Remarks: Frank Cioffi,
Board of Trustees Vice Chair

President Fogel, Governor Douglas, Graduates, One and All:

Graduates, on behalf of the UVM Board of Trustees Congratulations on your achievement.  We are proud of your accomplishments and join you in your celebration today.

Parents, grandparents, siblings, spouses, significant others and families of our graduates congratulations and thank you for supporting these accomplished people.

Let me take a moment to recognize a few very special people that help to make this great University and our state serve you and us so well.  Some of these folks you may know and others you may not but all of them are special people and are examples of the goodness of UVM and Vermont.  As you think about your career and your life’s work, please think of these people and how they make a difference in the world.

Anne Forcier, UVM Alumni and Development.  Anne and her wonderful colleagues help to make UVM the welcoming and homey place that is so special to all of us that love UVM.

Leslie Logan, Stephanie O’Flaherty, Erin St. John, Corinne Thompson, Tom Gustafson, Fran Bazluke, Annie Stevens UVM Administrators that help to make UVM a special experience for all.

Sherry, Mike, Tom, and hundreds of other Sodexho employees who feed and care for everyone that seeks nourishment on our campus.  Tim, Janet, Connie, Marie and hundreds of other maintenance employees who help to keep our buildings and grounds the special places that we so dearly cherish.

Garrison Nelson, Elaine McCrate, Judy Cohen, Art Woolf and the nearly 1000 faculty members of this great University who put their hearts and souls into trying to make you the best that you can be.

Rachel Kahn-Fogel, the first lady of UVM, works passionately helping Dan Fogel make UVM an institution of excellence with her special style, flair and just plain fun.

Karen Meyer, UVM Alum, former UVM Trustee and UVM Vice President works passionately to advance UVM in our state and federal governments and in our Vermont communities.  Karen and her husband Peter are the proud parents of William Meyer who is graduating today.  Congratulations

Dorothy Douglas, the First Lady of Vermont.  For the past 7 years our first Lady has traveled to every town in our state and across our country w/ Governor Douglas helping to advance Vermont with grace and dignity.

Governor Jim Douglas, Vermonters have probably never seen a public servant that logged more miles traversing the roads of our state, traveling to every town, village and gore to meet and greet and listen to Vermonters at their community events such as this graduation today and most any event that brings us together in our hometowns and communities.  He is accepted as one of us in our communities with a friendship and warmth.  Very few public servants have worked as hard to make Vermonters understand that effective public servants stay close to the people.  Jim and Dorothy Douglas have opened their lives to the people of Vermont for 28 years.

These great people are the face of Vermont.  They all try to make a difference and make this a special place.

In closing; Today you need to know that you represent the hope for the future of our University, our State, our Country, and our World.

People are starving, terrible wars are being fought, our environment is being challenged, our economy is at great risk and the world needs every person with abilities and skills to make a contribution to bettering this planet and humankind.

We live in times where you are needed to step up and make a difference.

Go out and do something special.  Use your divinely inspired talents to change this world for the better.

Make a difference. 
Do something meaningful,
Believe in yourself,
Get to know your neighbors,
Mentor a young person,
Take responsibility,
Be Honest,
Take the time to listen,
Think before you speak and then mean what you say,
Offer to help and mean it,
Visit a senior citizen,
Read a story to a child,
Reach out to those in need,
Run for public office,
Be a leader in everything you do,
Find your passion,
Practice humility,
Be a friend,
Show your love,
Follow your heart,
Change the world, 
Make a Difference every single day,
We are all counting on you.
And today we say Congratulations

Last modified January 06 2010 05:53 PM