I have now been retired for almost three weeks; and while I am still in the process of discovering what that will mean, I am committed to continuing my blog. From here on, the blog is mine and has no relationship—official or unofficial—with Kendall. I will blog about whatever interests me. In the coming weeks, those interests will include a good friend—Ozzie Zehner—whose book on sustainability is creating a most-excellent stir.
I also plan to blog about another friend—Sue Caulfield—whose art fascinates and intrigues me.
And my great interest since childhood—music—will also appear here, especially since Kalamazoo—where I have lived for thirty years—hosts two major musical events: The Gilmore Keyboard Festival and The Stulberg International String Competition.
And just to keep in touch with higher education, I am searching for a MOOC. If you know of one you think is interesting, let me know. Perhaps we can take it together.
Finally, I do plan to continue to blog about Kendall alumni, and so I hope that people will keep in touch. Let me know what you are up to; and I will try to work it into this ongoing series of observations. You can keep in touch through my Twitter, Facebook, or via email oliver@oliverhevans.com.
I do want to say a word of appreciation to a person who has worked with me on many projects, most recently being the videos related to ArtPrize: George Bradshaw. I met George and his wife Carey in NYC when they were considering moving to Grand Rapids; and I hoped from that first meeting that George and I would be able to end up collaborating as colleagues on one project or another.
To me, George is a creative visionary who has benefited me with his nearly two decades of creative experience, both as a creative director and as a filmmaker. George’s extensive experience includes time with Disney and GEM Group (global experiential marketing), where he directed marketing communications for four Olympic campaigns on NBC Universal, culminating in the 2008 Beijing Games as the most-watched U.S. TV event of all time with 211 million viewers.
George is one of those people who—if I did not know him—would intimidate me with the extraordinary range of his experience. What I have found him to be is a person who brings that experience to bear on projects and who allows someone to collaborate with him, to work together to achieve some common goal. And one that both he and I enjoyed working on very much was the series of ArtPrize videos. And one thing he has certainly worked with me to understand is social media, as witness his profile on LinkedIn, his Portfolio, and your can follow him on Twitter, friend him on Facebook, and check him out on Vimeo. And check out his film company, as well as the short film posted on the Public Museum's Facebook page. I encourage people to “Like/Share” them all and then to stay connected with George as a friend/fan. Candidly, I am a friend and a fan of George.
So, I end this “invitation” with words from the Persian poet, Rumi—“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right doing, there is a field: I’ll meet you there.