In which Shawn breaks out a popular cliché...

You have heard this one before...be the change you want to see in the world. As overused as the expression may be, I still like it. It's not just a platitude, it is also a call to action. One of my biggest pet peeves are people who complain about what they want/what they would do/what should be, but they never actually do anything about it.

There was a post I was going to write about a month ago about people who sit on every board and committee in town. Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of respect for these people. My only beef was the fact that so many of the same people sit on all of these boards that there doesn't seem to be a seat at the table for anyone who is not in with the in crowd. This is a bit of a theme in Bay City, where ideas and people are recycled and reused for years and years.

What does a guy have to do to be asked to join a board of directors? Apparently, he just has to wait his turn. Since I made the first "soft" announcement of the Good Works Group, no fewer than two groups have asked me to join. (For the record, no more than two groups have asked me to join.)

The first is the Literacy Council of Bay County. After reading the profile of me in the Tri-City Business Review—where I commented that two of my pet projects are literacy and education—they contacted me and asked me to join their board of directors. I can't tell you how excited I am to join this group. I genuinely believe that literacy is one of the keys to improving many of society's ills, so I am looking forward to the opportunity to help bring more attention to the problem.

The second group is an advisory committee for the Bay Area School District's career center. The career center offers a wide variety of classes in areas such as graphic arts, culinary arts, health careers and more. For some of the kids involved, they use the classes to earn college credits in the field they plan on majoring in. For others who may not be planning on attending college, they get hands-on work experience that will help them find a job after graduation. I have seen some of the work that both the culinary and graphic program students do and it's really impressive. A chance to be involved with this group is really exciting.

I like to think that I'm a money-where-his-mouth-is guy so I am genuinely grateful for these opportunities to contribute to my community. As things get busier with the Good Works Group, I know that I will need to be wary of spreading myself too thin, but for now I look forward to the challenges ahead.

If you've made it this far, thank you for allowing me to indulge in the up-with-people entry.