For those my age (and thankfully there are few around Friendship House) you will recall the hit record named above from the American Folk Group, The Byrds in 1965. The original recording was released in 1959 and it was by Pete Seeger himself.

Others recording the song include, The Seekers, Mary Hopkin, Judy Collins, Nina Simone, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Ricky Skaggs to name just a few.

Interestingly, the words are directly from the Book of Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8 in the Old Testament. Seeger is credited with writing the song yet he only added six words to the biblical verse.

I guess by now you want to know why I am fixated on this song, well as it says in the title “To Everything There is a Season” and my season as CEO of this great agency is coming to a close.

Having spent 46 years in varied capacities at multiple non-profits it is time to “hang it up” and explore many things that have been put on hold for a lack of time, or been side tracked due to work, schedule juggling due to husband and wife both working and the related responsibilities that could only be met by being prioritizing work. Now not so!

Of course, being a grandfather recently does sort of re-establish priorities that cannot be met working.

Sometime around Labor Day will be the close of the “Nicolosi Era” (both eras) and new leadership will be in place. I am sure growth, member satisfaction, employee enthusiasm and public confidence in Friendship House will grow to new heights and the reputation for quality services will continue.

The Board of Trustees has engaged a firm with experience in recruiting and a search will begin for my replacement.

Let me close by thanking all tor your support over the years. I have no doubt the future will be better than the past and this process will produce the most qualified person for the job.