NFCB”s 39th Annual Community Radio Conference just concluded on Saturday, May 31st. From far and wide, community radio mavens and wizards made their migration to the Hyatt Reston to drink from the well of camaraderie, inspiration, learning, and celebration. We marked the passing of the years, the lessons learned, the magic of the moment and the promise of the future.
I’m sitting now in my daughter’s kitchen in Pittsburgh with images, words, and feelings swirling around me. Undoubtedly I will have a bucket list and a plan on paper in the next week for what my work ahead at NFCB will be but in this “interstitial space” that is happening now, I’m allowing myself to savor the memories of the smiling faces, thoughtful comments, astute questions, and general connection that I experienced.
Maya Angelou passed away on the day our conference started and we felt the loss keenly. Maya Angelou was a dear friend of our keynote speaker, Donna Brazile and Donna carried her grief and her admiration into the room when she spoke eloquently about the value of our work and the significance of our contributions and our collective voice.
If you weren’t able to make the conference this year I want you to know that you were missed. I want you to know that you were with us in spirit. I want you to know that there will be another opportunity and I will be posting about that soon.
Until then, here is a quote from Maya Angelou that we started our conference with this year. Hope you can take a moment to savor it!
“All great artists draw from the same resource: the human heart, which tells us that we are all more alike than we are unalike.” Maya Angelou
