Did you ever meet someone who you knew that you liked from the moment you met that person? Call it kismet, call it an instant connection, call it serendipity, call it whatever you will but deep down you just know that no matter how long of a time passes that connection will not fade? Whenever I walk into a NLGJA meeting, I get this feeling. Yesterday was no exception.
In a sense, yesterday was like a high school reunion for me. Friends old and new came out of the woodwork. For weeks preceding this Convention, I received several “can’t wait to see you” emails and “let’s do lunch” offers as the countdown began for the 2008 Convention. When I arrived in DC, I was a bit of a curmudgeon having gone all day on approximately two hours of sleep the night before. The journey was worth it though because when I arrived and saw all these friendly faces from the past. For example, I caught up with someone who knew me years ago when I was a newly outed Catholic evangelist. We haven’t seen each other in three years and that his first comment was “your hair is so short” since waaay back then I was still holding onto the “grunge look” like someone who would have been friends with Bill & Ted. After he finished critiquing my hair, we decided to pop out and play catch-up over coffee where we discussed everything from Katie Holmes to unsubstantiated rumors about yesteryear to potential VP picks for both the candidates. Later, we were joined by one of my old friends from the days when I lived in Manhattan who always knows how to make the people around him smile. He introduced us to a friend of his who happened to walk by and the four of us laughed well into the afternoon about silly stuff and the “old days.”
As the day went on, I listened to the plenary speakers and was really impressed with the discussion about the amount of entertainment news coverage that has gone mainstream. Later, as the night went on, I saw more and more people whom I had not seen in ages (well, at least for a year) and we picked up where we left off as well.
You are probably wondering why I am sharing all of this with you. The reason is because there is a business lesson to be learned here…a lesson I’ve learned as a sophomore in college. That is, business about the relationships you build. Many of you may have heard me say how I believe that NLGJA has a long road to tow and I do believe that implicitly, however, what I was reminded of today was the strength of the community that we have built. How often can you run into someone you haven’t seen in 5-10 years and catch up as if a week had not passed? How often do you go to a Conference and debate current events with like-minded and goodlooking people who share your passion for your career? To me, that is what this Conference is about. It is about building a community that can make a difference. It is about working together and achieving shared goals. It is about our community going mainstream while maintaining our unique identity.
No matter how you look at it our community is a group of many working toward one common goal. Or to put it in the words of our forefathers, E Pluribus Unum (translation: out of many, one.) While you might hear me say that we could benefit from more organization and more internal communication from time to time, one thing that you will never see/hear me doubt is the amount of spirit that exists in this organization….and that’s what makes this organization special. That’s why I have faith in the future of our association because if we can assemble this many people united in a common goal, imagine what else we could do. What used to be our national motto, now applies to our national association and that’s why its important to make sure you vote in today’s board elections and to provide the board with your feedback on the direction we should go. So, get out there and vote and thank you for being a part of the NLGJA community.
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. In fact, its the only thing that ever has. -Margaret Mead
