Announcer:
Welcome to the Nation's Blind Podcast presented by the National Federation of the Blind, the transformative membership and advocacy organization of blind Americans. Live the life you want.
Melissa Riccobono:
Hello and welcome to the Nation's Blind Podcast. I am Melissa Riccobono and I have somebody here with me. Who might that mystery person be?
Anil Lewis:
My name's Anil Lewis and it's a pleasure to be here co-hosting the Nation's Blind Podcast with Melissa Riccobono.
Melissa Riccobono:
And January. Wow, still a new year, still 2026. I'm getting used to saying that and hope everybody's having a good 2026 so far. We did talk last episode about World Braille Day, which is something that's celebrated in January, but there's something else celebrated in January. Anil, what might that be?
Anil Lewis:
So much.
Melissa Riccobono:
So much. Yeah, there are so much.
Anil Lewis:
Let's say MLK Day.
Melissa Riccobono:
MLK Day, Martin Luther King Day, also known as the Day of Service.
Anil Lewis:
Yes.
Melissa Riccobono:
Yeah, absolutely. And so today we're going to talk about service and volunteer service in particular, both inside the National Federation of the Blind and outside. And we have a handsome gentleman and a lovely lady to talk about these things. And I know you Anil, and this woman is also from the south, and so...
Anil Lewis:
Not only from the south, from the greatest state in the nation.
Melissa Riccobono:
I know you're going to want to go with her first.
Anil Lewis:
We are pleased to have the president of the National Federation of the Blind of Georgia with us, Ms. Dorothy Griffin. Dorothy and I go way back in the early years of revamping and building the National Federation of the Blind of Georgia, and she serves as president now. And I'm glad to have you here on the Nation's Blind Podcast, Dorothy.
Dorothy Griffin:
Oh, thank you for having me. I'm glad to be here too.
Anil Lewis:
You want to tell us a little bit about who you are outside of just being the president of the National Federation of the Blind of Georgia?
Dorothy Griffin:
So I wear a lot of hats. So I'm also a chapter president for the NFB of Georgia Atlanta Metropolitan Chapter. I also am involved as a deacon in my church, and yes, I said deacon (Anil laughs), not deaconess (Dorothy laughs).
Anil Lewis:
Okay.
Dorothy Griffin:
I'm a deacon and I serve on the board with my church and also have my own health and wellness business that I'm working out. And so those are some of the things I do. I do quite a lot of things.
Anil Lewis:
Nice. And you work with the NFB of Georgia Newsline service?
Dorothy Griffin:
Oh yeah, I do.
Anil Lewis:
And outreach.
Dorothy Griffin:
Yeah.
Anil Lewis:
And what do you do in your spare time? No, I'm kidding (Melissa laughs).
Dorothy Griffin:
What spare time?
Melissa Riccobono:
I hope that your business is getting busier and busier. New Year's is often a time when people decide that they really want to take the bull by the horn, so to speak, and get on a fitness journey.
Dorothy Griffin:
Yeah, that's true.
Melissa Riccobono:
So it sounds like a really good time to have a health and fitness business. I hope that you're having a lot of success with that in the new year.
Dorothy Griffin:
Yeah, that is true. I'm doing my best (Dorothy chuckles).
Melissa Riccobono:
Great. Love to hear that. Just so you know, I have a little stand under my desk I can use to pedal while I'm on meetings and things. So I don't have a standup desk and I don't have a fancy walking treadmill or anything, but I do have this little bicycle thing that I can pedal and I do. So I'm getting some exercise as we speak, so hopefully that makes your business heart happy.
Alright. And then we have somebody else who I know spends some time sitting at a desk because he is all over, at least in his volunteer time, he does. And some of his work time too, I think. He does websites of all kinds, but he is in charge of helping us, the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children keep our website up and running and current. So I'm going to introduce Brian Mackey to tell you a little bit more about himself.
Brian Mackey:
Hello everyone. As Melissa mentioned, I am the Web Coordinator for the National Organization of Parent Blind Children. That's just one of my main hats. I am currently the president of the National Federation of Blind of Pennsylvania, Greater Berks Chapter, Web Coordinator and Bookkeeper for the New Jersey affiliate, Web Coordinator for Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Nevada, the NFB of Massachusetts Greater Springfield Chapter, and the Pennsylvania Association of Blind Merchants.
