According to National Geographic, everyone has a story to tell!  I KNOW that is true?  Especially those of us who have lived long enough to encounter both the bitter and the sweet of life, learning some valuable lessons along the way and have lived to tell!

Well this is the PLACE to share our stories - the place to share the many messages that each of us carry in our bag of life experiences.  Trust me, what we say here and encourage here will touch someone - somewhere - at just the right time.  So here goes!

Some years ago, I developed a public speaking brochure and entitled it, Many Messages!  My intent was to market my speaking skills to women’s groups and include a session where everyone had an opportunity to tell their “story”.  As time went on and other things took my focus, I put away the Many Messages materials for another day and another time.

During the course of the development of the vision and mission for AWP, I consistently heard from “chronologically maturing women” (I coined this descriptor as a much more satisfying alternative to “senior citizen” or “golden-ager”) that it is true everyone has a story to tell!  And more importantly, everyone is eager to tell someone their story!

We all have many messages to share.  Messages in our hearts and in our minds.  Those of us who’ve reached into mid-age and embarked on the 2nd half of life’s journey - are a “treasure trove”.  A wealth of information, past and present learnings, wisdom simply gained from living life and experiencing life in all of it’s various aspects - positive and not-so-positive.  And our treasure is oten a nugget of life that connects us to another BECAUSE of a similar nugget from the other’s life that bonds us together in common understanding!

But, often we don’t think we have anything to offer.  I know I go through stages of self-denial or lack of appreciation for personal wisdom, knowledge and the like.  I ought to honor this part of me and recognize that I’ve learned the lessons of life and learned them well (well most of them).  Each of us has earned the right to ‘crow’ a little about what we have to offer!  We deserve it!

Someone recently said to me, “I bet you don’t remember how much you’ve forgotten you know.”  (I had to stop and think through that mysterious verbal riddle before I could respond).  The statement is TRUE - for ALL of us.  WE forget how much we know that we can share with others that will answer a need or in some way enrich their lives.

Yes, it’s true - we have a very knowledgeable team at AWP.  Some of us have post-graduate formal education - others of us have a degree in LIFE.  It isn’t the degree we earned or how many initials we have behind our name that says we have much to share.  That isn’t what makes us “experts” or “women of excellence”.

What makes us “experts” and “women of excellence” is that we’ve “been there-done that-bought the tee-shirt-and lived to tell!”

At AWP, we are ALL women of excellence-from the first ‘chronologically maturing woman’ who joins us to the millions that will come in the years to come!  We ALL have information, knowledge, wisdom and answers (or questions waiting to be asked that someone is waiting to have asked) that will answer another woman’s “need to know”.

As we put AWP together, we “stressed” over where and how to get the info and educational materials that would satisfy the needs and interests of our members.  My personal challenge has been that we ‘measure up’ to our vision and mission to be the source of information, eduation and training we want.  More importantly, what YOU want.

But now, I sleep at night because I KNOW that as YOU come into our COMMUNITY-our neighborhoods-you will come not just “expecting”, but “offering” to be a source of information, education and training that other members want!  I KNOW that some of YOU have just been waiting for an opportunity-a “place”-to share what’s in your treasure trove.  I know that women-especially women traveling through the 2nd half of life’s journey-have the maturity and character that knows to “give” is to “get”-oftentimes much more than we ever hoped for or imagined.

Now, at AWP, as we grow and add the knowledge and wisdom of maturing women of excellence around the globe-each of us and each of YOU-can access the wealth of knowledge, wisdom and understanding each AWP woman brings to the community.  It may be as simple as simply sharing your story with a few of your AWP neighbors and find an instant ‘bond’ because they have a common life thread that weaves through the common thread in yours!

I know because it happened to me just a few short weeks ago.  While sharing the AWP vision with another, I shared something from my personal life.  To my utter amazement. I found that a similar personal life experience was part of the other woman’s life as well-and a bond formed!

We’ve designed AWP in a way so as to share the “treasure trove” that defines each of us in varied and unique ways.  As the ‘information age’ continues to define and redefine life as we once knew it-the tools of the age will be our tools to connect, enrich and share with each other!

A very popular and ageless book says, “Don’t hide your light under a barrel” (paraphrase).  AWP wants YOU to “light up our lives”-so don’t be bashfl or shy.  Let us hear FROM YOU!  YOU are the source of the vision and mission. 

We built the chassis-now YOU come take the wheel!

Linda S. Fitzgerald,

President