I continue to be amazed and impressed by the things coming out of the Leadership Northshore classes.
For those of you who may not be familiar with this organization, it was started over 20 years ago to give local businessmen and women a chance to receive a well-rounded education about our community. It is a 9-month course that gives you information about government, schools, leadership skills and an education about our city, parish and state.
One aspect of the class each year is that the overall group is broken into several teams, usually four to five people per team, who must come up with a community project during their 9-month time.
When you consider how many projects have come out of the classes in over 20 years, it is incredible. And this year there are once again some projects that are especially noteworthy.
Pelicans on Parade has certainly gotten the most attention, as I am sure all of you have begun to notice the colorful, 4-foot tall pelicans now sprouting up all over town.
Laura Borchert, who suggested the idea, said their team originally hoped to have 20 pelicans, but the popularity of the art has been so huge, they now have over 60 ordered. Not only has the project been a fundraiser for Children’s Wish Endowment (nearly $20,000 so far), but it also gave paying work to quite a few local artists, who were hired to paint the pelicans.
And now, more than anything, I believe it has given our city a very cool bit of unique art that will be here for quite a long time. You need to stop and see some of these pelicans up close. The painting is extremely detailed on many of the pelicans and it is great to see this all over Slidell.
Also among the projects I thought were so incredible is what appears, at first, to simply be a book drive for the new Hospice House that is about to start construction. However, thanks to an idea from local attorney Michele Blanchard that involved recent time spent with her mother in her final days, the group is asking for very special books to be donated to the house, that will have an inscription written on the inside cover of the books.
Think of it—you can have a book in the Hospice House that might bring great comfort and meaning to people for years to come. And that is what makes this such a great project.
Michele told me they are still collecting hardback books. You can contact her at 985-641-4010 or e-mail at booksforhospice@gmail.com to get your book in the library.
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It’s a miracle!
OK, maybe not a real miracle, but my youngest daughter, Vicky, graduated from college this past Saturday in Hammond.
Yes, we pick on her a bit since Vicky is one of those young people who are kiddingly called “a career student.”
She is 25 years old and finally finished college, taking more years than most to earn what is usually seen as a four-year degree.
So jokes aside, I am still quite proud of her since she was determined to not give up, and earn her degree. And as I have said to many people, any kind of degree is valuable these days since so many jobs require you to have some kind of degree.
Vicky finished with a General Studies degree and I actually think that some degrees like hers, or a general business degree, is versatile in that a business can see you did graduate from college, but you aren’t tied to a specific focus in the work world.
My third daughter has always been called “independent” by my wife since she is the child who takes her own path, living life to the fullest every single day.
She is the daughter with several large tattoos and a piercing or two. And yes, I was a bit shocked when I saw the first one appear, but I’ve certainly gotten used to them by now, and as all us older folks know, you sure can’t change the mind of a young person who has decided that is what they want.
Vicky is the daughter who led me into a love for country music, after she started college near Nashville, Tenn., going to Middle Tennessee State in Murfreesboro, all because she wanted to be close to the heart and soul of country music.
I still think she might end up in Nashville once she makes a firm decision about what career path to follow, but for now, you might see her always smiling face working for our newspaper in some capacity. If she starts working with me, that would mean all four of my kids are now working at the paper in some form or fashion. Pretty neat, I would say.
But for today, I just want to congratulate her on a job well done. As for me, I went to all of one semester of college and then spent my life working my way up the ladder. My career has gone well so far, I believe, but it’s easy to wonder what might have happened if I had started with a college degree.
Vicky won’t have to wonder about that and now that makes two of my three homeschool daughters who have college degrees. When I look at Vicky, I see a sweet, funny, loving young girl who has grown up to be a responsible, caring human being. That’s what really matters as she heads into this big world, and for that, I’d say she couldn’t do much more to make her mom and I proud of her.
Kevin Chiri can be reached by e-mail at kevinchiri@gmail.com.