Maychai Brown

After seven years with BCAM, I am leaving the position of Administrative Secretary but take with me memories of the highlights of the job.

First are the women I have "met" on the telephone — women who call BCAM either because they fear they have breast cancer or because they have been diagnosed and need information about how to overcome hurdles presented by the disease. I have taken great satisfaction in providing information that helps them to cope — where to contact a yoga group, or how to obtain a referral for tests to reveal the true nature of that frightening lump.

It has been inspiring (there's no better word to describe it) to work with the members of the BCAM board and with three presidents over the past seven years — Rose Alper, Janine O'Leary Cobb and Carol Secter — each of whom has often put in volunteer hours surpassing my 28-hour work week.
It has been exciting to witness the growth of the organization as new initiatives took shape at the board and were passed on to capable project coordinators — Laura Shea, Madeleine Bird and, most recently, Jane Shulman.

I won't soon forget the volunteers who have made working for BCAM so enjoyable — board members, translators, bookkeepers, writers, web designers, interns, and all those wonderful people whose projects and events have raised money for us. If I mentioned each name, the list would be as long as the one on page 10. I hope each of you realizes how grateful I have been for your help.

The last source of inspiration comes from my email inbox which daily brings messages from international scientists and activists working to alert one another (and us) about the research into the effects of toxic chemicals, news of chemical spills and poisonous waste sites, and the growing efforts to legislate change. It has been energizing to read about their successes, and reassuring to see an international network emerging to make citizens aware of chemical pollution, its effects on health and the crucial need to regulate it.

By the time you read this, there will be another voice answering the phone at 514-483-1846 — that of Janice Melanson, the new Office Administor at the BCAM office. Janice brings to the position her concern for worldwide women's issues, international aid and fair trade. She is well versed in working with volunteers, having recently been the store manager at Dix Mille Villages on Monkland Avenue. I wish her well as she discovers her own sources of inspiration at BCAM.