I’m taking a moment away from what is going to be a crazy week to reflect on how excited I am for this year’s National Conference on Volunteering and Service.  Every year I look forward to this time with colleagues across the Network and the sector, but I am particularly excited this year since New York City is where I was born and raised.  It’s been a while since I called New York my home, but it’s just not a place you ever forget.

As we all scramble around this week to prepare for over 5,000 conference attendees, I salute and celebrate the hard work of my peers who are on the planning team at Points of Light Institute and HandsOn Network and applaud the staff of New York Cares, our local HandsOn Action Center.  New York Cares is an amazing example of the work of our affiliates, and this Conference celebrates what they do each and every day.

So, yes, I am looking forward to time in my home town, but what I’m most excited about is learning, connecting and participating at this year’s Conference (oh, and running in Central Park).