A New Day Dawns (September-November 2010)

When we last left our hero, he was full of White Castle sliders on plane having just enjoyed a fun night with his family. I rendezvoused in Houston with Art and Dick, two of our Shoulder to Shoulder muckity mucks who were headed down to do some assessment and re-organization. Shoulder to Shoulder has been growing at an incredible rate for the last few years, and these past few months have been no exception. Our recently hired national director was given the boot a week prior to their visit, so one of their tasks was to figure out how to keep things running without a big bossman. They had a whole host of other tasks as well. I'd say it was a pivotal point for StoS, but personally I feel like we've been at a pivotal point since I've been here and I don't see it ending soon. Ideas arise, new policies are developed and implemented, but the feeling of crisis mode does not often leave us. I do truly believe that the crisis mode is one of the things that keeps this job so exciting.

It was truly inspiring to watch Art and Dick hammer away at their to-do lists. They are up before dawn running around in head-lamps until late at night holding meetings as their eyes get heavy. For a couple of guys in their 50s and 60s they certainly are a fine example of what life can be like if you take care of yourself when you're younger. All Dick needs is a cup of coffee now and then and he's good to go, Art will settle for some pancakes and a glass of water. Their 2-week visit marked the beginning of a new day, at least for me it feels like. My job is constantly changing, people coming under my supervision and leaving it...this entire organization has been one big experiment since its inception. Trying to piece it all together taking into account an seemingly infinite number of factors, Art and Dick are on a mission to make it work. For all of their time and effort, they are without a doubt a pleasure to be around. They've both got great stories and great life experiences that make you just want to be around them just to catch a tidbit here or a nugget there about any number of things ranging from oral surgery to cave diving. By the time they left, I myself was waking up at 4:30 to start working. I've since managed to sleep in a little longer, but not by much.

They left us with a leadership team made up of 8 people, those of us who have been here the longest and who are most involved with different parts of the organization. The team will handle issues together, supporting one-another through whatever problems we might be having. Weekly meetings are a must, despite the hurdles of having people in 2 different sites an hour away from one-another and none of us with a ton of free time.

So far things are humming along fairly well. There are certainly plenty of areas we need to work on but personally I feel like I have hit my stride. I have enough time here for people to know me well and work well alongside me. I know enough about where the org was before I got here, what it's been through since I've been here and where we want it to go to feel pretty confident we are moving in the right direction.

The biggest change around here lately has been the huge influx of gringos in the past few months. In August we had 6 new volunteers arrive, in September we had 1 more and October saw the arrival of a new employee. Count them up, that's 8 new people to work with as well as live with...not to mention the fact that they are all female. Our living/working situation has never really been ideal or really healthy. And while each and every one of them are great people in their own right and all are here to work hard and help out, it certainly can make for a trying social dynamic at times. You start to realize why people around here tend to be territorial about their stuff and why others may not want to hang out all the time. Nothing here is our own, not even our personal space. It can ben challenging but it can also be fantastic. It is a great support network, especially for all of them who have arrived around the same time. And there is certainly plenty of work to be done that they are supporting with.

Shoulder to Shoulder never ceases to frustrate or amaze me. There are certainly those days where you feel like the world is collapsing and that there is no way out. But there are other days where I am truly inspired to work my ass off to make this thing work. And of course there is everything in between.