Oct. 24, 2007

This week in Orlando, we gathered for our Annual Meeting & Exposition to explore how we Live Our Story through a life of conscience, community, integrity and legacy. As with other years, the magic of us coming together is remarkable and the power of our community is strong.

Elie Wiesel opened our conference on Sunday and you could have heard a pin drop as he talked about how our responsibility to each other is the greatest human power at our disposal. He reminded us, as perhaps only he can, of not only the evil of oppression, but the evil of indifference. You and I can tolerate neither in our work with elders and the disabled and as we support the caregivers who care for them, both paid and volunteer. We cannot continue to tolerate flawed public policy.

On Monday, Claire Gaudiani gave us a whole new perspective on the power of philanthropy. She personally had benefited from the services of AAHSA members over the years. She showed us how human need produces entrepreneurial and philanthropic organizations and people. Your organizations are examples. Your organizations create grateful families and grateful communities that are willing to be generous with their time, talent and money if we ask them. In fact, she says that we are in the "social profit" business because we are here to make America even more responsive and generous.

In my mind, Bill Cosby is the greatest storyteller of our generation. On Monday night, he spoke about his Aunt Clara, among other stories. Aunt Clara, who has Alzheimer's disease, lives with Cosby's cousin and her husband. Cosby's point of reference with his aunt is her sweet potato pies. Aunt Clara recently called 911 to report a strange man in her house. Sirens blazing, the police came in to find that the strange man was her son-in-law, with whom she had been living for 16 years. The punch line was Aunt Clara still remembers sweet potato pies and 911. Cosby reminds us that we must find humor in the midst difficult situations that we all face.

Yesterday, Sidney Poitier, in perhaps the most moving speech I have personally ever heard, gave us a dozen snapshots from his life which have created this man of great personal integrity. Born of poor parents in the Caribbean, he faced one obstacle after another, including three brushes with death, major race riots, racism, homelessness and poverty—multiple dynamics that would have defeated most of us. His point was that a life of integrity is built not on the experience of being knocked down, but what we do to get back up, learn, grow and move on with our lives. He emphasized the importance of family values, honesty with each other and learning from the consequences of our behaviors. He was supported along the way by a policeman who gave him 50 cents to get to a Sisters of Charity refuge in New York City, which saved his life. He recalls a now nameless Jewish cook at a restaurant who helped him learn to read better when he was a new American in his teens. He wished he could say thanks to all of them. He emphasized the importance of thanks to those who have helped us on our personal journeys.

I don't need to tell you too much about Jerry Friedman's magnificent session this morning on Living a Life of Legacy because you can watch it online today at 1 p.m. Eastern time. Jerry designed an amazing curriculum for young people to interact with their elders and reflect on their experiences and relationships. A young woman named Claire joined Jerry on stage and reflected on how her experience with the curriculum made her understand and appreciate elders in a way she could not have imagined. You can use the curriculum in your organizations to help the young people in your community gain a respect for aging.

Join Jerry and me later today for a call-in conversation about intergenerational programming at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time. The first 250 people who call in at (877) 238-4697 and enter passcode 441949 can join us for this remarkable discussion. If you can't get in, the call will be archived to listen in later. I look forward to speaking with you.

So, let me say thanks to all of you for the hard conscientious lives of conscience, community, integrity and legacy that you live everyday. And thanks to AAHSA's staff, and board and all of our colleagues and business friends who produced this memorable AAHSA meeting and don't forget to say thanks to someone in your life who made all the difference.


William L. Minnix, Jr.
President & CEO

AAHSA · 2519 Connecticut Ave. NW · Washington DC 20008 · www.AAHSA.org