If you’ve ever been captivated by a small detail of a big story, you’re in good company with me. Here are the stories that caught my attention last month among the nonprofit sector newsletters I edit for SmartBrief. They don’t all revolve around a small detail, but each has something that made me think a […]
From “7 beads of sweat” to “Hamilton”
Igniting anything takes heat, oxygen, and fuel — the three components of the fire triangle. The idea of the fire triangle can apply to human motivation, too. When Jane Beckett took over the dance program at The McDonald College, a prestigious performing arts school in Australia, she saw talent from the beginning. She brought a personal history of dance […]
Our readers are our teachers
TEACH We may be coaxed by popular sentiment to think we should be fearless. Granted, it would probably be fun to be eternally pursuing adventure, but I have yet to experience a life devoid of fear, and I doubt anyone who is being truthful will be able to attest that they haven’t ever been scared. […]
Accountability: What it takes to get to the end
ACCOUNTABILITY Could there be a more basic (and true) sentiment than: “You can’t get to the end until you get started” ? Those 10 words were among several phrases that I squirreled away the last week or two, feeling that they applied to some thinking I am in the midst of doing and/or that they […]
Summer’s not over, but here are 7 things I’ve loved
Summer started on June 20 this year, but for the purposes of today’s blog (7 things I’ve loved about summer so far), I am proclaiming May the start of the season. Here are the 7 things I’ve loved about summer so far: My daughter’s wedding Between July 31, 2020, when Stewart proposed to Tenley and […]
There she is … Miss Army Reserve Communications Specialist/Idaho
Okay — I’ll concede that “There she is … Miss Army Reserve Communications Specialist/Idaho” doesn’t roll off the tongue as easily as this version (which, in my opinion, is a pretty cool treatment of the song): However, there’s a reason the song is on my mind. As we look at my favorite stories of July […]





