CDI WEEK’S END: A Collection of Ending Poems

WEEK’S END A Collection of Ending Poems 2005-2018

Since my own class ended in 2000, it has been my pleasure to send CDI participants back to their respective communities with words of encouragement. As the unsung heroes of their towns and cities, I want them to know just how important they are. I also feel that it important to provide a different spin on how we all can be involved in the work of creating successful spaces no matter where we are. There is room for the young, the “not as young as they used to be,” the statisticians, the poets, the professionals and the volunteers. We all have our parts to play.

CDI is a place to re-energize your mental batteries and to network and bond with people who understand your issues. When the week is finally over, everyone is a combination of tired but ready to get back to the work of community and economic development. While the cast of characters may change, one thing remains the same. The “best and the brightest” will always come to this CDI. It has been my greatest honor to serve as a Year 2 Class Director and the voice at “week’s end.”

- Debra Banks, CDI Poet Laureate

END OF 2005 CDI On August 1, 2005 You entered in the door You brought with you communities Whose needs could not be ignored.

You came to CDI by choice To learn and seek and reach For answers taught by classmates And the ones assigned to teach.

Each and every one of you Brought experience to the table You came to enhance what’s already there Each of you is already able.

You realize more than most people That continuous learning will serve you well For within each person assembled here Internal greatness dwells.

You also see success likened to a rubber band You’re flexible when others would crack It’s not how often you’re stretched out of shape It’s how often you snap back.

For Year 1’s, state of Jefferson’s waiting For Year 2’s, just get back on the horse.

For Year’s 3’s, journey’s end is approaching.

You Year 4’s have completed your course.

For us all, this year’s journey is over And from this building you all will soon fly But you’ll return all you seekers of knowledge For the best and brightest are at CDI. Debra Banks, CCD Year 2 Class Director August 5, 2005

LOSSES AND GAINS This year, a familiar sound was missing Nowhere was the train whistle blown I hope that the sound will again be heard To honor the success that has grown.

We could choose to focus on this year's losses With regret and with sadness and pain But rather than dwell on their passing Look to their living to see what we've gained.

This history of this great institute Is being written day to day to day The future of CDI lies with us all Ask yourself "What part will I play?"

Will you go home filled with information, Inspired to work hard while remembering the fun?

Why then roll up your sleeves and get to it.

As Directors, then our job is done.

You've completed this year's weeklong sessions I applaud Years 1, 2, 3 and 4.

It's because of you that we all continue It is you who are the center, the core.

Next year, the doors will once more open Your faces, I hope I will spy I still believe the best and the brightest Come each year here to this CDI. Debra Banks Year 2 Class Director August 4, 2006

A VISION REALIZED Once upon a golden time Some people had a dream It wasn’t very long ago Or so at least it seemed They dreamed of better cities They dreamed of better towns They dreamed of leaving things better, Much better than what they’d found.

They shared that dream with others Knowing success breeds more in turn, No accolades they asked for But accolades they earned.

Through these doors and others Too many to count have they come To sit and learn from the masters Before packing up and going home.

While there may have been stumbles And losses of founders so dear Through it all, there has been one constant CDI was, has been and is still here.

The torch has been passed on to others They have been charged with a task To continue the mission they started To not falter is all they would ask.

Once CDI was no more than A dream in the founding folks’ eyes Now twenty years later and counting, CDI is that vision realized.

Debra Banks Year 2 Class Director August 3, 2007

REACHING FOR TH E FUTURE The anniversary is over And the bags are packed away And now we go forth boldly Into a brand new day.

And now the task ahead of us, spread the message far and wide, how to interest and inform, have others join us for the ride.

It is a task that will require More thought, more work, more heart, A willingness to serve The will to do one’s part.

The changes have begun now Share that recruiting video.

Talk about the changes in the program, CDI Central is well primed to grow.

The outreach to bring in more people Bringing faith-based into the fold Show that CDI does realize that Development’s good for the soul.

For a week in the summer, we come here For a week, you establish a bond For a week, CDI gives you memories Absence does indeed makes the heart fond.

