One Year In... Reflections from our Executive Director

As of this month, I have been Executive Director of St. George’s Society of New York for one year, and the anniversary offers a great opportunity for reflection.

There are handover notes for any new job and my predecessor left me a thorough guide. And, of course, the SGSNY team filled in the gaps and the community has offered support, help and guidance when I (frequently) asked. But there is no guidance on how to emerge from a pandemic, and just like in our individual lives it has been challenging. I have met many of you, but with limits on our events it has been difficult to connect with everyone. We have several upcoming activities, but COVID restrictions mean they will be smaller—at least for the near future. Whether I have met you in person or not, I encourage you to reach out. I know the SGSNY community is a passionate one, and I want to hear from you.

I have learned a lot and made some mistakes. Vacating our old office last December and estimating six months for planning and renovation during the pandemic was probably naïve. Although it saved us a year’s rent, it has been difficult for the team to operate remotely for such a long period, and it has tested our capacity and resources. It is with much relief that we will be moving into our beautiful new permanent home in December. I know the SGSNY community is a social one, so we look forward to welcoming visitors (though at half the size of our previous office, we will need to manage that!).

The SGSNY community is a loyal one. We are good neighbors, and it has been wonderful to work with members and partners who were generous with their time, resources and expertise. For some, work was never busier and for others, businesses faced existential threats. In spite of it all, we rallied around the city we call home. It has been uplifting to see the goodness in our community, and it is fantastic that we are now able to return the love to our business community.

Through your membership, our community has impact. Whether it is welcoming a new arrival to the city, giving peace of mind to seniors, greeting families at the airport with a friendly face or helping scholars graduate so they can become doctors, data analysts or future mayors, we are a community of people helping people and have fun doing it. I am humbled to lead SGSNY, and I look forward to what we can achieve in the next year. Thank you for all you do.

Sincerely,

Clare Risman
Executive Director
St. George’s Society of New York