This Midwinter is my last on the NMRT Board, and going back to Seattle seems like coming full circle.
Six years ago, Midwinter 2007 was held in Seattle, and it was my first ALA event EVER! I reported on the Executive Board meeting for Footnotes, and that’s where it all began. Unless I should say it began the first evening of Midwinter with the erstwhile NMRT Meet & Greet, where I rubbed shoulders (sometimes literally) with the NMRT elite; or perhaps it truly began the next night at the Midwinter Social, where I met lots of great people, including Michael Golrick and the then-infamous Aaron Dobbs, both very supportive NMRT alums. Al, my now-husband, was also at that Social…little did we know!
Thanks to then-Board members Amanda, Amy, Catherine, Courtney, Kara, Katie, Michelle, Nadine, Nanette, Sally, Sam and Kim, and everyone else I met at that conference. You were all so nice, and so welcoming, and you helped make me feel like I had something to offer. That conference was when ALA took my job and turned it into a career. I’ve spent almost 5 of the intervening years on the NMRT Board, and it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done.
My favorite part of conferences now is meeting folks who are like I used to be, and helping them find their place in ALA and the profession. I’m looking forward to ALA Midwinter 2013!
Linda Crook
ALA NMRT Past-President 2012/2013
http://www.flickr.com/photos/prettydaisies/873433142/
Michael Golrick, Linda Crook, Anna Creech (back to the camera)