Dennis P. Carman, President & CEO United Way of Greater Plymouth County
If it is okay to "wear our hearts on our sleeves", then is it also acceptable to "wear our hope around our necks"? I started wearing neckties only because I had to when I transferred from North Haven Public Schools in Connecticut to attend a private, Catholic School, Notre Dame High School in West Haven in the 10th grade. I really did not like ties all that much, but neckties and sports jackets were required so I learned how to tie an ascot knot and off to school each day I went.
By the time I landed a job after graduate school, I had grown used to wearing ties, and I found myself conforming to the professional practice of dressing for the position you wanted, not the one you have. So, over the course of ten years, I moved steadily up the latter of positions of greater responsibility in the field of substance abuse treatment, then I became the director of a homeless shelter for twelve years, and for the past twenty years, I have been blessed to be the President & CEO of United Way of Greater Plymouth County.
Somewhere and somehow over all these years, I began to receive some neckties as gifts that had "messages" inscribed on them. The first one came on Christmas on year in the 1990s from our Director of Families Services at MainSpring Coalition for the Homeless, a Save the Children tie, designed by 11 year old Nicole dubbed "No More Homeless Children". Though it is well worn by now, I still cherish this tie.
By the time I took the reins at our local United Way, I began buying a new tie each year that would match the theme of our Annual Meeting & Awards Celebration. One of the first of these ties was this one for our 88th Annual meeting to go along with the theme "You Are the Keys to Our Success"! (because, of course, there are 88 keys on a piano).
This one went along with our theme "Hands United" for our 97th Annual Meeting & Awards Celebration encouraging everyone to work together to strengthen our community.
And during one of the dark years of the pandemic when we had to conduct our annual meeting "virtually", this tie celebrated our optimistic theme of "Bright Spots"!
Finally, my last one is of course, this year's annual meeting message tie, "A Hunger for Hope!"
So, what is the collective message of all these ties, and what do any of them have to do with health?
I hope the message is obvious. Given our challenging times, we need to do all we can to make a message of hope and positivity visible, tangible and share-able! Support "unity", "working together", and celebrate our "strengths" and our "diversity". Though I still do not love wearing neckties, I am much happier when I believe I am serving as an ambassador of good tidings and encouragement. Tie one on for your health and mine!
