2018 Life Logs, Day 263—Celebration, Reflection

2018 Life Logs, Day 263—Celebration, Reflection
Date: Thursday, September 20, 2018
Weather: Mostly Cloudy with Drizzle; High 65, Low 54 degrees F
Location: At Home with Alan and Helaine Kanegsberg, Bow, NH

Today I drove from Cape Cod to New Hampshire to attend a New Hampshire Public Radio celebration of their successful Campaign for Innovation. The drive gave me a chance to reflect on the fifteen years that Mark and I spent in New Hampshire. When Mark took the job of managing a public radio station in Concord, NH, it was exactly that—one radio station serving Concord and the immediate vicinity. The call letters were WEVO. But it didn’t stay that way long. Mark’s vision for the station was to expand by setting up repeater stations that would provide coverage to all areas of the state. With the help of a supportive Board of Directors, an extremely talented and dedicated staff, and the financial support of listeners, a network of stations was added and WEVO became NHPR, New Hampshire Public Radio. Being the CEO of this operation was not just a job for Mark. Public radio was his passion and I know that tonight he would have been filled with pride to know that his vision is alive and thriving.

The NHPR celebration started at 5:30 pm, but I arrived a couple of hours early so I could meet with my good friend Detta. She teaches in a school just a few miles from the LaBelle Winery where the public radio function was being held. So she met me at the end of her school day and we had a wonderful couple of hours catching up on what has been happening in our lives over the summer. When I arrived at the NHPR celebration, one of the first people I saw was Betsy Gardella.

Betsy took Mark’s place as President and CEO of New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR) and she just successfully raised 5 million dollars for the Innovation Campaign. She talked about the weeks she spent with Mark traveling around the state of New Hampshire so he could personally introduce her to the NHPR family and she shared that often she drove so Mark could place West Marine orders. We were leaving for our sail around the world four days after he retired, so he was doing a little prep while still on the job! It was great to see her and to hear about the Innovation Campaign. Here’s a toast to the continued success of NHPR. Tonight I am spending the night with good friends Alan and Helaine Kanegsberg in their home in Bow, NH. We spent our evening talking about grandchildren and life and will continue our conversations in the morning.

But looming over all of this was the fact that one year ago today Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico destroying everything in her path. I did not get to talk to Justin and Jo today, but I know it must have also been a day of celebration and reflection for them and all of the amazingly resilient people of Puerto Rico who survived Maria’s devastation. I can’t imagine that they didn’t spend their day reflecting on the past year, but hopefully they took time to celebrate their successes in overcoming one of the worst natural disasters our country has ever had. At the same time, we all know that way too many people died and way too many are still suffering the consequences with way too little assistance. I felt so fortunate to hear an hour-long program on public radio on my way here today that reported on the current state of things in Puerto Rico from the perspective of young people. We got so many things wrong in dealing with this disaster, but the vision of these young people is still so hopeful. Realistic, but hopeful. And hope is a good thing.