Susie Cook Hoganson Acceptance Speech

The Junior League of San Francisco, Inc. recently awarded Susan Cook Hoganson as one of their 2010 WOMEN AT THE CENTER HONOREE. The honorees were selected because they are visionaries with strong leadership skills who have given generously of their time, energy and resources in an effort to further philanthropic causes and improve the Bay Area community. Below is a copy of Susie's speech from the luncheon in her honor.

Acceptance Speech
Susan Cook Hoganson

I loved the suggestion of bringing your mentor to this lunch. I thought about the people in my life that encouraged me, cheered me on, challenged me and perhaps even gave me a swift kick from time to time. Two in my volunteer life were Junior League presidents who are no longer with us: Cathy Bellis and Patty Costello. The person in my professional life is Rob Vanneman, who is here today, and still acts as a mentor to me.

I am blessed in having the love and support of my husband, John, who has always championed my endeavors even though he does ask me from time to time to slow down. When I take on too much, he has learned to just shake his head. I only became worried when he also trained our beloved dog “Trouble” to shake hers too.

Much has been written on how a community benefits from voluntarism. Rather, this will be a public service announcement on how volunteering helps the volunteer, and specifically how it helps me and brings me joy.

I think that will be more interesting than my life as a banker and nonprofit CEO. When I was on Hamlin School's board, I was the keynote speaker for career day and the girls seemed to enjoy my “hints of life” rather than a recap of what I had accomplished. I am hoping those of you here today will prefer a similar theme.

So, here are five “hints” about volunteering that I hope you consider.

One - Laugh. Make others laugh. Have fun. Do not take yourself too seriously – only the cause you are supporting. Be aware of the difference.

Two – Take chances and challenge yourself.

Three – Be creative. The power to create comes from inside you. Listen to your inner voice and be willing to try new approaches. On the other hand, don't settle on the first solution until you have heard a second proposal; the second may be more creative.

Four – Learn to build a team and promote open dialogue within that team.
Encourage dissenting voices. Look for people who are different to fill out your group. Read Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals, the biography of Lincoln, to see his brilliance in use of “others” in his cabinet.

Five - Bring commitment when you volunteer or accept any assignment. Move on to a different organization if your heart is not in your work. Always listen to your heart.

Volunteerism was a highly regarded activity in my family and in Providence, Rhode Island where I was born and raised. Both my parents volunteered actively and consistently. Much of who I am is a result of Betsy and Dick Cook, and not just genetically. I started volunteering when I was about 9. It was something that we all did.

Volunteering energizes me. Planning my volunteer career has been as important as planning my corporate career. What a wealth of experiences, skills to learn and test, friends to make and broader knowledge about community, city, country and world to gain. I wanted to grab at each opportunity.

Emily Dickinson said “forever is composed of nows”. Each experience of the now led me to more complex experiences in the future. I thoughtfully accepted assignments providing a myriad of experiences by working with educational institutions, social service agencies, foundations, museums, membership organizations and many more. Each experience provided a unique template of opportunities and a wide array of organizational structures.

What have I gained in these 50 plus years?

Lifelong friends with whom I share life's everyday joys and sorrows as well as the larger challenges of marriage, sickness, career and death.

Experiential training, but more importantly the opportunity to take risks in a safe and supportive environment. I learned to enjoy challenges. The Junior League was the first group which often awarded me with positions and situations that I did not know if I was prepared to undertake. One example was chairing the Junior League's emotional public meeting to uphold our position paper on a woman's right to choose. Another was being asked to do an attitudinal study among the membership of one of our fundraisers. I agreed, even though I had no idea what that really meant, and then I figured it out.

What a confidence builder those varied tasks were! At a young age, I could take risks, experience leadership and break personal barriers more by volunteering than in my corporate life. I was more prepared then to “climb the ladder”.
Max Du Pre, a business leader and expert on leadership, wrote, “It is important to remember that we cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are.” This is also true within our communities.

Volunteering provided me with an early outlet for experimenting with change and taught me how to be a change agent in an increasingly complicated world. Learning how to help organizations change and adapt means you also learn to be a good communicator.

Change does not happen easily and smoothly without a lot of listening and hearing many positions and voices, and giving everyone concerned a chance to participate. A leader must also express her own reasoned thoughts and conclusions.

I learned to build teams. Nonprofit volunteer groups respond differently from the corporate world as you have no power to hire or fire. A leader needs to help each member of that team reach her potential and appreciate what he or she brings to the project. There certainly is no motivating with money so one is forced to be creative with recognition and mentorship.

I learned to value the individual, especially the individual who had skills and opinions that differed from mine. I also learned to build consensus and to take the lead when necessary.

Recognizing and appreciating difference is the first step in getting to know “the other.” From serving on the board of the United Way of the Bay Area, I learned there were many “others” within our community each with a unique perspective and with voices not often heard in the wider community.

So, challenge yourself. Take a new risk. Do something you have never done before. Stretch. Think of today and the future rather than the comfortable past.
Andre Gide, the French author, wrote “One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.”

Let's keep setting sail from that shore of satisfaction so our thoughts, energies, resources and lives will lead to discoveries that improve ourselves, our families, and the lives of others in our broader community.