I have just returned from the Board of Directors meeting of the Hollyhock Foundation on Cortes Island and I couldn't be more inspired. As the board chair of this unique organization I am excited about our future.

Hollyhock is an organization with a unique role and potential impact in society. Building on a 26 year history as a transformational education institution, alongside an experiment in rural community development, Hollyhock has built an international reputation as a gathering place of intelligent, caring people intent to make the world better. As an ecologically friendly transition model of viable economy meeting the era of growing consciousness of human impact on the natural world, Hollyhock can play a unique role in offering personal, professional and organizational development in a context of integrated holistic point of view, skill building, and place based social networking.

Increasingly expanding its offerings to urban settings and on line access, Hollyhock is ideally positioned with deep values in its DNA, evolved by the hundreds of volunteers, supporters, and staff over the decades. Few organizations contain the potential to speak from years of experience alongside practical products that might both ground its clientele in timeless understandings as well as tools and practices for mastering the needs of the modern world.

Educational programming, crafted invitational conferences, on line content, and a cornucopia of opportunities for deep explorations of consciousness and social change, combine to place Hollyhock in an important niche outside the conventional educational institution model, with elements of emotional, intellectual, creative, physical and spiritual dimensions interwoven throughout.

Our programming and content opportunities are vast. As word of mouth about the intangible power living within the term "transformational" spreads and an alumnus like base grows, demand for what Hollyhock offers will begin to reach an inflection point.

Over the coming decades the very notion and tangible practical substance of an organization such as Hollyhock, can serve to inspire, catalyze, and support those working towards an integrated approach to human well being that can help society navigate the immense challenges of contemporary life on earth. I invite you to explore Hollyhock for yourself. www.hollyhock.ca