And then outside the Federation, I am the board member and Web Coordinator for the Middle Atlantic Blind Golf Association and treasurer of the Burke County Rotaract Club, which is a young adult of Rotary.
Anil Lewis:
Nice. I didn't know Rotary had youth organizations.
Brian Mackey:
Yeah, they do. For those who are young professionals between the age of 18 and 40.
Melissa Riccobono:
Very nice.
Anil Lewis:
(Anil laughs) I love it. I love it. So anybody over forty, they just have to join Rotary general, they can't be part of the young guys.
Brian Mackey:
Correct.
Anil Lewis:
Okay (Anil and Melissa laugh). I love it.
Melissa Riccobono:
I love it. Very nice. Alright, well I think a good way to start this and Anil, I hope you're thinking of your answer to this question too. I've actually thought of an answer for this question, but Brian and Dorothy, we'd love to know what is, if you have one, your favorite volunteer experience that you've had with any organization or with anything that you volunteered with. Dorothy, if you want to go first, it seems like you might have something, so go ahead.
Dorothy Griffin:
I do, I do. So I think the first time I volunteered, it was on Thanksgiving and I had just moved to Atlanta and my children went home to Indiana to spend it with their father, and so I decided, "Oh gosh, what should I do? I should probably go and volunteer for the Hosea Williams Feed the Hungry, right?" That's a good thing to go and do. So I called my girlfriend who was living here too, and we went to the Hosea Feed the Hungry.
Then when I got in there, we went to the DeKalb County Jail in the basement where they were cooking with the big vats and I had never seen a big vat like that and I was like, "I ain't going to be able to do that. I'm not going to be able to cook that much food. (chuckles)." So I just said, can I go wash dishes?
So I went over there and I did all of the dishes and while I was doing it, then Hosea came over and he spoke to me and talked to me (Anil chcukles). He gave me a calendar with his face on it and everything, and then he just reminded me that washing dishes was an important part of the whole process.
Anil Lewis:
There you go.
Dorothy Griffin:
And so I always remember that and because of who he is and I just was able, well, I went to his daughter's, when she began running it and I also got to meet his next daughter, his second daughter.
Speaker 4:
Nice.
Dorothy Griffin:
I think he had three. But yeah, so that was my biggest one that I remember all the time was meeting him.
Anil Lewis:
He was such a personable individual and kind of one of the unknown leaders of the civil rights movement. I love his phrase was always, "unbought and unbossed," just like the Federation. We are unbought and unbossed. I had the similar experience as Melissa was bringing it up because again, I had a lot, but the one that really stuck with me, I was trying to figure out what my first one was, and this is before I was blind.
I was in the seventh grade, the elementary school, and we had some free time because all of our academics and some of the teachers of the second grade said they wanted some students to come and help tutor some of the younger students. I remember going over to the second grade class and helping them learn their alphabet and some math and it was really interesting the way that made me feel, it really made me feel good.
Because part of what they say is you really know that you've learned something when you're able to teach someone else, but it wasn't necessarily the ins and outs of the alphabet and math. It was teaching them how to learn, teaching them to enjoy learning. And that's carried over into the work that I love doing with the Federation.
So doing a lot of mentoring and work with young people and not just getting them encouraged to read Braille and using long white cane, but actually encouraging them how to learn. Getting them to that point where they recognize that problem solving is important and having a positive self-concept about themselves is important for their life direction.
Melissa Riccobono:
Being that mentor too, I mean, what a cool thing for you being a cool male from the seventh grade coming on down, we always say we need more good male role models in education. And it's true. Often little boys, they see a lot of women around them, which is great, but I'm sure that seeing you and that you were excited and they're at school and school was important enough for you to be able to volunteer to take that time. That's wonderful. I love that.
