Today is a special day for Mary Blackburn. Supervisor Keith Carson and the Alameda County Board of Supervisors will present a resolution to Mary Blackburn, UCCE nutrition, family and consumer sciences advisor, thanking her for 50-plus years of helping Alameda County residents improve their lives through improved nutrition and physical activity. Mary has an inspiring story to tell about perseverance and success. We are so fortunate to have Mary as part of our team. Congratulations, Mary!

Believe it or not, I first read some of Mary's work before I had even arrived in California. I was looking for research on elder nutrition soon after my mom first came to live with us in 2014 and came across her name and work. My mom had been a dietician in the 60's, too, and was stationed first at Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas before landing her dream job at Walter Reed. Although I tried to hide it, I was super excited to meet Mary for the first time during a visit to the UCCE office in September 2018.

Given the impact of programs, like Mary's, it is no wonder Giving Tuesday was a success for UC ANR. The generosity of UC ANR personnel made this possible. A huge ‘thank you!' to all who donated or helped spread the word! Who would have guessed that donor numbers would be up by a couple hundred and donations would be higher than 2019 by almost 50%. Truly inspiring!

With all of the Zoom meetings, I have fallen behind on TED talks. Thank you to those who have sent me links to talks, TED or otherwise, that you have found useful. I was able to catch up on a few. Most recently, I listened to one about avoiding remote work burnout. The presenter suggests adding in more conference calls and avoiding the video calls when not necessary because, for some, the ‘on camera' time gets exhausting. Another talk (very short), focused on interview techniques to highlight the best in candidates. Unlike last week, this week is super busy. It is Program Council week, plus the last virtual tour this time with a few Regents and the President.

In between meetings last week, I was able to have lunch outside several days making it hard to believe that we are approaching mid-December. In just two weeks, the days will start to get longer again. And while there remains much sacrifice ahead in order to get the coronavirus infection rates under control, we are close to an end of the pandemic! So, please, hang in there and stay vigilant!

I hope to get one more post out later this week to show you what I've been up to during what was formerly my commute hours. Hospital workers have been my inspiration.