In the two years that I have had the honor of serving at the Human Service Chamber, I have come to think of each of the individuals and agencies we work for as family. Our HSC family has grown since the spring of 2017 to 80 member organizations, as we all work together to unleash the power of human potential for each and every person our agencies serve.
But seven days ago, our Human Service Chamber family grew in a more personal and extraordinary way when my wife Lori and I welcomed our first child into this world in the early morning hours of October 28th. We have been in a state of euphoria ever since.

I’m grateful that both Lori and our son, Elijah George, are doing well. We are all hugely appreciative of the outpouring of kindness and joy that so many of you have shared with us over these last seven days.

Indeed, it takes more than a village to raise a child in this world. We are so grateful to have the chance to raise Elijah with all of you.

So while our son naps beside me, please accept my appreciation that we couldn’t publish the Chamber Chatter last week, and that this week’s iteration is more succinct than usual. I’m deeply grateful to our Board of Directors, our HSC Fellows, and my colleague Cardella Wood for all their work while I have taken a step back to be with my family during these magical days.

In the interim, I would urge each and all of you to vote in tomorrow’s general election if you haven’t already done so–every election matters, no matter how small it may seem. The future of this community and our country depend on the decisions we make at the polls, a responsibility that is a little more important to me today than it was one week ago.