Making a difference

I was representing our paddling group at a meeting a couple days ago. We were asked to go around the table and tell something about ourselves and the organizations we represented. When I finished my brief description, the meeting chair asked how many members we had. “2173.” He smiled. “You know to the minute?” My background is running businesses and other organizations, and any good manager diligently checks the “dashboard” to see where you’re succeeding or failing. In large part, the numbers tell the story. But, not the complete story. Cincypaddlers turns 10 next month. While the membership count speaks very highly of all those involved, the most important stat doesn’t show up on the dashboard: how many people we’ve made a difference for. To begin with, we’ve welcomed those with little or no skill in paddling and, through coaching and guidance, elevated those who cared to indulge to the upper echelon to the sport. More importantly, that transferred to their self-esteem and quality of life. Few things make life more enjoyable than a sense of achievement. It pays dividends in overall happiness and what’s more important than that? And, for those who didn’t care to amp their skills beyond the safe level, we’ve brought great life experiences into range. Through crafting trips suitable for casual paddlers, we’ve enabled them to paddle under and over waterfalls, see red rock canyons and icebergs calving, kayak beside manatees, dolphins, whales, eagles, alligators and other wonders of nature and otherwise experience life-changing events that 99% of their friends and family will never know. And, for some, we’ve simply helped them find a place. Last night, we paddled a river and one of the first-time participants was an awkward young man. He stood off to the side as we gathered and studied his feet. It would be a good bet to assume he hadn’t been president of his class or prom king. Yet, the group embraced him and, by the end of the trip, he was smiling broadly and meeting everyone’s eyes. He had found his place. This was one where social status, looks, or other such things didn’t matter. If you’re a decent person, there’s a place for you. Being accepted made a huge difference to him and others like him. And that’s the primary achievement that doesn’t show up on the dashboard. Cincypaddlers has made a positive difference in so many lives. Happy 10th birthday!