Informing, inspiring, inquiring

With every newsletter I edit daily, I aim to help people who may feel a bit stuck — at work or in their personal lives — find a bit of space to see things differently.

The stories I share inform, inspire and lead people to inquire.

Here are some examples from September.

INFORM

In the Sept. 4 issue of the International City/County Management Association newsletter, we discussed a Colorado county that created a space for nursing mothers when it redesigned its administrative space and accommodates Commissioner Kelly McNicholas Kury as she brings her nursing infant to meetings. Having pumped breast milk in a number of less-than-comfortable places 20 years ago, I love this new acceptance of the needs of parents. I hope including this story in the newsletter informed other city and county managers of options they may not have considered.

I have typed/edited Michelle Bachelet’s name more times than I can count in the year that I have been editing the United Nations Foundation newsletter (UN Wire). The Sept. 6 issue had a lead story about how Bachelet was urging “Indonesian authorities to respect Papuans’ right to freedom of expression and refrain from using excessive force.” Farther down in the issue was a story about how Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro “taunted UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet Wednesday over her father’s death under 1970s Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet.” (Bolsonaro was striking back at Bachelet’s inquiry about an increase in the number of killings by police in Brazil.) A judge found that Alberto Bachelet most likely died as a result of torture that took place after he was jailed by Pinochet’s administration. I have grown to admire Bachelet over this past year, but this piece of information grew my admiration exponentially.

INSPIRE

Many of the stories in the nonprofit sector newsletters somehow touch on wastefulness and how to reduce it. You know the little packets of four crayons that restaurants give kids so they can color throughout the meal? Did you ever wonder what happens to the crayons once the patrons leave? One meal certainly isn’t enough for a kid (or kids) to wear down one crayon, much less four. In the Sept. 5 issue of the BoardSource newsletter, we told readers about the Crayon Collection, a nonprofit that collects used crayons from restaurants in every US state and nine countries and redistributes them to school districts. This story can inspire restaurant owners to reduce waste (while giving schools ideas regarding where they might get more supplies).

There’s a “policy” section in the National Association of Social Workers newsletter that seems, at times, a little less awe-inspiring than some of the stories we share about how social workers are making a difference in their communities (and world), but the Sept. 11 story about a resolution passed by the Seattle City Council is both — a policy story and a difference-making piece. The resolution “acknowledges and promises to address violence against indigenous women and girls after native women.” It was championed by native women, social workers among them. This resolution will inspire a whole city to right some centuries-old wrongs.

I wrote a post for SmartBrief, Helping families find hope again after Hurricane Michael, that describes playgroups organized for children and their families in Bay and Jackson Counties after Hurricane Michael struck Florida last year. I am so inspired by the change these social workers created for children, 10 at a time, by giving them an opportunity to share their stories and process their challenges. The fact that their parents also got to benefit from the Journey of Hope curriculum matters too. The affected communities are not far from where I live, and their well-being is personal to me. I was honored to have a small part in continuing to tell their story at a time when they are still struggling as the national spotlight has faded.

INQUIRE

How are you at keeping secrets? When the 347-member team behind the Event Horizons Telescope that produced this image of a black hole won the Breakthrough Prize, only one person was allowed to know so the news could remain secret. In a massive understatement, project leader Shep Doeleman said, “I feel like this has been bottled up.” This story in the Sept. 6 newsletter from Sigma Xi , the Scientific Honorary, was news because of the prize, but it made me ask whether I could keep such a big secret. (For the record, I could keep such a big secret; confidentiality is my jam.)

It’s not something I have thought that hard about, but I always assumed any military veteran could be buried at Arlington Cemetery. As I learned from the Sept. 30 issue of the Reserve Officers Association newsletter, there is a history behind how burial rights evolved at Arlington, and there are more changes ahead. The rules have been revised 14 times in 150 years, and the newest set of proposals is geared toward handling a space shortage. The new rules would restrict burials to “those killed in action, recipients of medals for heroism and gallantry, recipients of the Purple Heart medal, former POWs, and U.S. presidents and vice presidents.” The biggest change would be prohibiting service members who die on active duty from being buried there if the death did not occur in combat. This is just something it was interesting to know. It can’t be an easy job to make these decisions and disseminate the changes among the military community.

Finally, congratulations you’re now a first responder (or you need to be). If you’re like me, you have come to assume any call to 9-1-1 will summon help. In general, that’s still true, but the broader network of first responders in our nation is changing. Less people are volunteering to respond to emergencies and disasters, which poses a problem for small towns that rely on them more heavily than big cities do. We discussed this in the Sept. 24 National Emergency Number Association newsletter. FEMA’s 2018-22 strategic plan emphasizes, “shared responsibility across all layers of government down to the individual.” That “individual” part? It’s you and me. “If a whole lot of people were just a little bit more prepared, it would make a very big difference,” said public policy professor Amy Donohue. You (and I) might want to inquire at the local Red Cross about disaster preparation techniques.

If you would like to be a part of informing, inspiring and inquiring, learn more about our current openings.

I wrote in more detail about my experience as a SmartBrief employee here, which may help answer any questions you have. As always, I’m happy to answer questions and provide more information about the process.

Here are the advertised open positions as of 10/6/19:

• Editor (DC, with remote possible)
• Health Care Editor (DC, with remote possible)
• Digital Sales Associate in Education/Workforce (DC – 2 positions)
• Digital Sales Associate in Infrastructure (DC)
• Digital Sales Associate in Media/Retail (DC)
• Finance Editor (DC, with remote possible)
• Desktop Support Technician (DC)
• Lead CRM Administrator (DC)
• Office Manager (DC)

If you are interested in applying, please list me as your referrer or email me so we can discuss further.

A Recap

To subscribe to one (or more) SmartBrief newsletters, including the “end of the work day” While You Were Working, for which I am a contributing editor, click here.

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(I’m linking up this week with Kat Bouska’s blog, for the prompt “10 reasons why you love your job.” Although I could easily list 10 reasons, I wanted to keep things on the concise side, so I chose three things I love doing at my job (informing, inspiring and inquiring) and added seven examples (plus the bonus Hurricane Michael post)).

*Note: My opinions about the stories are my personal viewpoint; they do not reflect an endorsement by my employer.