I Love this Place!

Lessons & Reflections from the National Butterfly Center

I've been Director of the National Butterfly Center for about six weeks now, and I have to confess I love it! I love the people here, both the dedicated staff and the committed volunteers. Everyone seems to get up every day and come here with excitement and expectation: What will I see today? What will I change? Save? Plant? Build? Fix?

I have such tremendous respect for Chris in the Nursery, and Max's crew in the Gardens. They labor in the brutal South Texas sun, and still manage to get so much accomplished. The heat, on days like today, where it hit 105*, should be enough to make anyone walk off the job; but they don't. For this I am thankful, because this is not work that anyone gets rich doing. They're here because they want to be.

I am enjoying getting to know everyone, too. For example, Max and I both chose to come to the National Butterfly Center to make serious changes to our health and lifestyle. We both left large, respected organizations, for a smaller one—but one that allows us to spend time with our families, in the outdoors, making a positive impact on our community.

I imagine the impact we're making is at least as great as the paths the butterflies travel...and that is
really, really cool!