Ginny Gilmore’s story leading to the creation of Wisdom From The Woods: Navigating Life’s Unexpected Challenges was recently featured in her hometown paper, The FDL Reporter.
See the full feature by Daphne Lemke here or read the article below:
FOND DU LAC – What started as a trip in the Wisconsin woods turned into three local co-founded organizations, and now, a new book on healing during a year where everyone’s facing a challenge.
Virginia “Ginny” Gilmore co-authored “Wisdom From the Woods: Navigating Life’s Unexpected Challenges” with Texas businessman and writer Duane Trammell in August, the culmination of a journey that began over 20 years ago.
“Wisdom From the Woods” encourages readers to take a step back and reflect in order to connect to their own wisdom and face life’s challenges.
It began with Gilmore taking a two-month sabbatical following a devastating life change, where she spent her time in a cabin in the woods reflecting on herself and her life.
When she left the woods, she took with her a full diary and a philosophy on inner wisdom and guidance that she would then spread throughout Fond du Lac.
Shaping local leaders through co-founded organizations
Soon after her time in the woods, Gilmore pursued a Spirituality and Leadership degree from Marian University to further her education.
“Out of my own healing journey, I was moved to help form organizations that would offer transformative leadership in a way that would honor the spirit, dignity and potential of every person,” she said.
In 2001, she helped establish the Center for Spirituality and Leadership at Marian University — then Marian College — with Gary Boelhower, who held a supporting chair for three years.
The center aimed to educate future leaders with a focus on community impact and social justice concerns while also providing services for their success and supporting them wholly, including their minds and hearts.
“The vision for the center was to position Marian as a leader in the integration of leadership and spirit,” Gilmore said.
The center is no longer active, but the seeds of its purpose have embedded in the university and continue to grow, according to Marian President Michelle Majewski in conversation with Gilmore.
In 2002, Gilmore worked with Fond du Lac Area Foundation to form the Sophia Foundation, a charitable organization that gave grants to women and children in vulnerable situations, as well as leadership programs and other community initiatives, including one against violence called, “See it, Stop It, Change it; Violence Hurts Us All.”
Gilmore served on the organization’s board for 15 years, seeing Sophia Foundation through its transition from grant-giving into a program with a mission focused on servant-leadership in 2010.
She left the board at the end of 2016, encouraging it to grow further into what it is now, which is the Sophia Transformative Leadership Partners, as of 2018.
Today, the organization provides learning programs and success programs for local leaders, and is also one of the organizations that spearheaded Together FDL, a collaborative organization that raises money for local programs and services impacted by the pandemic.
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Gilmore’s third organization was the Fond du Lac Area Women’s Fund, co-founded in 2004 with Sheli Sadoff, Sandi Roehrig and Valerie Graczyk through the Fond du Lac Area Foundation.
From the beginning, the Women’s Fund’s mission was to impact the lives of local women through funding, engaging them in philanthropy and creating awareness for their strengths and challenges in the Fond du Lac community.
Since then, the organization has expanded, growing outside the Fond du Lac Area Foundation, funding local organizations and evolving its mission to “facilitate bold change to advance Fond du Lac area women and girls,” according to Gilmore.
Wisdom from the woods: Twenty years later
For many years, Gilmore’s period in the woods ended with an essay titled “The Healing Journey” through the encouragement of her professor, and that was that.
However, 20 years later, she met Trammell, president and founding partner of Trammell McGee-Cooper & Associates in Texas. As they got to know each other, Trammell lost his longtime business partner and entered his own challenging time.
Gilmore empathized with him and shared her own story, sparking a new partnership.
“He discovered in my story a ‘roadmap’ which he felt would help him and suggested that we publish it,” Gilmore said. “We spent the next 10 months together in a deep dialogue and learning from various paths embedded in my story.”
Together, they faced the continuous ups and downs of life in their continued journey to compile the stories that make up “Wisdom From the Woods” and share what they’ve learned.
“We continue to support one another in the good times and the hard times,” Gilmore said. “And we continue to study and learn together, expanding our own practices and deepening our sense of peace and joy in our lives.”
The book’s August release fell into a pandemic-ridden time where many people have had to slow down while many others — including those in healthcare, social service and other essential jobs — cannot afford to.
As this pandemic continues through the end of this year and disrupts this holiday season, Gilmore encourages everyone who’s able to take advantage of these slower moments and reflect on their lives, their priorities and what they want to change when the pandemic is over.
Jenny Knuth, Sophia Transformative Leadership Partner’s Board President, added that having and finding support is important. While it may not make a difficult or transformative period any easier, it brings the knowledge that no one is alone in their journey.
Gilmore said that this current time is difficult overall, but there is always new life and always light after dark.
“When I was in the woods, I took the time to review my life,” she said. “It led me to a deeper understanding of what I needed to heal, and what my heart really longed for. It helped me to hear the wisdom in my heart which, if I took the time to listen, led me to continuous next steps in my life that have supported my opportunities to serve others.”
Gilmore and Trammell’s book is available on Amazon and locally at Lunar & Lake Book Market, 74 S. Main St., Fond du Lac.
Contact Daphne Lemke at 920-907-7968 or dlemke@gannett.com