For anyone walking into our office for the first time, the response is always the same, “Wow! I love the look of your office! Who decorated it?” The answer is none other than our very own Lisa Gillis. We owe the “coolness” of our offices and the work space to Lisa Gillis.
Lisa and her husband Bill have been behind-the-scenes supporting OC United since the very beginning. When we decided to rent our first office space four years ago, Lisa jumped in and offered to lend her expertise and decorate. She is a gifted designer and has helped us create great working and meeting spaces in four different offices. She created an inviting, peaceful space that is comfortable and welcoming to the spectrum of people that come through our doors.
Little did she know that this would be an ongoing job. She continued to work her magic in our second, third, and fourth office spaces. We quickly came to find that we would need her in other areas as well. She works tirelessly during the lead up to our events and even donated items for our live and silent auctions. She and her husband, Bill volunteered at our first annual Golf Tournament last August, spending the day on the course. She is also relentlessly positive, gracious and fun to be around. She has many amazing gifts and we are so grateful for her giving of her time and talent to us in so many ways. We have loved getting to know Lisa in all these different capacities at OC United and am happy to now call her a friend.
Lisa has the amazing gift of hospitality. The only thing that rivals Lisa’s decorating and event skills are her baking skills, of which we OC United staff are also grateful beneficiaries. It’s not uncommon to see Lisa swing by our office bringing a batch of homemade fresh cookies or her amazing lemon blueberry rolls. If I need some cookies or an appetizer for an event or meet up, she always says “yes”. Lately she has taken to stopping by with fresh baked cookies just for our staff. How great is that?
We are so thankful for Lisa and our other key volunteers and for the love and care with which they pour into all they do. This love is a great source of encouragement to us all! Like so many of our awesome volunteers, Lisa found many ways to step into the gap at OC United by just being herself and doing things in her areas of giftedness. She is a great example of being willing and able to make a difference for others.
Thank you, Lisa. We love you!
Amy Gaw, Shayne Johnson, and the OC United Team
