Honor the Originals

Liz Garrigan, of the Nashville Scene, has an excellent editorial about why honoring the same old (literally) do-gooders at charity events is uninspiring and may not be doing as much good as we think.

She writes:

But in honoring the people who make Nashville a generous and prosperous place, our charitable, political and civic institutions have a cloying tendency to pluck their picks from a seemingly unchanging corporate grab bag of the overprivileged. The benevolence of these honorees may be unquestionable, but unfailingly, these notables already have been applauded and affirmed ad nauseam for their relevance and stature.

In fact, maybe Nashvillians who have a little money to toss at good causes are desperately looking for something or someone to challenge us and arouse our sense of community.

Agreed.

If we're going to set a new standard in fundraising and mobilize a newer, younger base, we've got to stop parading out the same old folks.

If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten.