Earth Day last week calls for a special "why do you serve" post this week. Each Monday I highlight the service of different "heroes in our midst" -- ordinary people serving the world around them. I prefer the personal stories, such as the one told last week by Robin Blandford, a volunteer in the Irish Coast Guard, but as I heard little news stories last week of people working hard to clean up a small corner of the world on Earth Day, I knew we had our story for this week.Now, I will admit that I do have a bit of a problem with Earth Day. I find it to be troublingly similar to Valentine's Day -- you know, a single day per year when you are supposed to really show someone (or in this case, the planet Earth) that you care about it, as if we shouldn't be doing that the rest of the year? Not to discourage anyone's uniquely late-April efforts, but do consider all the hard work you did last week when next you have an opportunity to opt for laziness over environmental stewardship (I'm looking at you, "guy whose coffee cup turned into little pieces of styrofoam that I picked up on Saturday"). But I digress...
Whether it was some folks I know who spent last Thursday better "greenifying" their house (installing better weather proofing, fixing some run-off issues, etc), or the Army National Guard unit I saw picking up trash along the road over the weekend, I thank everyone who observed Earth Day in their unique way. As someone who has done a lot of work in Marine Safety and Environmental Protection with the Coast Guard, I'd like to specifically thank the team of volunteers (pictured here) that I spent time with over the weekend picking up trash and untangling fishing line along the Potomac River at Jones Point Lighthouse in Alexandria, VA. We had another team over along the Anacostia River that same day. I enjoyed spending the day with you, and I thank you all for your service!
As we head into our fourth and final week of the April "Spotlight on Leadership" campaign focusing on the idea of "external awareness," I encourage everyone to consider their place and potential in the context of the economic, environmental, political, military, and social issues we face both within our own organizations and communities, as well as nationally and internationally. We'll discuss more later this week, and as always, I look forward to your thoughts.