Fall, the season of letting go...

"Change does not change Tradition. It strengthens it." - Unknown

This is the official first blog post of New Glarus Home. A concept and being in which I have come to learn is so much more than what we see before us on this fall day. Like the weather, we have come to know now that change and flexibility are becoming the voice in our heads, it also goes with the theme of the seasons, spring is the season of new beginnings and Fall the season of shedding leaves and preparing for winter.

If I look outside my office window, I see the change in our facade, the gravel dust and the pot holes in our parking lot. Seven years ago, when I nervously pulled in the parking lot to drop off my application the building looked much like it had 20 years earlier - brown, white , the bricks showing their age, the now absent "steeple" and our own stone statue in front of the 400 Wing day room. This has now all been replaced by fencing, gravel and a much larger metal structure. When I think of all of those things, I think of tradition. Now that they are all replaced by the "bigger and better", how will we identify with our new surroundings? The answer came to me as I was admiring the fall leaves and snapped a photo of our New Addition. We are leaving our mark on this place, brick by brick, we are ensuring the existence of this organization far beyond our years of service. We are strengthening our 50 year tradition. In one year, our building may be unrecognizable, but the tradition in our hearts and the commitment to our mission will ring loud and true. As we enter into the next 50 years, we keep in our hearts our Glarner Tradition, our mission and our calling...

God Bless.

Erin Francois, Executive Director