today, i had a luncheon with ATL peeps

It was at The Pirates' House, so that was very nice!

The folks in charge of AARP Georgia's volunteers wanted to show their appreciation for us, and they certainly did!

The branches in Macon, Augusta, Columbus, and Savannah all hosted luncheons for their members, but we were extra special!

See that young man standing there?

He's John Strong, the guy in charge of organizing the volunteers for the entire state and making sure they have what they need.

 

And see that young woman working on those red boxes in the corner?

She's "1 in 460", according to John Strong.

He went through 460 applicants for her position and decided she was the very best of the lot... and he's right!

Gabrielle Richardson has already been dealing with us via email, helping to set up our meetings on a regular basis.

As well as organizing this luncheon in the "Anne Bonny" room, she also brought those beautiful gift boxes!!!

I'm going to regard that as a bday68 present for me!

Just look at all the goodies she has in there!

There's an insulated mug and two stone coasters...

a journal and pen, no doubt for keeping notes during our zoom meetings...

a back-up battery for phones or laptops, so we don't drop out...

a mesh bag with body lotion and lip balm to keep us soothed...

plus all sorts of snacky foods to enjoy at the monthly ZOOMS.

Ah, but that's not all!

See that white envelope at the back?

It holds a VANILLA VISA gift card for $25!!!

And where someone's name might be, she had it imprinted with these words: "THANKS FOR ALL YOU DO".

I made sure to thank her copiously for all that bounty!

I even told her that giving us the luncheon at The Pirates' House would have been thanks enough!

This was the first time I'd met the other Savannah volunteers.

Sure, we'd seen each other onscreen, but not face to face.

They made sure I new I was welcome and they wanted me to stay...

after all, I'm the sole blanched almond in the brownie pan, to paraphrase what Kim Polote said.

She had referred to herself repeatedly as the "lone chocolate chip in the cookie dough" as she told tales two weeks ago of her school days.

I had known exactly what she meant.

I'm usually one of 100 white people at the Savannah Black Heritage events.

I'm usually one of 100 gentiles at the Savannah Jewish Cultural Arts Festival events.

I was the first-ever female of 50 US Navy sailors stationed at Galeta Island in Panama.

I was almost always the lone female CTM on shifts in Hanza, Okinawa, and in Imperial Beach, California.

Right now, I know that AARP GA has a mission to become more diverse.

I do hope to see that mission be successful!

What a great luncheon and gift from strangers, just for being a volunteer!

(smile!)