"Every word spoken with so much power and substance… and conviction" -Ellen H

Formidable Vanessa… every word spoken with so much power and substance… AND conviction. It was intimidating. Until…

I still remember one night (2010 perhaps); not what preceded it but we were together after some event. We sat down, you and me, and talked over a glass of wine - nothing earth shattering, just talk. It was the first time we’d talked one-on-one. It was relaxed and there was no overwrought discussion about the state of the Country, the world, or even our local drama of the day. Just a chat about ourselves, our families…
I was no longer intimidated because you let down the shield of your force of nature as you would your tresses of wild white hair.

Your passion for how things should be, could be… so few have the power of your convictions or are willing to raise their voices in well-reasoned proclamations as you have done over and over again. Daunting. Admirable. And yes, sometimes fractious and anger inspiring.

And then there was the proclamation: You were being honored and I was tasked with reviewing your history and culling out the highlights to celebrate you. There were many. How was I to fit it all in one document? How small could I make the font to celebrate this bigger than life woman? And then there was all that I had to leave out. Most of all, a single document could not capture the breadth of your contributions nor could it capture the essence of who you’ve been - a flame that burns brightly.

With respect and admiration,
Ellen H