[Dialogue] Alerding Christmas letter

[William Alerding]

December, 2006


Dear Colleagues:

	This year we celebrated 38 years of marriage. It feels like we’re 
starting all over again. In May, Barbara was elected president of the 
Indianapolis alumnae chapter of her music fraternity, SAI 
International. SAI was founded over 100 years ago at the University of 
Michigan. She is dealing with an increased membership and receiving 
plaudits for her well-run monthly meetings.  Bill got back into 
language instruction doing ESL classes for the Latin Americans in three 
different Indianapolis cafeterias. English has become the ‘money 
language’ for them, leading  some of them to higher paid positions.

Bill ‘s EcoQuest International  business took a real thrust upward when 
he got a new, more dynamic local manager who is a very experienced 
leader and trainer. He has been doing a series of meetings introducing 
people to the healthy living technologies in air, water and nutrition.. 
He finds a great joy in helping people who really need these 
technologies for their own health.

	Our thoughts this year are best stated in Thomas Friedman’s book,”The 
Earth is Flat”. He highlights the global reality of the 21st century 
and how instant communication has helped countries like China and India 
  catch up on all the latest technology and along with  Russia and 
Europe, are challenging the U.S. economically. It is interesting to 
note that these countries are not threatening the world with strong 
militaries. The U.S. and North Korea are the two countries putting huge 
resources into building strong armies, while the rest of the world is 
expanding trade with one another! In fact, using military strategies to 
deal with the world is counter-productive. Military solutions are 
outdated 20th century approaches for a totally different, more 
globally-connected 21st century. We have no choice but to adapt 
ourselves to living, not in a nation that needs to protect itself, but 
cooperately in a globally competitive society. The world is quickly 
bypassing the concept of nationhood. Wouldn’t it be great if there were 
national leaders who put their resources into something like the U.S.  
Peace Corps and each developed country sent volunteers to poorer 
nations and help improve their economy, education and health! Learning 
others’ needs as well as their cultures brings us to a better global 
understanding. It was always interesting to us how many CEOs of 
American international companies we met around the world who had Peace 
Corp experience.

	We find ourselves thankful this year. We are thankful for 
chiropractors who have helped both of us heal naturally without any 
pharmaceuticals.  We are thankful for the November elections in the 
U.S. that said a resounding NO across the country to war; a NO to 
rampant corruption; a NO to narrow religious beliefs waylaying 
important public policies. We are also thankful for our more than 30 
years with the Institute of Cultural Affairs living and working in 38 
countries with colleagues of all different cultures and religious 
beliefs, allowing us to become tolerant and accepting of others’ 
differences. We are thankful for those scientists and engineers finding 
ways to harness the sun’s power to help clean up our environment. We 
are thankful for our families in the U.S. and Guatemala as well as our 
many colleagues who remind us how important warm human communication is 
to our very being.

	Amidst all the books we read this year, two authors particularly stand 
out. The first is Bishop John Shelby Spong, the retired Episcopalian 
Bishop of New Jersey and professor at Harvard University. Any book or 
article by him gives the reader brilliant insights into the struggles 
of Christianity with the 21st century. He states that unless the Church 
gives up its belief in a “Theistic God”, it will die. The second is 
John C. Maxwell. Any of his books on leadership are something that 
should be in everyone’s library. If you have to buy only one of his 
books, try “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.”
	
We sincerely extend to each and every one of you the true joy of 
Christmas, the spirit of goodness being birthed into our world.

Bill and Barb

	

		

	
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