Gail Shister, Photo By JasonSmith.com
Today was a whirlwind! I made it to breakfast on time after 4 hours of sleep and spent time speaking to some of our wonderful exhibitors. After which I test drove a Cadillac (thereby earning $25 for the Student Project) and then went to put on a warmer shirt. As I was going up the stairs I ran into a friend whom I followed into lunch. We sat at a table with two people whom I felt honored to be in the same room with let alone to sit AT the same table – Gail Shister and Bob Witeck.
Shister and Witeck have always been people I had admired. Growing up in Philadelphia, Gail Shister was a well known name in my house as she has been writing about television about as long as I have been watching it and doing so at The Philadelphia Inquirer, the most trusted newspaper in the Philadelphia region. During my time in Philadelphia, I never had the pleasure of working with Shister directly but have known several people over the years who have always raved about her. I ended up reading her column quite a bit when I was younger as I loved her direct delivery and the way you could really hear her voice in her writing.
Bob Witeck was someone whom I had also learned about in my Philadelphia days. I was a newly minted out man when I started volunteering for the Human Rights Campaign throughout PA, NJ and DE. I did a lot of community outreach and served as a membership spokesperson for that region. During this time in my life, I was learning communication at DeSales University, where I was taught the importance of giving back to your community. Witeck-Combs Communications are known for the way they give back to the community. They are known as a leader in serving the LGBT market’s communications needs. Their work with HRC and the way Witeck-Combs was always contributing to the LGBT community had put them on my radar for sometime.
At last year’s Convention, I had the pleasure of interviewing Bob Witeck for the 2007 Convention blog and I was charmed at how friendly and approachable this man was. Over the past year, we became closer friends so I was looking forward to catching up when I sat at his table for lunch. When Shister joined us, I was awestruck because two of my professional role models were sitting right by me as we broke bread together. Witeck was the type of communications professional I always wanted to be and Shister is the kind of journalist I always wanted to be. It was breathtaking to watch Witeck introduce Shister as she, along with Richard Goldstein, were inducted into the LGBT Journalists Hall of Fame.
Later in the day, I attended another wonderful workshop on new media (which I will try to post notes in the near future) followed by a discussion about how publications choose which crime cases to cover. Cathy Renna spoke about the Matthew Shepard case and between listening to her and the other panelists discuss why that was covered and listening to Witeck and Shister speak, I felt like the man I was 10 years ago. I remembered a part of myself that had been long forgotten.
My mama always taught me not to look back but rather to focus on what lies ahead. However, ever since I listened to the damn Footloose soundtrack, I have been “holding out for a hero.“ Today, I realized I can stop holding out for my heroes because I had the opportunity to speak to two of them and with the energy they exude and the way they remain so true to their voice in their words and actions, I now realize that I can be the hero I was holding out for. So, I’m going to keep shooting for the moon because even if I miss, I’ll still be among the stars, as I was today (and that’s even motivation but the Bonnie Tyler song still helps!)
Thank you both for your inspiration!