Anil Lewis:
Yeah, I'm just pleased that they gave me the opportunity to do it at such a young age to really kind of get it in my DNA so that I carried it forth from that point on. Really looking for more and those opportunities. And again, that's how I love about what we do as an organization of the five elements that we attest to. That fifth one is giving back. If we do our jobs right, as we're working with all of the blind people that we interact with, if we can instill in them with desire to want to pay it forward, then that's a win-win.
Melissa Riccobono:
Yeah, absolutely. Like Anil, I was able to start volunteering pretty early. My mom was a volunteer kind of extraordinaire, so I grew up with a lot of service examples just right around my house, my own mom. But the thing that sticks out to me is something that happened a few years ago. There was a Halloween event at my children's school and Oriana went so that she could get service learning hours because she needed to get hours, she needs to get hours in order to graduate.
Every kid in Baltimore City schools needs a certain number of service learning hours volunteering at different organizations in order to graduate. And so she wanted to go and she was helping with the games outside. They have a courtyard area, so there was an outside area, which was a little bit cold, a little bit dark (laughs), a little bit noisy.
And she said, "I've got this. You don't need to hang around here in the courtyard. You go inside." And I said, okay, I got my marching orders. That's cool. So I went inside and at first I was just sitting around and it seemed like they had everything under control, but I finally got a little bit tired of that. And so I went to the place where they were selling the snacks and I said, is there anything I can do to help out?
And the woman said, "Oh my gosh, I really need to go take care of..." I don't know what it was. And she's like, "Here are the prices. If you could sell stuff, that would be great." And it was amazing to me. There was no hesitation from her as far as how are you going to make change (Anil laughs)? Are you sure you can do this? It just was, I need to go do this. You're here. You asked, you can sell. And so I used my phone...
Anil Lewis:
That's the best.
Melissa Riccobono:
And identified the money and was able to do that and kind of teach people a little bit about that along the way and just had really good discussions with everybody that came up and wanted their hot dog or their pizza and their chips. And so that is probably one of my favorites just because it was something I like to do. I like to be able to interact with people when I actually have a job or a reason to interact with them.
I kind of liked that they had to come to me if they wanted their snacks and then I got to say hello and get to meet them a little bit. And I also loved that it was a different experience because unfortunately so often you really want to volunteer and you sort of get, "Oh, we got it. You just sit here, you just talk to us. We would love it if you..." No, I want to work. I'm not here to look pretty. I am here to get my hands dirty.
Anil Lewis:
I love that she gave you that opportunity without the blindness overhead.
Melissa Riccobono:
Yeah, it was pretty amazing.
Anil Lewis:
Amazing the baggage that comes with the misconceptions around blindness that she just threw you in. That's awesome.
Melissa Riccobono:
Yeah, it was great. So that was my favorite. Why don't we pause for a message and then we will come back and talk more about service with our guests. You are listening to the Nation's Blind Podcast.
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Melissa Riccobono:
And we're back.
Anil Lewis:
Well, we'll start. First of all, you talked a little bit about this. Why don't you share your history with the, we got your titles, but tell us your history with the National Federation of the Blind.
Dorothy Griffin:
So when I was losing more of my vision and my sister was living in Atlanta and she was involved in the NFB, and so she convinced me to move to Atlanta so that I could get my services and I got more involved in the organization. I came in as a secretary in 1997 with the NFB Atlanta Metropolitan Chapter and I was hooked then (laughs). I didn't want to be secretary, but I did it (Anil laughs).
Anil Lewis:
That's the hardest position to fill.
Dorothy Griffin:
I know. And it's not even really that hard. The fundraising chair for the chapter, then into chapter president, then I moved to affiliate secretary. And then in 2016, that is when I finally moved into the affiliate president seat. I think what motivates me about it is to just serve and I just like serving people and making sure that they can live a life they want. I really believe in that. I really believe in that.
Anil Lewis:
Very nice. How about you, Brian?
Brian Mackey:
Let me rewind the tape of the year of time. I first joined Federation back in 2002, but it was like five years prior, we moved from Illinois to New Jersey... Well, it took three years after that until I got my eye diagnoses. So shortly after that I joined the Federation, met the late Joe Ruffalo.
Anil Lewis:
(Anil laughs) R-U-F-F-A-L-O.
Brian Mackey:
A-L-O! Yeah, he was my fellow president for a number of years before moving to Pennsylvania. While under Joe, if you said that you wanted to help with something, oh, you're in trouble.
Anil Lewis:
(Anil laughs) You've just been drafted. Yeah.
Brian Mackey:
Yeah.
Melissa Riccobono:
Right. And even probably you didn't say you wanted to help. You might've just said, "Oh, Joe, I have an idea," I'm guessing. And Joe might've said, "Oh, well that's great. You can run it for us." Right (Melissa laughs).
Brian Mackey:
Yeah, that was the Ruffalo way, yep! So yeah, I started first as the affiliate secretary and at large chapter secretary. Then became a treasurer and webmaster. At the same time I was wearing various other hats within the affiliate. Then in 2018 I moved from Southern New Jersey, crossed over to Pennsylvania, where again, started off as chapter board member, then chapter treasurer, currently chapter president.
Within the affiliate, I was still a treasurer for a number of years and then also was a web coordinator for a number of years. The thing that really motivates me is Joe's model of how all members should be treated: We care, we share, we grow, we make a difference.
Anil Lewis:
Yeah. Yeah. Wow. Wow. He is smiling at you right now, man. He is smiling. That's beautiful.
Melissa Riccobono:
Yes, absolutely. That is wonderful. Would you guys say that serving has helped you fulfill a purpose for yourself and for others? And if so, what ways does that show up for you guys?
Dorothy Griffin:
So for me, I think it's my faith in God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit and that I'm supposed to be a servant for God. And that's what my mother really, my mother and my stepmother who raised me. And so that's what I believe in. And also to do on to others as you will have others do on to you and treat people like you want to be treated. And so I've always had that. That's what motivates me. And so that is what helps me to always try to help people and make sure, because I need help. I don't know everything.
And so I want to help at times and sometimes I got it and sometimes I didn't. And so I'm always there to serve and sometimes I used to do it so much that I would be up till three, four or five in the morning sending emails and I tell people I'm open, call me. I'm here 24 hours a day and they take me up on it and I was really happy to do it. And then as I started getting a little older, now it's like (Anil laughs), okay, okay.
Anil Lewis:
Sleep becomes more important.
Dorothy Griffin:
Yes, before twelve midnight (Anil laughs).
Melissa Riccobono:
Yeah, and I mean that's fair, right? If you are burnt out yourself, you can't serve anybody else. And so it is important also, as much as you have passion and it's so hard. There's a young person in our affiliate, actually, I was just talking about this with somebody yesterday and we were looking at the committee list for the Maryland affiliate and they said, "Oh, this person has their hands in everything." And I said, yes, and I love that about this person.
I also really worry and I don't want this person to burn out. I know this person wants to help and wants to do, and I know that this person's an extrovert. This really is what gives this person the energy, I think. At the same time it's like maybe you need to back off just a little bit because other people need a chance too.
And if people feel like somebody's got it, they might not step up and volunteer. So anyway, I'm glad you learned that, Dorothy, and that's something I have definitely had to learn over the last few years myself. Brian, how about you?
Brian Mackey:
I definitely just been taught from by example from my parents, my mom, she was always into serving the community and that spilled over to me. So, I appreciate that. And yeah, I try to volunteer where my time allows me to. As we all know, volunteer time takes the back seat when you're also a part-time employee, which currently I am. So they're going "Darn only so many hours in a day."
Anil Lewis:
(Anil laughs) This is true.
Melissa Riccobono:
Yeah, if you figure out how to give us more of those hours, please let me know (Melissa, Brian and Anil laugh) because that would be amazing. I could use maybe another two or three. And you know what? I would actually really use them. I would use the three that I've been given to actually work and then just use the rest to sleep (Anil laughs). So there you go.
Anil Lewis:
You both obviously have a heart for service, which that's very endearing.
Melissa Riccobono:
Yes.
Anil Lewis:
But you also serve as leaders within the organization. So I'm curious, with respect to your leadership style, how does your heart for service affect or drive or define your leadership skill, your leadership style?
Dorothy Griffin:
So for me, it lets me open myself up to helping. So not only do I help the members of the Georgia affiliate, but I get all of the calls from newly blind people and how can they get services and what do we pay for, what do we offer, resources and things like that.
