We’ve all heard the proverb, it takes a village to raise a child. I think of ALGA as that child, being raised by a village of probably hundreds of volunteers over its life to date.
Volunteer is an interesting word, coming from the Latin voluntarius, meaning willing or of one’s own choice. Ironically, I think an ALGA volunteer is someone maybe not so willing to be a volunteer at first, that was then coerced, had their arm twisted, or had some other Jedi mind trick used on them, and next minute, they too have joined the village of willing volunteers.
As best as my memory goes, I’ve had some kind of involvement with ALGA for more than 10 years now … ordinary member, committees for branches, annual awards, Ecoforum, the special interest groups, briefly acting as CEO, a Director for 6 years, multiple Board subcommittees, and chair of the Board for 4 years. I remember having hair before I got involved with ALGA …
I look around this industry, particularly those already on the life member honour roll, and am still overwhelmed that I’ve joined their ranks with this award. Special thanks go out to:
- ALGA and the kind individuals who nominated me for the recognition this award represents.
- the OG ALGA crew, Elisabethe, John, Rosalind, Karoline, Shardai, Michal, Tarsha, and the rest of the Robertson team;
- my bosses past and present, that have always supported and encouraged my involvement with ALGA;
- my work colleagues past and present, who have had to listen to me soapbox about the trials and tribulations of volunteering with ALGA; and
- last but by no means least, my wife and two kids … not once have they ever questioned or complained about me doing ALGA stuff, even the times I missed family events and commitments.
To all my industry friends, keep being the village of willing volunteers … and keep raising the ALGA child!