Happy Birthday Annie

Annie:Wishes You a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Annie's contribution to the familydinner project has made ameaningful difference in my life andthe life of my family and while wedon’t have the opportunity tointeract all that often, I find thatevery time we talk, I learn somethingimportant: creating an oasis wheremy family can connect at the end ofthe day, not bringing upcontroversial topics at the dinnertable and playing games are someof the principals that have madedinner more than just a meal. Myteenagers will actually say “no” todinner with friends to have dinnertogether as a family — it doesn’t getany better than that! THANK YOU &HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!Debbie

Dear Annie,All the warmest birthday wishes fromone mom of two boys to another! Ifeel so lucky to learn from yourthoughtful tips, gentle guidance,and wonderful wisdom. Watchingand listening to you describe yourown experiences in the kitchen andaround the dinner table give mehope that all will be okay. Thanks sovery much for all your contributionsto The Family Dinner Project and toall of our families. These are nutty,busy years, and your reminders toalways find the fun have helped allthe Barendsen-Rossis more thanyou’ll ever know.Wishing you the Happiest ofBirthdays!Lynn

I don’t know where to begin when I try topin down why Annie is important to TheFamily Dinner Project – the ethos of theorganization, the mission, thecompassionate approach (and so muchmore) all benefit from Annie’s influence andinspiration, and it’s hard to know what theorganization or the work would be likewithout Annie. The dinner that we hostedwith Sanctuary for Families is one of myfavorite memories with Annie and FDP. Theempathy with which she approached theevent, the thoughtfulness and humility shebrought to bear in both the planning andthe event itself, and the joy she clearly gotfrom helping the families in attendance,were all wonderful to be part of.For me personally, Annie is an inspiration.She has so much more experience andexpertise than I do, but always makes mefeel like my opinion and my work arevalued. It’s easy to forget how manydifferent (and important) hats Annie wearsin her life, because when you’re meetingwith or interacting with her, she’s focusedand in the moment, despite the manydemands on her time. I also value the factthat I get to see Annie as a mother in aunique way - I have the privilege of workingwith Joe, and knowing Gabe, as well asbenefiting from Annie’s expertise throughFDP – and I’m in awe of what she’saccomplished.Charlotte

Dear Annie,Happy Birthday to a special person! Ireally admire how smart, kind andwarm you are. From driving togetherto Revere to seeing you lead aCommunity Dinner facilitation, youare always so generous with yourtime and energy and you have a giftfor connecting with others. Wishingyou all the best in the year ahead.Cheers,Paromita

Early on in my work with The FamilyDinner Project, Annie said somethingto me about being \"such a big fan\"of mine. And I remember thinking,\"Gosh...wonder if she knows howmuch we are all such big fans ofhers???\"Bri

Dear Annie,One of my proudest moments as amember of The Family Dinner Projectteam was seeing you take the stageat Mayo Transform. It was so muchfun to see our thoughtful, soft-spokenAnnie “transform” into Dr. Anne K.Fishel, commanding the stage andcaptivating the audience. I wish youcould have been in the audience tosee how everyone responded toyour presence, humor and obviousexpertise. It made me so proud toknow you and to have theopportunity to learn from you. Thankyou for ALL you do for The FamilyDinner Project.Happy birthday,Ashley

AnnieShelly