Peggy H. Eddens

At a recent retirement dinner, a gentleman was honored for his 35 years of service. He had been a leader and was often sought as a mentor and guide for others. When recognized, he made a brief toast and offered the same advice he had given many times before. He said that life is all about choices and as such, we need to choose wisely. His top five choices are listed below; my comments are intended to make them more relevant for all of you.

1. Choose to learn...spiritually and cognitively

Learning has been, and still is, a mainstay of United Way. Our board members, agency partners, community investment panelists and other community volunteers know the value of listening, inquiring and learning. We make many decisions that will significantly impact our community; as such, we take those decisions very seriously. We learn in the process and value such learning as part of the journey. We seek to enrich our spirit and to feed our intellect; serving others is an exercise of the body and soul.

I ask that all of you seek to learn as well; identify opportunities where you can be of service and learn how you can make a difference in Butler County.

2. Choose to contribute...make things better...add value Every year we embark on our annual campaign and solicit contributions to support our various initiatives. This year we came up short, and with unprecedented support from many, we nearly closed the gap. Quite simply, contributing means that one opens his wallet, allows deduction from his pay check and/or opens his day timer to volunteer. Choosing to contribute is making the choice to better our neighborhoods, our workplaces and the overall quality of our lives.

I encourage all of you to reflect on your contributions and to consider raising the bar in the future. Things won't get better unless we all choose to give of ourselves to a greater degree and to contribute our time, talent and financial support.

3. Choose to share

Sharing is something our parents and teachers all taught us as children. Life is a lot of give and take. A meaningful lesson I have learned is that those who give and those who take are often one and the same. Ironically, those who unselfishly share with others may well be the recipient someday of another's act of kindness. The United Way shares resources so that much needed community initiatives are funded. We choose to allocate resources to those programs that will render the greatest community impact. Those who give become our army, and those in need become our village.

Please think of what you can share going forward, and what you would like to have available for you or your family, should you be in need someday.

4. Choose to lead

I am proud of the leadership role that our United Way has taken. The Butler County Emergency Relief Initiative and the Utility Single Point of Contact program are both examples of leaders coming together to do the right thing. Other United Ways in Pennsylvania are following our lead and as such, validating our efforts.

Great leaders inspire others to follow. I encourage you to participate in an employee campaign, and if you do so already, partner with another employer and help them follow your lead.

5. Choose to love

Although a bit on the softer side, love is paramount in all that we do. Our United Way staff is passionate about what they do and such passion is shared by our board of directors, too. If we choose to love our community and to hold dear that place where we raise our children, earn our livelihood and practice our faith; then we will take ownership for its current condition and for its future as well.

I humbly ask all of you to reflect on what you hold dear and how you may channel that love into a greater impact on our community.

And those, my friends, are the retiree's top five choices. By expounding on them briefly, I am hopeful that you will see the many parallels. As you begin each day, I would kindly request that you choose to learn, contribute, share, lead and love. The impact to our community and to individual lives will be measurable and meaningful.

Thank you for continuing on this journey with us. Together we will arrive at a better place....

Peggy H. Eddens

Chairman of the Board

United Way of Butler County