Barbara’s passion is to make sure that abused and neglected children get the legal representation they deserve. She has created a massive data base of legal information regarding laws that pertain to children and this information is easily accessible by attorneys, judges, case workers, etc. The information she provides helps the child advocate be better prepared to help the children.

I got it from the leader of Maine Youth Leadership, Kathy Leighton, who told us the story about Nathan. She said that each one of us has the potential to impact someone’s life, and that we all had impacted hers.

After hearing Jon’s story, I headed on vacation. When counting the cards in the deck we found at the cottage, we found that the deck was missing it’s 7 of Hearts. Someone scribbled out another card to create one. It was only right to leave Jon’s card and start it on its journey.

I had won the pinnacle award for work and was invited to a meeting where Jon Petz was the speaker. He was such an inspirational speaker. As I was listening to him speak I was trying to think of one 7 of hearts moment I had in my life. Several months after returning home to Fargo, ND I had a chance to read his book and think about the 7 of hearts moments again. I realized I have had many 7 of heart moments in my life. How do you decide which one to share? I have been blessed with a wonderful husband, 3 amazing children, 5 beautiful grandchild, which I have shared 7 of hearts moments with. I have a great job and I work with a wonderful team. I think I will have to share a time when my life was not as good as it is today, my childhood. When I turned 10 years old, my mother became very ill. She was not able to walk, feed herself or talk. Within a year she became a full vegetable and was placed in a nursing home. As you can imaging as a young girl without a mother I became very shy. I don’t think I talked until my sophomore year in high school. At that time I had met a girl who became one of my best friends in high school. I learned I had a special talent of being funny. She would tell me I could make her laugh on a bad day. From those days forward I try to make others laugh. I believe that laughter is one of the best medicines in life. If I can make people laugh or at least smile each day, then my day is complete. Even with all the horrible things that happen in life.

She has made my last four years very special. She has taught me how to discipline children with love, and to appreciate their differences. She has made me successful in a position I was not fully ready for.

My story is a long story, so I will keep it short. It was a dark and stormy night…oops, wrong story. I was a soldier once. I fought a couple of wars. my experiences set me out on a path for enlightenment. What is the meaning of life? What is truth? Where do socks disappear to in the dryer? My path has taken me to many places and has placed me in many roles. A scholar,a poet, a dreamer, a writer, a carpenter, a craftsman, and as of late, some guy who oversees a salad bar. That one I did not see coming, kind of like a Nolan Ryan fastball, “where did that come from?” But I have come to a conclusion about one of the purposes of life. That one is to extend kindness wherever you can. One single act of kindness, like a pebble tossed into a pond, can ripple infinitely outwards, affecting lives of unknown proportions, in ways we may have never imagined. Do not settle for being merely nice, instead work on being kind. Yes, there is a difference, but that is another lesson. Peace.

I was given the card at the Maine Youth Leadership Seminar and after being told the story behind it I felt that others deserve admiration no matter how little they do because no matter how little the job it can make a big impact to someone.

At the MYL seminar Kathy told us Nathan’s story and gave each of us a card to help recognize people for making a difference with the simple things

Maria comes into the ladies restroom at least twice a day to tidy up the restroom and replenish the toiletries. She does this every day and I noticed that no one was really speaking to her. One day I asked her what her name was and her face lit up. I try to speak to her when I see her and now I am going to share this card with her. I hope it brightens her day. I’ll probably include a little gift as well.