Thursday, December 11, 2008

Getting involved - Finding my place in the community

Tuesday marked my very first Brazos Progressives meeting. It's a group I've wanted to become involved in for years. I've followed their calendar, attended the festivals, and more recently, I was added to the mailing list. But with my health always teetering in the balance, I never felt like I had the energy to fully invest myself in community activities. 

Now, however, as my body is healing, I've been enjoying luxuries that I didn't have before (aka doing anything after noon). Stronger, and with far less pain, I was eager to take the first baby steps into what I hoped was a wealth of opportunity, taking my passion for SGF and local foods into the community arena.

So, back to Tuesday's meeting. We congregated in the Village Cafe, our new local-organic restaurant in downtown Bryan, listened to a presentation by one of the members, and openly discussed issues, upcoming events, and opportunities. I'm normally pretty shy in groups, but I spoke up on a number of occasions, feeling comfortable and accepted by the group. 

Towards the end of the meeting, I was introduced and had the opportunity to talk about this blog as well as my local diet experiment. It turns out quite a few people were interested in what I was doing. As the meeting wrapped up, I had several people immediately approach me with links to other programs around the state, as well as an offer to speak at Texas A&M in April, and an offer to be a special guest on our local community radio station (KEOS 89.1). Wow! Yes to both!

As some of you know, last night was my radio debut. To say I was nervous would be the understatement of the year, but hubby/moral support in tow, we ventured out into the snowy evening last night towards the radio station. The one-hour show, Biased Transmission, was hosted by three individuals (Mike, Martin, and Ann), who immediately made me feel right at home. Once the show was underway, I relaxed and thoroughly enjoyed the time on air.

We talked about the blog, what it means to eat locally, the benefits, the challenges, and just about everything in between. I'm hoping to have a few listeners pop up at Saturday's farmers market since we ended the show with a promise of my being at the market with a big tray of homemade cookies. Hey, what ever brings people out, right?

I have to say, this was one of the most exciting moments of my life, and what I hope to be only the beginning of sharing my love of all things simple-green-frugal in this community. I'm kicking myself that I don't have photos, but it looks like I might be able to post the audio of the program on the blog, so stay tuned.

What's so beautiful about all this is that, at 35, I've finally found something that I can put my whole heart into, something I am truly passionate about, and that my passion is something others both want to hear about and share with me. Surely, this is just the first step on another beautiful adventure. 

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow. Amazing. Congratulations for taking your message out into the community. I can't wait to be at a place where I can become more involved in community, although at the moment I guess I'll concentrate on the blogging community.

Laura said...

Yay for you and connections! I was thinking of you last night and hoping all went well... sounds like it sure did! Hope you can get the audio up here!

Theresa said...

Wow - that is terrific and you are very brave to be talking on the radio like that! I'm glad that you have found a passion that inspires you and brings more compassion into the world at the same time. It just doesn't get any better than that!

Michelle said...

Congratulations, Heather - that is wonderful!

hmd said...

livingmyrichlife - This was a very natural transition, not that I'll be ignoring the blogging community. I've done all the leg work over the last 14 months on how to eat locally and now that I have resources together to help others in the area (and I'm feeling a bit better), it's time to spread the word. It helps that I'm really excited about the message.

fearlesschef - It did. It was so much fun. Hopefully the audio will be up in January. I'm looking forward to hearing it myself :)

Theresa - Actually it wasn't bad at all. I mean, you talk into a mic and everything, but really it was just like having a conversation with 3 other people. Much easier than when I did a talk in April to a room full of people. MUCH easier! Which was great because I was pretty nervous but once we got talking,I felt really good about it.

Michelle - Thanks!

EnviRambo said...

Good for you Heather. I find it exhilarating to make community connections, meet new people, find out what they are up to and share what you are up to. Such a learning experience. You really become empowered and can implement good changes when you get involved in your community. Good luck in all your future endeavors! I look forward to hearing about them.

Sam said...

This is so exciting! Between you, burbanmom and greenbean, I've gotten inspired enough to do something about all the stuff I whine endlessly about.

Media coverage is also very exciting. I'm soo happy for you :)

On my end, I'm meeting up with an top dog at a nonprofit who promotes walking and I've also begun volunteering with a meditation non-profit as their accountant.

Finally I can hope for some change.

hmd said...

greeen sheeep - Thanks so much! I'm sure I'll have many stories before long :)

Beany - good for you! Those both sound like GREAT programs. I really love the one making cities more walkable since I'm quite the walker myself. Are you starting to feel at home there?

Sam said...

I am certainly starting to feel at home here. I am surprised I like it as I wasn't expecting to.

I'm hoping I receive a job offer from one of the three places I've interviewed at so I can hope to meet up with you when you're in CA.

hmd said...

Beany - that would be great!