From Laura

Well, here we go again. Since a successful Friends for Life Orlando last month, I’ve been very hopeful that CWD’s in-person conferences could continue on the path ‘back to normal.’ With the recent resurgence of COVID-19 in the form of the Delta variant, however, we’re back to considering the risks and figuring out the best ways to mitigate them for the upcoming Friends for Life White Plains conference, October 8-10. What is the best way forward? My own feeling is that we should continue as planned, taking every precaution to keep our participants safe in the environment we create. Our […]

It was just after sunrise. As I do most mornings, I headed out the door for a run to start the day. It was a chilly Michigan morning, and the sky was cloudless and intensely blue. I went back for a hat, decided against gloves, and closed the back door. I jogged to the end of the drive and turned left onto the dirt road. I could see about a quarter mile down the road, and not much further. There are some ‘rules of the road’ when one runs out in the country: Always run facing oncoming ‘anything’ (farm equipment, […]

“We didn’t stop at no; we got to how.” That’s what Jeff Hitchcock said to me last Monday as we stood in line with some of our Friends for Life, waiting for BBQ at the American Pavilion at Epcot. Two things were memorable about this. I’ve been working with Jeff for 22 years, and it’s the first time I’ve seen him eat BBQ at 11 in the morning. It was exactly the right sentiment for what we had just experienced at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. A team of 40 CWD leaders and Board members had just spent three days meeting […]

We went for a hike. It was a chilly day in early April, with just a hint of the coming spring, and we needed to get outdoors. To breathe fresh air. To walk a few miles on Nature Conservancy land. To be somewhere other than hiding in the house, like we have been for the last month. Sam and Grace had come home to stay with us for a while. That morning, we walked on the muddy trails. Neal – a wetland specialist – pointed out things that none of us would otherwise have seen… a smidge of green here, […]

In four weeks, the Friends for Life leadership team will be in Orlando. Yep, we’ll have feet on the ground at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. We will be meeting with the Coronado management team, trying to route the way forward to an in-person Friends for Life Orlando this July. Over the past few months, I’ve been speaking regularly with the Coronado events team. At times, it has seemed pretty bleak. However now, with the increased rate of vaccines reaching people like you and me, getting together in July seems entirely possible. In April, we will be taking a deep dive […]

2020 was the year that threw us all for a loop. It forced us to stop in our tracks pretty much overnight to evaluate what we do – and whether we could still do it – in a time of pandemic. The short answer was, “No we cannot hold in person events.” None. For the entire year and into the next. Digging deeper, we asked the question, “What CAN we do in a time of pandemic to keep our community thriving and sharing and supporting each other?” What happened in the following months was quite spectacular. Our younger staff – […]

As the days pass, I watch the slow, disorganized COVID-19 vaccine process with frustration, as I know so many others do. I’m antsy. It all seems so discombobulated; I just want it to be done. I want us all to be protected and ready to move forward after being on ‘pause’ for so long. Every day, I check the COVID-19 case numbers and vaccine progress for Michigan, New York, and Florida. My family is in Michigan and New York… and so many of my Friends for Life – my FFLs – are in Orlando and across Florida. In April, some […]

For the past 22 years, I have been at the helm of CWD’s conferences. Friends for Life events large and small, inside the US, outside the US, and all around the country. It’s been all-consuming in the most wonderful way. I love going to new venues, meeting their events teams, hearing what they have to offer, and envisioning our amazing families learning and having fun in those places. I also love going back to tried-and-true “old friend” venues to hear their new ideas about the cool things we can be doing the next time. It’s so fun and energetic and […]