You prepare to go back to your homes now And I hope that you leave on a high Secure in this thought, for I know that The best and brightest come to this CDI. Debra Banks Year 2 Class Director August 1, 2008

THE WINDING ROADS The past stretches out behind us In its old familiar ways It beckons and calls out to us Reminders of Halcyon days.

The past is rich and wondrous Filled with stories galore They will always be there for the asking Always behind your mind’s door The present stands shining before us A path that is bathed in the light Attendance has risen to meet it Its growth gives us all such delight.

2009 has brought differences For us, shouldn’t be at all strange As Heraclitis so eloquently stated Nothing endures but change.

The future is on the horizon Waiting to see CDI strive To continue its journey towards greatness I do not doubt that it will thrive.

You all are the reason we come here You are the reason we try To educate, innovate and recruit you, The best and brightest for this CDI. Debra Banks Year 2 Class Director August 7, 2009

THE ROAD AH EAD Change flows round about us, And guides use through the swells, It is neither calm nor silent And has many tales to tell.

We are sent into the battles at home With energy coursing anew Better prepared to handle whatever comes We are the proud, the few.

Each year our number steadily grows To bravely meet what the future brings.

For as Benjamin Franklin stated, “energy and persistence conquer all things.�

Despite changes and faces That may come and go CDI Central continues to focus, To challenge, to energize, to grow.

In the history yet to be written Not one of us will ever deny That always the best and the brightest Will still come to THIS CDI. Debra Banks Year 2 Class Director August 6, 2010

HEART AND SOUL The heart and soul of any endeavor Is very easy to define It's how something touches the spirit And engages and challenges the mind.

The greatest achievements in history Started as nothing more than a dream That someone believed in and nurtured to someone it's value was deemed.

With work, and blood and sweat and tears That dream caught on and began to grow Through the years of the thick and lean times Someone pushed to go "on with the show".

The nurturers, cheerleaders, foot soldiers all Continue working in concert each day For those of us who have long wandered these halls the faint sound of a train whistle still plays.

Our history is still being written By you, CDI's new heart and soul The dream continues to grow and to change And a wondrous future will unfold.

One thing that I know will never, ever change Whether in year 1 or now year 25 The best and the brightest of hearts, souls and minds Will still come to THIS CDI. Debra Banks Year 2 Class Director August 5, 2011

THE BRIGH T AND SHINING PATH There was a feeling in the air this week a wordless thing that drifted through the halls, that reached out across the buildings, that permeated the walls.

It was the power of hopefulness, the promise of purpose and passion, It was the strength of individual conviction.

It was the excellence that fueled every action.

Hundreds of you have travelled upon this bright and shining path.

This path began as a determined dream the dream lives as we honor our past.

You have joined the founders, the builders the dreamers, the planners, the proud and unsung few You've looked challenge in the eye, and unblinking, Conquered it with learned tools old and new.

And finally the dawn of a new quarter century shows that we will not let the dream die.

The path is still bright for the brightest and best still come yearly to this CDI. Debra Banks Year 2 Class Director August 10, 2012

THE DREAM LIVES ON What can one say about a dream realized about a dream that continues to grow. a dream that slowed from time to time that never gave in, wouldn't go.

It was nurtured by people who loved it who knew they had something to share, who knew there were others who needed it people, who like them, would care.

And the song, like the song of the piper drew the first group of people right in some of them stayed for a season while some of them stayed until the end.

The history continues to be written and each of us plays our own role each of us singularly carries the dream we each are a piece of it's soul.

Who would think that twenty seven years ago, when a little idea began to form, that we would be here singing its praises that its heart would be beating as strong?

I salute you catchers of this still strong dream. for in each of you, the future will fly each of you, my very best and the brightest are the family of the dream called CDI. Debra Banks Year 2 Class Director August 2, 2013

QUIET MOMENTS Even in the silence of chosen moment The hands of the clock move swiftly by And for those who inhabit those moments Time truly and quickly does fly.

It flies through the days of beginning When together, a fortunate crew Saw a way to better communities By teaching ones like me and you.

The path that they chose was not easy It was hard, filled with wars to be won.

They fought for its very survival.

And did all they felt could be done.

Through the days of the small groups and changes Those few never gave up the fight Never faltered when forces surrounding them Urged that they surrender the light.

