Live United by Erin Haag

 

On Wednesday, Kristin and I shared our Wind Down Wednesday exhibit with board chair Joe Lubke. We were so disappointed that Mother Nature didn’t allow us to share our activities with the community as planned. There’s always a silver lining though, and with our dreams of taking the show on the road, we hope to reach even more people with what United Way of Freeborn County is all about. Kristin and I gave Joe a rundown of our ideas, from everything to designing collaborative office space to campaigning to community events and partnerships. We were enthusiastic.

In keeping with the conversation of dreams, Joe then acted on behalf of the board of directors and formally offered me the position of executive director, and I accepted. I then told him about more ideas that I had because now I knew I was going to stay. I essentially gave myself a big to-do list. That’s OK though. Gloria Steinem once noted that, “Dreaming after all, is a form of planning.” When it comes to creating better communities, you have to dream and use your imagination.

Imagination is something that children are the best at. With these hot and humid days, we’ve had little shapes of condensation on my car windshield in the morning. My children like to talk about what they think the shapes look like. This morning, one shape was a whale, and one shape was a dolphin. They create entire stories around the whale and the dolphin. It makes for an entertaining drive.

I’ve been working at explaining Mommy’s job to them. I told my son that my job was to help our community help those who need it. He asked me, “Oh. That’s good, Mama. You can tell them to get to know each other. That’s a good place to start.”

Hear that Freeborn County? We just need to get to know each other.

So let’s keep on going with learning about the faces of United Way of Freeborn County.

Stuart Ness is on our board of directors and on our executive board. He’s been deeply involved with United Way for the past few years, serving as board chair. Stuart serves as IT coordinator with Mrs. Gerry’s Kitchen and farms with his father.

Stuart feels that, “those that need assistance in our community deserve organizations to be honest and intentional about providing that assistance. The United Way of Freeborn County works with organizations to ensure that they are upholding those standards.”

Stuart is a guy who backs up his words with his actions. He’s an active participant at every meeting, providing valuable insight and suggestions. He’s also always willing to lend his skill set in helping us with the technology side of things.

When he’s not farming, working on computers or volunteering his time with United Way (which often involves working on computers), Stuart is with his family. His wife, Christie Ness, is a science teacher here in Albert Lea. They have two boys and enjoy canoeing on the lakes in the area.

Someone noted to me that my articles are showing a pattern: what children say and what people like to eat. I figure it all comes back to community. History shows that we bond with celebrations over food and we celebrate our children.

Since people seem to like the pattern I’ve got going on, if you run into Stuart around town, wish him a happy birthday. I’ll take care of the New York cheesecake at our next board meeting. If you’d like to join our board and make an impact on our community, you might get some treats on your birthday too!

Erin Haag is the interim director of the United Way of Freeborn County.