Hello friends,
It has just been a month since I joined The Ebell team as your Executive Director, and my excitement for this year and all that is possible has grown even greater! First, I must thank all the wildly generous and kind members and board leaders who have welcomed me so warmly, and gently directed me away from whichever latest closet I was walking into, and pointed me toward the correct staircase, office and/or meeting space. You have shared your personal Ebell histories with me, fondly recalling which friend first brought you to the club, or a favorite field trip, or an especially fun and informative Monday luncheon. I am particularly grateful to all of you who have also shared your hopes with me. You have expressed a vision for how The Ebell can turn its light outward, toward our community, and serve as a shining beacon for arts, education and women’s advancement. I share your vision and determination to make it so.
And we are not alone! Our Ebell foremothers shared this same vision and hope. Among the many fascinating Ebell documents I have been reading is the Historic Structures Report commissioned in 2013, the report quotes Mrs. William Read, the Ebell President in 1927, who presided at the opening of our new home. She said, “Let us dedicate this building to the most satisfying form of friendship which comes from thinking, planning and working together.”
When we come back together on October 2, in-person in the Theatre, to celebrate the anniversary of the 1927 opening of our beautiful campus, Mrs. Read’s words will be echoing for me. We are ever grateful to our incredibly talented and inspiring member, Ms. Sheryl Lee Ralph, who will honor us as our Opening Day hero. I can’t wait to see you all then, and to meet even more new Ebell friends. Indeed, I hope Opening Day will be a joyful day of rededication for all of us, and that this year is filled with friendship borne out of our thinking, planning and working together to serve and enlighten our community.
With gratitude for you all,
Stacy
“I will find a way or make one.”
