -John Quincy Adams
EWI- Connection, Careers, Community and I’ll add a forth: Class!