Two wonderful events. One personal, one professional. A year’s planning for each. Guest list content and chemistry important. Invitations elegant, expressive, artful. Celebration, family, friends, joy. Umbrellas for everyone. My older daughter, Marissa, was married 3 weeks ago on the only rainy Saturday out of the last 7. Not just rain, but 36 hours of incessant rain, wind, mist, fog. For what was to have been an outside wedding with grand views of Vermont hillsides, mountains, and a lake. Instead, we had romantic vistas with swirling mist and fog gathering in soft chignons around the valley, slipping and curling along the lakeshore, and whispering at the feet of the wedding party in photo poses. Black umbrellas and white umbrellas (Marissa and Jackson shared a black and white one, of course) dotted the lawn against the pearl gray of the fog. Despite the rains, we enjoyed a spectacular festival of family, friends, and love. The party stretched over 3 days with a crescendo on Saturday and gentle rising and falling on either side. Marissa and Jackson are perfect for each other and perfect for the rest of us who know and love them; being around them for the weekend, everyone felt the magic of romance and commitment. Even the weather could not contain our collective and personal joy. Last week Tuesday, on the only rainy day in the last 7 we at the Stern Center held our Building Dedication ceremony for the Cynthia K. Hoehl Building, our new Williston facility. Not just rain, but nearly horizontal downpours and wind gusts at nearly 30 mph. The tent had been set up the day before in brilliant sun under azure skies, the quintessential Vermont summer day. But the next day, by one hour before the ceremony began in the tent, we’d been following the Weather Channel for 15 minute updates hoping to avoid electrical storms. We did that, but I sat with Rube Goldberg bungee cords strapped to my hands holding down the north wall, and we turned up the PA system so it could compete successfully with the drumming of the tent fabric. The speakers were brief but personal, touching, and inspirational. We rearranged pedestrian traffic to make the shortest trip under umbrella runners back to the building for tours and refreshments. It was a successful event, celebrating the past, present, and future of the Stern Center. Even the weather could not contain our collective spirit. So, while several people who realized my two major weather challenges wondered aloud if I should step aside from helping plan any major special events the rest of the summer, we all were reminded that it’s not the weather or the venue, or even the food or music that makes events special; it’s the people. “Come rain or come shine!”

Having spent most of my adult life in public schools (in that time, 19 years as a principal), I’ve always appreciated the line from Marian Wright Edelman’s book The Measure of Our Success where she writes in part, “…Remember….that many fruits of your labor won’t become manifest for many, many years.” This past year I’ve seen yet another example of that important perspective. I first met Teddy Kusiak when he was a junior in high school having spent the previous year investing many hours of hard work and discipline to get himself back on track academically, emotionally, and athletically. Ted was one of those student/athletes who’d succeeded initially by his charm and achievements only to hit the academic wall as a high school freshman. Those struggles hamstrung him first in the classroom and then in terms of sports eligibility. That year all but dashed his and his parents’ dreams of athletic scholarship supporting a college career. Upon advice of his school counselor, they sought the Stern Center, and Ted reclaimed his dreams over the next year. I have continued to connect with Ted and his father since that year, and was not surprised therefore to read the lead article in a recent Sunday issue of the Burlington Free Press highlighting Ted’s impressive achievements as an NCAA Division 1 track star at the University of Rhode Island. As startling as his track performances continued to be (with the National NCAA’s in the near future), his academic accomplishments are more so. Since drawing himself up out of the ashes of failure and discouragement, Ted gained honor roll status for the balance of high school and went on to his current status as a Dean’s List Senior at URI. For Ted, the “many fruits of his labor” continue to manifest, and we are proud to call him a Stern Center alum.