Today, we continue what started back then.

Long days with little energy to spare.

And the next day you’re there to start again Because, deep in your marrow, you care.

You come here to learn and grow stronger And in those silent moments you succeed and you fly For you are the best and the brightest The beating heart of this CDI. Debra Banks Year 2 Class Director August 8, 2014

NEW EYES You cannot teach the new tricks To those with seasoned eyes; Say those with no connection, Say those who are unwise.

Only those who do not wish to learn Would ever make that true.

Only those with no imagination, No passion, no vision, no clue.

Those people do not walk these halls They are not here at first morning light.

They are not willing to work together to learn.

They too easily give up the fight.

What do I see as I’ve looked around?

I do not see any of those persons are here.

I see workers, and dreamers and leaders.

I see persons with hopes crystal clear.

I see people who are just as committed, Who see development through their newer eyes, It is you who refresh and revive us.

And ensure that the dream never dies.

For twenty-nine years CDI has continued I know our founders would say this with pride, You all are the best and the brightest, -The shining legacy of this CDI. Debra Banks Year 2 Class Director August 6, 2015

FOOTPRINTS Thirty years go by in the twinkling of an eye, Grains flowing through the hourglass of time, Following an infinite pattern that others cannot see; To them, there is no reason or rhyme.

We walk in the footsteps of builders Of dreamers, those willing to reach.

We walk in the steps of Developers past Who used knowledge to do AND to teach.

Their voices ring in the ears of the first class And others lucky enough to have known, To have heard words unfiltered, unaltered Giving life to the seeds they had sown.

So we come to these halls and pay homage To the ones that have been here before To the classes that have shaped and molded As our numbers increase by the score.

What will the future hold for each one of us?

We will go where developers go.

To the small towns, the cities, communities We will reap what our hard work will sow.

Footprints of our founders still echo Still nurture and serve as a guide Still whistle through our past to greet you, -Best and brightest, welcome to CDI. Debra Banks Year 2 Class Director August 5, 2016

2017 CLOSING POEM On a beautifully warm summer's day One by one we all filed in, Some not knowing what to expect Were still eager for it all to begin.

Though I cannot say when it happened, But somehow a tiny spark burst into flame With utmost care it was nurtured And this spark grew and claimed us by name.

We have become a larger community That grows and expands every year.

We have become that diverse family Our mission and vision is clear.

Developers come in many packages And are known by the products that we make We work, we encourage, we laugh and we rage While chances and risks we all take.

Sometimes the work is a thankless taskmaster And your name flung about in the wind Just know that this family is with you.

Because time has allowed us to blend.

We are the products of many passionate people, We have connected. We have become friends.

Our development story has a beginning But the story itself ever ends.

One day, time will creep slowly upon you And you will wonder where all the time went The best that you can hope for is simply Not regretting the moments you've spent.

I am a Community Developer.

I say that with untold pride.

So are you, my best and brightest.

You chose this CDI. Debra Banks Year 2 Class Director August 4, 2017

MAKING MY MARK Looking back over the years roaming these halls, faces and names may become a blur.

But the feelings inspired by meetings those persons never dims from the moment they occur.

Twenty years seems like such a long, long time for some that might seem true indeed but just keep on living, for one day you'll look up and wonder why it passed with such speed.

Possibilities are what we all live for We see the potential where others see none, We see buildings and parks, sidewalks and trees forever changing, the work never done.

I came to this place of expectation dreaming of what there might be Seeing another chance to keep learning still building on that better me.

The lessons that have stayed with me the longest that still resonate with me to this day is that we all have our problems, our issues and we'll work through them all come what may.

You have been my greatest teachers with the creativity, your questions, those minds You come here to soak up everything that you can and in turn leave us all energized.

I remember our historic Titans, the founders that opened that door, they fought for our continued existence.

And that, to me, means so much more.

We all fade into history one day just hoping that we've made our mark Hoping that we've left you with something igniting even just a tiny spark.

Now whether I've managed to do that well, I can say that I gave it a try.

For I've stood with the best and the brightest I have served at the best CDI.

Debra Banks Year 2 Class Director 2018