Goalbusters Blog: 100 Days of Gratitude, Day 1: Are words enough?

Sunday, June 2, 2013

100 Days of Gratitude, Day 1: Are words enough?

I thought it was going to be really difficult to pick the first person to say thank you to as part of the 100 Days of Gratitude. But sometimes things just fall into your lap.

We were at the National Federation of Community Broadcasters Community Radio Conference last week. On the first day, Ginny Z. Berson, Vice President for Federation Services, and the anchor of this organization, announced her retirement. (See below for Jim's video of her speech.)

No question who I would thank now. The trouble was, how?

It seemed impermanent to pull her aside and just say thank you for her almost 20 years at NFCB and much more than that in community broadcasting. So I pulled out a notecard and a pen.

First of all, I discovered how infrequently I write long-hand, because my hand started to cramp up!

But more importantly, I discovered how hard it is, sometimes, to articulate how valuable and important someone has been. When someone has been a role model, a pillar of the sector, a stalwart champion of the underdog, and a no-nonsense fighter against injustice, it's hard to capture her impact.

I wrote my short note, and I hope she understands that my words are just the tip of the iceberg of the gratitude I feel for her personal commitment to the broadcasting community.

And so it begins.