By Brandon Logan, 2014 Volunteer Leader for SA2020 Resolutions
I remember the moment very distinctly — the date was December 20, 2013 and the time was 9:07AM when I received a phone call from the CEO of SA2020, Mr. Darryl Byrd.
Darryl, in my opinion, is a very influential business leader who has a great power of cogitation, so I am delighted to hear from him. While I have no idea the intent behind his call, I know it is important because, at this time, it is a rarity for us to communicate by phone. After exchanging our pleasantries, Darryl proceeds to tell me about a campaign idea called SA2020 Resolutions and how this initiative would be a one-to-one campaign to show the power of data stories. Furthermore, the objective is to identify members of the community to lead the 20 resolutions that have been identified.
Brandon Logan (right) with community leaders at the 2014 SA2020 Resolutions kick-off press conference.
At this moment, things begin to process and I can sense that an “ask” is coming next. Sure enough, the next words out of Mr. Byrd’s mouth are for me to consider serving as one of the Resolution Leaders, specifically the Volunteer Leader. Personally, I desire to see a more engaged community that believes individual actions can make a difference in San Antonio, so it would be prudent of me to accept the honor of serving in this requested capacity. Without hesitation, I immediately agree to lead this effort during the next twelve months.
In recent years, the San Antonio rate of volunteerism had been declining, so I knew I had my work cut out for me during 2014. My strategy for the year was to roll up my sleeves and lead by example. The expectation from SA2020 was for me to volunteer 20 hours of service over the course of the year, but I personally wanted to raise the standard by contributing 100 hours of my time into the city that helped raised me.
On a broader scale, I wanted to appeal to members of our local community to follow me in an effort to create a brighter San Antonio through volunteerism. While my goal appeared insurmountable to some, I remained hopeful, that with the great support system I had in the SA2020 team, our goal would definitely be met.
To Darryl, Molly, Anna, Claire, Jessica, Ariane, and Maria, thank you for assisting me to achieve my ambitious goal of 100 service hours. You all are to be commended for the tireless work that was done behind the scenes on my behalf during this year-long journey. You all are the reason why real momentum has been ignited around volunteerism in San Antonio. Moreover, you all are the reason why I have no interest in saying farewell to the organization.
Brandon receiving his “Most Likely to Inspire” Award at the SA2020 end-of-year party from SA2020 CEO Darryl Byrd and two SA2020 board members, Janet Realini and Patti Radle.
Yes, my position as Volunteer Leader has drawn to an end, but I have taken the liberty and created a new capacity to serve in — I AM SA2020 Ambassador. In this function I will focus my efforts on helping others to see the power of working towards accomplishing the volunteer goal of 2020, which is to have 28.4% of the local population greater than the age of sixteen contributing within the community. The latest data report shows an upward trajectory on volunteerism, which places us on track to reach our goal.
San Antonio, we are on the verge of becoming the next great American city and to shift this promise to reality, it will require greater engagement from us all. If you believe in the possibilities of what our “City on the Rise” can become, I urge you to consider committing to work alongside SA2020 as the organization enters the second half of the game. We’ve got tremendous momentum by our side; let’s keep it going!
Yours in service,
Brandon A. Logan
