August 2013 Newsletter
“My 2 and 4 year old”
President's Message
Amy Cooper
“Respect for ourselves guides our morals; respect for others guides our manners”
~Laurence Sterne
While at dinner with friends recently, I corrected my son’s “yeah” with “yes, sir”. Our friends rolled their eyes at my correction. Unfortunately, I have received that reaction several times from other people when I have tried to teach my children “sir” and “ma’am”. One person even told me that here in Alaska we were a little far from the South for sirs and ma’ams.
Maybe “sir” and “ma’am” are not used much outside of the military or the South but that should not make the use of them offensive. I had a student, who was ex-military, ask if I thought potential employers would be offended if he used “sir” or “ma’am” in the interview. It had been ingrained in him to address people as such but he truly thought he might offend people outside of the military with that same formality. Please tell me we are not coming to a point where it is more acceptable to use mild foul language than it is to address someone as “sir” or “ma’am”.
I, myself, have been told, very strongly, from some people that I should not say “yes sir” or “no sir” to them. Having grown up in the South with parents who gave you that look when you forgot the “sir” or “ma’am”, for someone to tell me not to use this form of address was mind-boggling. I have asked people about this reaction and most say they are not old, yet it makes them feel old when I address them this way. I can assure you, “sir” or “ma’am” is a form of respect, not a reference to age.
Showing respect should not be judged offensive. Maybe you do not have to go as far as addressing someone with “sir” or “ma’am” but some level of respect should be expected. I see many students come through my classroom. I have been truly astounded at times with the way they address me-in person and through email-and I think to myself “I hope my children never talk to someone like that!”
The public trusts our profession with some of their most personal issues. And on the whole, our profession respects this trust and confidentiality. With our clients, whether they are the public or the industries, we strive to have a relationship grounded in trust, integrity and respect. If our professional relationships do not have that, they will ultimately fail.
I believe this also applies to our personal relationships, regardless if that relationship is with a 2 and 4 year old, a 21 year old, a 45 year old or an 80 year old. If we can teach our children now how to respect both themselves and those around them, of all ages, it will only benefit our profession and our world in the future. So next time you see a parent trying to instill respect in their children in any way, please think of replying with “thank you-how respectful” instead of rolling your eyes.
Board member Spotlight
This is what summer is supposed to be like! We’ve been camping, dip-netting, fishing, hiking, biking and walking the dog. We have also spent several pleasant evenings on the deck. It has been great!
Earlier this summer, we went camping on the Denali highway for a couple of nights. We were camped next to a shallow lake and had the pleasure of watching a bull moose wade across the lake. He was very majestic. Then we headed to McCarthy for a few days, where we explored the quaint little towns of McCarthy and Kennecott. They have recently upgraded the McCarthy road, so it took us only two hours to go the 60 miles, instead of the usual three. (We did a lot of driving on this trip!) The McCarthy road is home to one of the scariest bridges I’ve been on – the Kushkulana River Bridge at Mile 17. It was originally built in 1911 and is approximately 600 feet long.
Our next adventure was dip-netting at the mouth of the Kenai, where I was lucky enough to have a red salmon jump right in the boat! That is definitely the most efficient way to fish. We missed the big salmon run, but were still able to catch 110 fish in approximately 4 hours. It was wet, slimy, bloody, and so much fun!
We didn’t fare quite so well on our halibut fishing trip, but we caught enough to tide us over until next summer. I caught the first fish of the day, which netted me $1 from every other person on the boat. OK, so collecting is usually a problem, but I still won, right?
I’m looking forward to what August will bring, particularly the blueberries!
Have a fun and safe month,
Phaedra Connell
Treasurer
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