“Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people,
can transform the world.”

— Howard Zinn

I wasn’t really needed today. But I went anyway.

I could have said that I work hard all week and need to rest at 8am on a Saturday morning. But I went anyway.

New Horizons Toastmasters, Tualatin, Oregon

I could have claimed I had to focus on a speech I was to give at 10:30 for a group of middle and high school students. But I went anyway.

I could have said I’m not really needed to count ballots in a contest, anyone can do that. But I went anyway.

It’s like that in our communities. It’s easy to think there’s enough people to cut paper at our elementary schools. It’s easy to believe that someone else will pick up that trash. It’s easy to imagine that someone else will take of our parks, our organizations, and our streets. But it’s when we pitch in to help out locally, that we not only make our community stronger, but we find opportunities to connect and to grow.

Today, I could have said that I was too busy to count ballots for the first New Horizons Toastmasters contest in years, but I went anyway.

And I wasn’t alone. All the people in the picture showed up to help and participate. They, too, gave up an hour of their time on a Saturday morning to help make a watershed event happen for a small club. Together, we all pitched in to give that small club a chance to demonstrate that it’s going (and growing) in the right direction.

I could have said I was too busy to help, but I went anyway. And I’m glad I did.

Was a ballot counter at New Horizons Toastmasters’ first contest in years … Spoke to a group of middle and high school kids at Future Stars about bullying … Took my daughter to french horn lesson … Took my son to a jazz piano workshop … Then took a nap.