Hello Civitans.  We begin a new Civitan year with our new theme, Pay it Forward.  As Civitans and volunteers, we pay it forward without giving it a second thought.  It can be as simple as paying for the person's coffee in the line or drive-thru behind you to changing a tire for a person broken down on the side of a road, or just saying something nice to that person who really needed it.
 
I recently attended a Civitan convention and sat next to a younger Civitan.  As we chatted, I discovered that she had attended the meeting alone. She was very shy, felt alone and uncertain of herself.  She was a fairly new member.  It took courage to drive the distance to the meeting and introduce herself to those she didn't know.  She managed to get through the evening session.  At my workshop the following day, she was a participant in the panel.  This took tremendous courage for her.  But, she put her fears aside because she was so hungry for knowledge.  She was a great participant.  No one knew she was shy~she was very energetic and asked many questions.  She reminded me of a child attending school for the first time ~ a sponge for knowledge.
 
By the end of the weekend, I saw her come out of her shell ~ she initiated conversations, she interacted with others and she was having fun.  I like to think it was because she felt comfortable with me as I spent time to get to know her as a person and encouraged her to join in the activities.  This is my latest Pay it Forward story ~ I talked to her because I was interested in her.  I encouraged her when she felt uncertain.  She left the meeting with a feeling of having learned something about herself and enthused about Civitan.  She was going to share what she learned at the meeting with her club members.  I am so glad I spoke to her.....
 
Pay it Forward in many creative ways ~ you will receive much more than you give!

Gay Aaron
President, Civitan International