I’m sure all of you will join me in this very sincere and heartfelt thank you and farewell to Clyde Berger, a great guy who has left me with some big shoes to fill! Clyde was instrumental in launching and growing the DRI Foundation’s volunteer efforts as Chair of Volunteerism, a position from which he has decided it is time to resign. We wish Clyde and his wonderful wife Lorraine much happiness and continued adventure in this next phase of their lives.
We will always be grateful to Clyde for the clarity and compassion of his vision of our annual Volunteer Day and the way he was able to transition that into five amazing events. Through Clyde’s efforts, Volunteer Day brought us together to help to rebuild a home after Hurricane Katrina, sort more than 60,000 pounds of food, paint apartments for veterans, and more. Wow! Talk about accomplishments. We are so very grateful for everything that Clyde has done for the Foundation, and he will be missed.
Which leads me to those shoes to fill…My name is Michele Ostler and I am the new Chair of Volunteerism for the DRI Foundation. I hope those of you who followed “Clyde’s Corner” will also take a few minutes to read my new column, “Michele’s Volunteer View” too! To be able to help orchestrate a global community of continuity professionals to “give back’’ to people, communities, and entities in need is truly an opportunity with which I am excited to be involved.
A little about me: I have been a Board Member with the DRI Foundation since its inception in 2012, and I am also the Venue Manager for DRI International which makes me a familiar face for many of you in the industry. I am an event planner by profession and I have a lot of experience bringing groups of people together to do great work for great causes. There is no doubt in my mind that the work the Foundation does during Volunteer Day is among the best volunteer efforts I know and support.
I have been working diligently since taking on this new role to get ready for DRI2017 and making preparations for Volunteer Day. Stay tuned for some exciting announcements regarding where our volunteer efforts will be taking place next year in Las Vegas on Saturday, February 25th. In the meantime, registration is open online at: driconference.org. I can be reached any time for questions regarding volunteerism at mostler@drii.org or 917-796-5571. I’m also going to be issuing Calls to Action in each of my Michele’s Volunteer View columns, and here is the first:
CALL TO ACTION:
The DRI Foundation is seeking donations of water, soda, and snacks for Volunteer Day at DRI2017. If you or your organization can help with this effort, please contact me!
I look forward to this journey and to seeing many of you in Las Vegas in 2017!
Michele Ostler
DRI Foundation
Chair of Volunteerism