Zane’s Farewell

What a great surprise you gave me last Tuesday.   I am humbled and grateful.  The Dream to bring a GiGi’s Playhouse to Madison started in 2012 when I learned about GiGi’s from my daughter.   Like all Dreams there were many challenges and achieving it was not easy.   We achieved our goal of bringing a Playhouse to Madison because of the combined commitment of all of you.  We met our challenges directly, we disagreed at times, we had disappointments, but we never lost sight of our goal.  We persevered and our Dream became a reality.  I am so proud to have been on this journey with all of you and am so grateful for the contributions and sacrifices that each of you have made.

I mentioned on Tuesday that serving as the President of the GiGi’s Board has been the greatest service honor of my life.  I have been fortunate to have achieved many professional goals, but what makes this different is that we Dreamed to make a better life for children born with Down syndrome and their families.  This Dream was not about personal achievements, it was about serving.  We all received our inspiration by Dreaming to serve the children and families of the Down syndrome community .  My initial inspiration came from Noah, my grandson, and grew as I had the privilege to meet many others the past four years.

I know there are still challenges ahead of us.  The first step of the Dream has been accomplished, GiGi’s Playhouse is here.  Now we are reaching to fulfill greater Dreams and bring programs and services that will change lives.  You will always have a special place in my heart.  Thanks for allowing me to Dream with you and for joining me in the journey.  As I stated from a poem by Helen Kromer in my talk at our initial GiGi’s Gala in 2014, “ One person awake can awaken another, the second can waken their next door neighbor, the three awake can rouse the town, by turning the place upside down, the many awake can make such a fuss, that it finally awakens the rest of us. One person up with dawn in his or her eyes, Multiplies.  Get up, get up, for Heaven’s sake get movin, your tardiness is showin, you surely must be knowin that it’s time you were awake for Heaven’s sake. Get up, get up, take the plunge, get in the swim, get off our can, bowl em over, stoke up the ship, full steam ahead, sound the sirens, throw the switches, let’s get the lead out of our britches!  FOR DOWN SYNDROME SAKE.” We all awoke, We Got Up and our Dream became a reality.  This community has joined us and together we will continue to make a difference in the lives of those we serve.