From the

Corner Office

It's about The Fall…

This time of year, we appreciate the glorious foliage in New England. In a month or so, we’ll watch the last of the leaves fall and begin to look forward to their “rebirth.” In the meantime, our forests are filled with decades-old trees standing steadfast and straight, symbolizing resiliency during our long winter while waiting to produce bountiful syrup each and every Spring.

If you think back on how many times you’ve heard a parent say to their child…. “It’s OK, keep going! Don’t give up, you can do it!” after falling from their first bike, you know that “the fall” is the part of life that builds their resiliency.

At our Annual Meeting in October, we celebrated people who are as resilient as they come. Military, veterans, fire, police, emergency medical services, healthcare workers, our legislators, and our staff - people who serve our communities with expertise and experience. We are all service providers and despite all our training and education, we can find that our work can “take the wind out of our sails.” Yet, we continue to move forward and serve. 

Resilience is built by exposure, practice, and each person’s individual fortitude. We’ve all worked for years to reinforce the skills that we know solidify our talents. We hold debriefings, we offer peer support and compassion fatigue education. We take care to take care!

Let “The Fall” be the time we let the changes in nature reflect the phases of our service careers and just be thankful for our resilience. It’s worth celebrating. 

~ Maggie Pritchard