Dancing with Change

A while back I wrote that it was time to grab hold of change by the throat and dance! And I've danced through loss and abandonment. And I've danced with friends old and new. And yesterday the dance continued.

Lavanda Brown announced that after 16 years at Union Mission, the past seven as Executive Vice-President, she is leaving. I have known for a while as she told me in my office several weeks ago but am still getting used to the idea. If Lavanda is anything, she is steady and if we ever needed anything over the past year or so it has been that. And she has consistently delivered.

We've also had good times together. Good talks. Good laughs. And a cultural dialogue about race in Savannah that has shaped the way that Union Mission is today. I call her style "front Porch management". People come and sit on her sofa and talk while she stares at her computer screen because of her inability to completely focus on one thing at a time. Somehow it works and people leave feeling that they have gotten the things that they need from her.

It will be several more weeks before she finally leaves for good and I know that, in this case, she will never really leave for good. Unlike the other changes in my life, Lavanda and I will continue to be friends. We will continue to talk. She has a life time invitation to the Union Mission holiday party.

And for that, and for all of the things that she has done for our community, I am grateful.