From the President
"We've aged a generation in the past [120 days]. What matters has sharply come into focus. Family matters. Love matters. Kindness matters. Health matters. Generosity matters. People matter. Community matters. The rest is just noise.
Aside from physical distancing, the biggest thing you can do right now is to choose to see the best in each other. Be kind. Be patient. Be tolerant.
Be quick to help out in any way that you can. Be forgiving when you would otherwise be upset. See things through the eyes of others and try to understand where they are coming from.
Seek out opportunities for generosity. Reconnect with your community. Reconnect with yourself. Reconnect with your priorities. Live them." - Anonymous
Dear EO Melbourne,
Your Board and I have the awesome responsibility to leave the Chapter better and stronger than how we found it. The phrase “better and stronger” is our north star, and this north star forms every single decision that we make.
Earlier this week as I reflected on the achievements of our Chapter and our Board, I quickly realised that far greater than the progress we have made as a Chapter, there is something more important that I need to write to and I do a disservice to this Chapter and its Members by not focusing on what truly matters. In spite of the crisis that we find ourselves living through, we have become more human. We have become kinder, more gracious, and more patient.
Who can forget March when our world and our lives turned upside down?
Collectively, we have lost much, but I’d like to challenge this narrative and suggest that we have also gained much, too.
We have gained time to slow down, the opportunity to strip out the nonessential and examine — really examine — what’s most important in our lives: (1) time to spend with those we love and whom in turn love us; and (2) the chance to rediscover our own humanity so that we grow into becoming kinder, more gracious, more compassionate, more patient, and more human.
We have no certainty on when this global pandemic will end, but the one thing that we can do is to lean into relationships that we have with one another, to lean further into our values (the same values that unite so many of us), to come together as a community and a family, and to celebrate each and every victory no matter how small or inconsequential they may seem.
For all of us, the last 120 days have been difficult, unsettling, destabilising and, at times, heartbreaking. Sometimes, all at once. However, I know that it is during times of crisis that great leaders and acts of great leadership emerge and that during this crisis, we as a Chapter chose the path that brings us closer together and not the path that forces us apart.
I have witnessed Members reaching out their hand in genuine care and support. Simple acts such as picking up the phone, making a call—even if just to check in—can mean the world. It can be that small boost that provides the courage for others to just hold on a little bit longer. And the Board, it has the core belief put into action that “no Member will be left behind”, which symbolises that we have decided we are better together.
It is in times like these that our humanity shines through. It shows that we are not alone; and that we are better and stronger together.
To you all, to our Board…this is what I am most proud of.
And so it is with immense pride and satisfaction, as I write my final letter that signals the end of my tenure as President, that the Board and I leave this Chapter better, stronger and, above all, more connected.
It has been an incredible honour to serve as your President, and I hope that I have earned the privilege of your trust.
I wish you and your families the very best of health and success in the months to come.
Thank you.
With warmth and gratitude,
Kym Huynh
President 2019/2020