At last week's monthly "social" (basically a monthly staff meeting where we celebrate people's birthdays and MENC anniversaries), I was reminded that July 29 marks my 16th year here at MENC.
Good grief. It's hard to believe.
I was a piano major in college and always hung out with the collegiate MENC students, so I was well aware of what MENC was and did. A few years after graduation, during which time I had been working in marketing at another association, I was offered a position at MENC national headquarters, which just happened to be located in my new hometown of Reston, VA. Working in the field I cared so much about, with a five minute commute -- it was a no-brainer and a decision I'm so glad I made.
It does hurt a bit to think I've been working here since before there was e-mail or the internet in the office. Lots of other things have changed, too; my recollection is that smoking at one's desk had just been prohibited when I arrived -- but everyone could smoke in the refectory, so that's where my then-boss wanted to have all her meetings. We used to always call our Web site "MENC's internet Home Page on the World Wide Web." Here's what it looked like 1996! Now we have a Web site that is visited thousands of times a day, with more than 1500 pages.
There are a handful of folks who've been here even longer than I! Dr. M, ML, MB, SF, CA, AD, EW, and TH. Maybe I'll try to get a photo of all of us as a little anniversary present to myself. We've all seen a lot of fine people (and some major characters) come and go (or sometimes stay) during our time here.
Anway, enough about the past! The future is .... busy. We're starting a major review of the MENC Web site, launching new initiatives for Music In Our Schools Month 2008, preparing various membership promotions for the fall, etc., etc., etc.
I'll leave you with a bit of personal musical trivia: Last week, at a Vince Gill concert, I started thinking about all the pop concerts I'd seen since my first show in the 8th grade. Over the weekend, I started a list and have been adding to it as the acts have popped into my head. It's been a fun exercise. I've been lucky to live in the Washington DC area where we have so much fantastic live music. Most of my favorites I've seen many multiples of times. At the risk of dating myself (and seriously embarrassing myself in a few cases -- one's tastes do change with time, and one has no control over the opening act), the list is posted below for all to see!
Onward -- EWL
Bruce Springsteen, U2, the Who, the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Queen, Heart, Jethro Tull, Aerosmith, Fleetwood Mac, Linda Ronstadt, Rod Stewart, David Bowie, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkle (reunion tour), Ray Davies (solo), Love featuring Arthur Lee (reunion tour), Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Paul Simon (solo), Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band, the Police, REM, Jackson Browne, Richard Thompson, Roger McGuinn, James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Crosby Stills & Nash, Randy Newman, Van Morrison, John Fogerty (solo), the Everly Brothers, Madonna, the Pretenders, Pat Benatar, Animals (reunion tour), B-52s, Blondie, Debbie Harry (solo), the Cars, the "New Cars" with Todd Rundgren, Warren Zevon, Sting, Emmylou Harris, Buddy & Julie Miller, Elvis Costello, David Lindley, Vince Gill, Patty Loveless, Marty Stuart, Bill Kirchen, the Nields, Karla Bonoff, Jesse Winchester, Sonny Landreth, Crowded House, Finn Brothers, Mark Knophler (solo), CPR (David Crosby, Jeff Pevar, James Raymond), Stephen Stills (solo), Steve Miller Band, Chely Wright, Rosanne Cash, Radney Foster, Rodney Crowell, Lindsey Buckingham (solo), The Turtles, Los Lobos, Linda Thompson, Judy Collins, John Hiatt, Little Village, Marshall Crenshaw, Wynonna Judd, Chris Isaak, the Rascals (reunion tour), John Sebastian, Patty Griffin, Gillian Welch, the Mavericks, kd lang, Lyle Lovett, John Jorgenson, Bonnie Raitt, Shawn Colvin, Bruce Hornsby, Lou Ann Barton, Marcia Ball, Angela Strehli, Dwight Yoakum, Kelly Willis, Suzy Bogguss, Donovan, The Hollies (reunion tour), Juice Newton, Chuck Brown & Eva Cassidy, the La’s, Martina McBride, Saffire the Uppity Blues Women, Joan Armatrading, Clive Gregson & Christine Collister, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Steve Earle, Del McCoury Band, Walter Egan, the Corrs, Nick Lowe, Paul Carrack, Jim Lauderdale, Chris Hillman & Herb Pedersen, Pete Seeger, Desert Rose Band, Tony Rice, Ollabelle, X, Gordon Lightfoot, the Zombies (reunion tour), Dionne Warwick, the Waifs, Sheryl Crow, Kenny Neal, Aimee Mann & Michael Penn, Don Dixon & Marti Jones, Kim Richey, John Prine, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Teddy Thompson, Al Petteway, Yolanda Adams, Cheryl Wheeler, Michael McDonald (solo), John Jennings, Bobby Womack, Foreigner (reunion tour), Leo Kottke, the Roches, John Cale, Deana Bogart, Kevin Welch & Kieran Kane, Susan Werner, John Denver, Danny O’Keefe, Reba McEntire, Edwin McCain, James Ingram, Marc Cohn, Peter Cox, Brian McKnight, The Oak Ridge Boys, REO Speedwagon, Jonathan Edwards, the Kennedys, Nanci Griffith, Graham Nash (solo), Jo Dee Messina, Blackhawk, Dan Fogelberg, Dar Williams, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Lucinda Williams, Amy Rigby, Amy Grant
