President's Message
President's Message
My Astoria brothers came together to serve as a benefit to our community. We know the word benefit has a special meaning. We are to be a support in times of turmoil and leaders with insight and wisdom that can be useful to help solve problems.
Our community is in a delicate situation, while we lose our young, day by day. So many bright and lovely young people are striving to have influence. How can we influence those who are not making a positive difference? As Astorians it comes down to involvement with our young people. We can complain about how they dress or address each other, but they need to see another picture. Is our skin thick enough to interact with them and show them a better way to project and receive respect?
Let us face it, some of us no longer have the stamina we once had, but the desire to be involved is still there. It might be organizing plans or phone calls that suit us better, but there is a need for all of us.
We will approach a great test shortly. As we reach out to the young people, we must encourage everyone to vote in the coming elections. The right to vote should not be taken for granted. If it were not so important there would not be such a fight to stop people from voting. Make no mistake, every vote counts, and a vote not used is a vote for the opposition. This is a time that we cannot be a day late and a dollar short.
We want to be effective in our efforts to influence those people we can. We want to support those people that may need a ride to the polls, always willing to answer questions about the elections, and encouraging others to exercise their right to vote by helping with voter registration.
Fennon Henderson
President Astoria Beneficial Club