Passion Lives Here (And So Do Prairie Dogs)

Those of you who know me know I love the Winter Olympics. The official theme of the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy was “Passion Lives Here.” I really liked that phrase, and it has stuck with me over the years, because it reminds me of Imagine!. Despite the many challenges we face at Imagine!, the frustrations, and the ups and downs, we have always had an abundance of passion.

I was reminded of this abundance of passion recently because of a rather zealous email exchange among some of our staff members. The email exchange began when a dedicated staffer, who was on a quest to find a humane way to mitigate the numerous prairie dogs that live near our building (and are creating a challenge for property maintenance), sent an email asking if anyone had ever tried the method of spreading used, damp, stinky cat litter to scare off the critters. Seriously.

This email was sent to a number of people, and the response to the initial email was fast and overwhelming. People were asking if we really needed to get rid of the prairie dogs, if it was ethical to get rid of the prairie dogs, and even if we had any right to get rid of the prairie dogs since we were the ones who invaded their territory in the first place.

This email exchange went on for several days until my writing partner on this blog, Imagine!’s Director of Public Relations Fred Hobbs, asked that staff members stop using the “reply to all” feature because the amount of email responses were starting to clog up our servers (earning him the nickname “Captain Bringdown McBuzzkill” in the process).

Although it was probably time to end the online conversation, I actually enjoyed the emails going back and forth because they demonstrated the fact that passion is overflowing at Imagine!. That we are passionate about the individuals we serve is, and always has been, without question. But the passion of our staff goes so far beyond that, as evidenced by the prairie dog emails.

Being a good provider of services is not enough for Imagine! staff members. So many people working here care deeply about the environment and are concerned about how our actions impact the world around us. Their passion knows no bounds.

The trick for Imagine!’s administrative team, and me in particular, is to harness that passion so we can continue to lead the way locally, nationally, and internationally in providing innovative supports for some of our most vulnerable citizens – and providing them in a way that preserves the environment for future generations.

So thank you, Imagine! staff members, and especially our prairie dog neighbors, for reminding me that Imagine! has a truly exceptional culture that enables us to succeed even in the face of tremendous challenges. Passion truly does live (and work) here. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else!

Then again, what do I know?