Heather Lord, Senior Fellow, Humanity in Action

Heather Lord, Senior Fellow, Humanity in Action
I have two more things to do this evening, one of which is make an embarrassing confession and the second of which is to make an announcement on behalf of the Humanity In Action American Senior Fellows. First, the confession: When I was a young college student and I arrived at Humanity In Action’s doorstep, I was afflicted with a terrible linguistic scourge: I could barely string together two sentences without the compulsive use and abuse of the word “like.” So, when I had to, like, make a point in public or, like, think through something aloud, I was always using the word LIKE. I don’t know if you Europeans have an equivalent linguistic virus that takes
over your young people, but here in America this is an epidemic and I was formerly one of the worst offenders. But luckily for me hundreds of other similarly afflicted young HIA fellows, there is one woman in our midst who has waged a tireless campaign to rid the world of these crimes against grammar, and that woman is Sue Mercy. Tonight we are honoring Sue not only for her commitment to the proper use of the English language, but in all seriousness, for her extraordinary commitment to the HIA fellows. When we Senior Fellows were thinking about what we wanted to do for this 10th anniversary celebration, we decided we would like to honor somebody who has really been a stand for the Humanity In Action Senior Fellows and we thought: who better to honor than Sue Mercy? Sue has been a dear friend, a grammarian, and a shining example of what a mentor really can be. She has brought so much of her heart her passion and her time to the fellows. I’m going to wrap this up by saying that in addition to being one of the only people who can keep Judy Goldstein in line, Sue is also one of the co-founders of Humanity In Action. It’s thanks in great part to her support and passion and vision that we are all sitting in this room today. She and her husband Gene Mercy, who is here this evening, have been friends and advocates for HIA and we thank you for that. I know there are many of Sueʼs friends here in the audience tonight and also her sons are here, so thank you all for joining us tonight as we celebrate the inimitable Sue Mercy.
Without further ado, on behalf of the American Senior Fellows I would like to announce the Sue B. Mercy Award which will be given every year to that group of American Senior Fellows who most embody Sue’s inimitable spirit, her passion for philanthropy and social entrepreneurship and all that she gives to social causes. Please join me in a round of applause as we offer our heartfelt thanks to Sue for all that she has done for HIA.