FROM THE CHAIRMAN

by Michael Gregory, M.D., Chairman

A Time For Resolutions

January 22, 2010

Sometime before Christmas last year, I read an article that told the story of a man who had played Santa Claus for many years at the local shopping mall. He was a real estate appraiser by trade but really enjoyed the role he played during this very festive time of year. For years, he had warned children sitting upon his lap that if they weren’t good little boys and girls, Santa would bring them shoes instead of toys. Then one day this holiday season, he found himself speechless. One child did, in fact, ask for shoes for Christmas, the next asked for her dad to find a job, and another wanted school supplies for the coming semester. Not in all his years as a mall Santa had he ever heard requests like these.

If you are reading this newsletter, you lead a busy, productive life, but if you are like me, you probably pause and reflect on how good life is less often than you should. The time to be grateful is traditionally around the holidays; however, the New Year is the time to make resolutions. Typically, these resolutions represent our commitments to ourselves to eat better, exercise more, etc. This year, I offer you a different type of resolution, not only to improve yourself, but to improve the world in which you live. For many in this country, now is a time of tremendous economic hardship. For many in our world, now is a time of unthinkable tragedy and despair. This New Year, I am challenging you to resolve to help, in some meaningful way, those less fortunate than yourself, whether it be a homeless person, a struggling friend or family member, or a child who has lost her home, mother, and brother to the earthquake in Haiti. Not all gifts are monetary; your time and effort can be just as meaningful as financial contributions. Doing something is a choice, followed by an action. If you truly want the world to be a better place, ask yourself, what are you going to do in 2010 to make it better? Then do it! Today!

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