And so I usually get those calls also, and they take quite a bit of time if you really care and trying to, because sometimes you have to find out what it is they're really looking for. And so that takes time to talk. So a call may be twenty minutes to an hour to find out what it is and what can you do to assist them. So I just like serving. Everybody call Dorothy (laughs).
Anil Lewis:
Are you able to then lead by example? Do you feel like you then encourage others around you to exercise that same spirit of service and help shoulder the burden of the work that you're performing?
Dorothy Griffin:
So I think so. I think I do because sometimes I have to call other people because they may know something more than I do, and so then I get them into doing it and serving and taking the things that I may not know as well as they do. So for instance, like Vanessa Meadows, she knows everything about GLS, right? The library and things that they do. And so then I may refer them to her because she's also a member as well as working for the library. So I pull them in.
Melissa Riccobono:
I love that. That's so important. It's really important to know where your gaps in knowledge are. And it's always better to say, in my opinion at least, "I don't know the answer to this, but here's who does," than to just make it up on the fly and pretend you know. And you said something about listening. I mean, I've had experiences lately where I don't know whether I just wasn't being a clear communicator or whether the person that was volunteering to help me just wasn't able to listen.
But there's really nothing worse than you trying to say something and you saying, "This is actually what I need help with," and the person kind of giving you like, "Well, I can't help you that way, but here's something kind of maybe slightly related, but not really (laughs)." It's really frustrating. It's like, but if you can't help in the way that I need, then just say you can't.
And if you know anybody else who can, let me know, but if you don't, that's okay. I'll move on. So I think listening and being that person and being patient and actually taking the time and talking to them is so important. So really, really good advice. Brian, how about you?
Brian Mackey:
Yeah, I'm the same way. If I don't know something, I'll say, "I currently don't know, but let me do some researching" or I'll point you to someone who does have the answer. But yeah, I view my leadership style similar to how Joe had, where if you know someone who has a talent in doing something, you delegate that task to that individual because they have that feel, the expertise, the time and how he treated me, that's how I'm trying to share that with others.
Anil Lewis:
And part of it to build on the strategy that Joel used, even in the instance that you're describing, it's recognizing that someone has the potential. Because I think that so many times as leaders, we're looking to find someone who has a demonstrated ability to do something, rather than recognizing that this person has the potential and with the right nurturing and leadership, they can then ascend to a position or either just acquire a skillset that makes them an even more contributing member of the organization.
So I think that in terms of what you're describing, your heart of service, especially with you giving acknowledgement to Joe and how he helped bring you along, you're stating to me, or I'm hearing you say that you're using the same style and your leadership to allow other individuals to learn and grow through their experience in providing service to others too.
Which I think in my experience with the National Fair of the Blind, doing some of this work as a volunteer has helped me grow in so many ways that I never would have been able to grow in any formal institution or academic or learning environment. There's something uniquely authentic to the experience of volunteering within the Federation that allows a person to grow in so many ways that otherwise I don't know how else they would.
Melissa Riccobono:
That is so true. Do either of you have thoughts about, I mean I think we've kind of covered why it's important for you guys to volunteer, but do you have thoughts for other people if they're interested in volunteering with the Federation or broadening their horizons and trying to get involved with community organizations? Do you have tips or tricks or things that you might say to encourage people that really have the willingness but just aren't quite sure? Maybe not sure where to begin, maybe not sure how things are going to work out?
Dorothy Griffin:
So I think when people are wanting to know about NFB or know about what we do and things like that, I think it becomes a chance to invite. So there you are working with this may be a potential member, and then to be sure that at the chapters or divisions that they're visiting are on point with educating about our philosophy and our pledge and things like that and making sure that that person goes home with some knowledge of what type of organization they would be joining if they wanted to join.
So I talk about that and try to talk to the presidents and let them know that when you know someone's coming to visit or you've invited them, always be prepared to give them some knowledge and let them know, because I think everybody should know what kind of organization is this and what am I joining and is it what I'm looking for?
Anil Lewis:
Nice. Well said.
