Four years ago, I began a very intense soul searching process that led to my accepting the position of Confederation President. Since I had been involved with the organization from almost its beginning, holding various positions, I thought I could easily move into this role. As the Election approached, I became acutely aware of the Confederation’s potential to be a go-to organization that served residents on a level where neighbors worked with each other.
Thus my theme of “Neighbor to Neighbor” was created as the Confederation’s motto. This extended to taking the Confederation to the partner level with the City Council, Manager and Staff, and being extra dedicated to helping make Naperville the finest city where we chose to live together as neighbors. This was an exciting new concept.
This unheard of partnership required a dedicated Board with various deep passions about serving the needs, as they saw them, of the City. We had to learn it is OK to disagree with our colleagues from the municipal center, as long as we maintained a high degree of professional integrity and stuck to the facts, not emotions or rhetoric.
Slowly a working relationship began to evolve based not only upon the 15 Board members’ intellectual strength, but on trust. Soon we were broadly accepted into all levels of the enterprise of the City. People enjoyed having the Confederation available and they expected we would always fill one or more seats on vital committees and task forces. To the best of my knowledge, the NAHC has not failed in any of our cooperative endeavors.
The four years of my Presidency have flown by. With the Officers and Board, I am proud to say we are now integral to the heartbeat of this City and we will continue serving neighbor to neighbor. Thank you for supporting the NAHC.
