Catherine Merritt, we're so grateful for the leadership, support, and expertise that you and our board members bring to your roles. Thank you for elevating our work at Illinois Action for Children as we celebrate 55 years of championing children and changing lives. We honor Maria's powerful legacy, and together we continue to build upon it!
Yesterday, Spool hosted the Illinois Action for Children board of directors meeting, which was deeply meaningful for a lot of reasons... I was proud to welcome my fellow board members and the leadership team of the organization my mom dedicated much of her career to, to Spool and to introduce everyone to my colleagues, who I am so proud of and grateful for. Our board meeting was held in the "Maria Conference Room," which was named in my mom's honor and marked with this plaque, a gift from my team (and one of the most thoughtful gestures I've ever received). The plaque reads: “This room is a place to put our ambitions to the test, to foster relationships, bring forward opportunities, and laugh often. We’ll remember to tell people they matter and use our voices to catalyst for positive change in our industry and communities. We dedicate this space in loving memory to Maria Whelan.” This week I had the presence of mind to recognize how lucky I am. Life moves quickly and is fragile; don't take a second of it for granted.