Brian Mackey:
My takeaway would be if you know you have something and you express that to whoever the leader is, whether it's within the Federation or outside the Federation, they might need to help you with a little thing. Well, that little thing might grow and grow and grow over time until oh, you're in charge.
Melissa Riccobono:
I love that. And I really love the fact that both of you sort of talk about letting people know that there is a place, letting people know that there is a job. And I think it can kind work both ways. I think you can figure out what you would like to do with an organization and sort of take on a job that you know needs to be done. Or sometimes, especially when I was volunteering at my kid's school, if there was a class party, I might say, "I would like to volunteer for this party.
Can I pour the punch or can I," because again, my biggest worry was always that I would come to volunteer and I would basically be sat in a corner. So the more I felt like I could actually figure out something that I knew I was going to be in charge of or be able to control my little area or my little game or whatever it was, then I was always happy. Sometimes that worked out great.
Other times they said, "No, we have somebody to do that. Can you do this?" And that was good too. But I guess for me, I would say to people that want to volunteer in different places, think about the ways you might be able to help and don't be afraid to offer something that you're really passionate about and see where it goes.
Anil Lewis:
So if you guys allow me, I want to probe into an area that you both, I'll say provoked interest in for me. So Brian, you talked about being active in a civic organization, specifically the Rotary, and then Dorothy, you talked about being active with the church as a deacon.
Brian, so in civic organizations, it's been my experience of course in entities like the Rotary, they like to do public goodwill, community service, that kind of thing. And where as blind people are often the recipients of their goodwill, do you find yourself received within the Rotary environment as an equal or do you feel like you're received as "Wow, Brian is one of our projects."
Brian Mackey:
If I'm in my local rotaract club, as of right now, I feel an equal. I can't be for other clubs, but I know for mine, I'm treated as an equal.
Anil Lewis:
And did you have to work at that or did they receive you or you felt received as an equal from the beginning? Did you have to establish yourself?
Brian Mackey:
No, I was received as an equal from day one.
Anil Lewis:
Oh, wow. That's a really unique experience. It's been my experience that in a lot of instances you have to prove to them that you can contribute.
Brian Mackey:
Yeah, there are a couple of those who are in the initial leadership that have been around blind people and knew what they were capable of. So that was a plus.
Anil Lewis:
Oh, outstanding. Excellent. So Dorothy, yours is even more challenging. I know that within faith communities, blindness (chuckles) is really, really difficult based on people's interpretation of the word. Did you find yourself having to really go above and beyond in order to be able to serve as a deacon within your church? Or tell me how that went.
Dorothy Griffin:
Well, man, no. So when I first went, we had a male pastor and then he passed away. He got in a car accident. And so the assistant pastor was a female, so that was a whole other thing, right? Now we're under a female. And so she started me out. I was the secretary, I was her aide. Oh my gosh, I did so much stuff. I was on the board, I was in the office, the finance office, Bible study.
And one day I was saying, "I'm writing these checks and it looks like Mount Rushmore, one line's going up, one line's going down." And she was like, has the bank ever returned any checks? And I was like, no. And she was like, all right then (Anil laughs) don't worry about it.
Anil Lewis:
As long as they cash. Yeah (Dorothy laughs).
Melissa Riccobono:
I love that.
Dorothy Griffin:
Yeah. She told me, she said, you're not getting off because I have watched you and I see the things you do, and when I give you something, you're going to go research it and you're not going to do it if you can't do it well. Yeah, I don't get it. Yeah, you just do it because you know how to do it.
Anil Lewis:
Wow. Wow. I count this as significant progress in our movement. I mean this sincerely, if there are listeners that are paying attention, I really would like to hear more of those stories of how we, in those traditional environments where we've always traditionally been seen as the beneficiaries of somebody else's goodwill or a group of individuals that needed to be prayed over than being part of the prayer circle.
I really love to hear more of those examples of how you have been able to really fully integrate into these other peripheral communities with value and worth and respect. So that's wonderful. I commend you both.
Melissa Riccobono:
Yeah, I would also love to hear those stories. And it's so important for blind young people to hear those stories, know what's possible. Because volunteer, I talked about my mom and wanting to serve and seeing her example. And of course I think the service learning hours help. I think a lot of districts in the country now, you have to do a certain number of service. For me, it wasn't for school, it was for my confirmation. And in order to be confirmed in our church, I had to do service learning hours, but it was good. I did the same type of thing.
And the other thing about volunteering is, I mean, it can lead so often with the job search, volunteer positions can sometimes lead to either part or full-time jobs where you actually get paid, or they can sometimes lead to just that networking of or that reference for a job down the line. And so I think it's just so crucial to be able to volunteer and to just know that you're not alone and to be able to have these discussions about how people have made volunteer positions work for them. I think it's really important.
Anil Lewis:
Do either of you have any plans? What's that next evolution of your service? Do you have something in the works that is going to take you to the next level of volunteerism? Dorothy, you going to be the pastor of the church one day (laughs)?
Dorothy Griffin:
No. They keep telling me that. I was like, no, that's not my calling. Maybe the Sunday school teacher.
Anil Lewis:
Okay.
Dorothy Griffin:
Maybe something like that (laughs).
Anil Lewis:
Brian, you plan on being president of a rotary club someday?
Brian Mackey:
(Laughs) I don't see that in the near future, but you never know.
Anil Lewis:
Okay. So that's something you're open to. That's awesome.
Brian Mackey:
Well, I don't know right now, but we'll see what happens in the future.
Anil Lewis:
Okay, alright. Just when I find out and talk to you, President Brian Mackey of whichever Rotary group (Brian laughs), you know that we called it and Reverend Dorothy Griffin over there (Dorothy laughs), just know that we called it right here on the Nation's of Blind Podcast.
Melissa Riccobono:
That's right. And Anil, do you have anything, do you have anything in the new year that you're going to be trying to volunteer for? Any things on your horizon?
Anil Lewis:
I am reaching out because one of my, I don't necessarily count it as a New Year's resolution, but definitely part of my transformation is I'm going to really double down on re-engaging with more people. I had realized that since COVID and I moved back home to Atlanta, living isolated during COVID, continued to be in a degree of isolation.
And I haven't been as actively engaged in the community as I once was, especially before I left Atlanta back in 2010. So my commitment is to be re-engaged with people and that's going to turn into opportunities for me to volunteer and to be of service. And I'm optimistic and looking forward to what that is going to entail.
Melissa Riccobono:
I love that.
Anil Lewis:
How about you?
Melissa Riccobono:
I think for me, I have so many different ideas of ways I would love to volunteer at an elementary school or a middle school and put some of the skills that I have to use. Let's hope I can do some of that in the new year.
Anil Lewis:
Yeah. I love though that the root of everything that we've been talking about comes from a heart of service, and I think that is what we need right now, because I think that there's so many people that need other people engaged in their lives to give them a sense of worth and value. So I love that in this group gathered here for this discussion that all of us operated from a heart of service.
And I really do truly want to hear more from our listeners around how you're engaging, sharing your time, your talent, your tent with others to help them grow and reach their full potential. And I think that if we are all focused on that, man, can you imagine the progress that we make if we were all committed to doing that? So please feel free to share with us. Dorothy, Brian, do you guys have any closing comments?
Dorothy Griffin:
Thank you for having me on.
Anil Lewis:
How about your brand? Any closing thoughts?
Brian Mackey:
Yeah, I want to thank you guys for having me on. I agree with paying it forward in fact, I've done those type of things on my own. And one though that I think I had the most credit, the most have been helping to mentor, point her in the right direction when she needed it. Her and New Jersey fellow president, Linda Melinda.
Anil Lewis:
Great. Great. Again, I want to thank you both for being on the podcast. Melissa, anything before we close?
Melissa Riccobono:
No, I don't think so. I just have really enjoyed this discussion and I hope people are inspired to go out and just like you said, Anil give of themselves, be kind to one another, and if more people could just give a little, a lot could be accomplished.
Anil Lewis:
So let's commemorate the birthday of Reverend, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and really participate in an active day of service. And until next time, remember, you can live the life you want.
Melissa Riccobono:
Blindness is not what holds you back.
Announcer:
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