From the Podium...
Hello from New Orleans!
At the 2nd anniversary of hurricane Katrina's unwelcome arrival, i'm extremely happy to report that big changes are happening for the SSF. We are about to become the newest client of Hess Marketing, a very well-established and highly-regarded firm run by Eric Hess, a long-time New Orleanian. In addition to their commercial clients, they have a deep history of helping non-profit organizations, and are excited about representing The SSF and helping it become more known, respected, and successful. Plans include recruiting a high-powered board of well-known and connected movers and shakers, holding a star-studded fundraiser, raising our visibility and effectiveness in New Orleans, and further improving our internet presence. It's a big step, and we're eager to take it and move to a new level in our growth.
But it is with great regret that i must also announce the departure of Sharon Ober, our volunteer office manager and executive assistant extraordinaire. Since January, she has done a truly amazing job of organizing and running the office, writing grants, generating income, improving the website, creating more presence on the web, and trying to keep me on task(perhaps her greatest achievement!). She has literally lived in the office and put in countless hours of selfless dedication just for room and board, and has been absolutely indispensable and instrumental in the success of the SSF so far. We've known that she'd be moving on for some time, and it was through both her efforts to find a replacement and Divine Providence that just as she's leaving we have connected with Hess Marketing. I feel incredibly blessed to have had her thoroughly invaluable assistance, and to be able to look forward to the future despite her departure. We know that she will be a blessing to whomever she works with and for, and wish her all the best in her future endeavors. Good luck and Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, Sharon!
Our "Music To The People!" Free Summer Music Camp was a resounding success, staring with 5 students in June and ending with 23 in August. Funded by a grant from The Greater New Orleans Aftershool Partnership, with corporate support from Southern Scrap Materials and other local businesses, we taught the kids music theory, played drums and sang together, gave lessons on piano, guitar, clarinet, saxophone, and trumpet, allowed them ample free time to make friends and play games, and put on a talent show every Friday for their parents and the community. I'm happiest to report that many of the parents told me that "all they talk about at home is how much fun they had at Mister Pete's camp!" Mr. Robert Thomas, a 22-year old college student and future band director, was my right hand man, and i couldn't have done it without 'Mr. Bobby,' who was absolutely wonderful with the kids. He just became a proud papa for the first time, and i'm really looking forward to meeting Harmoni Thomas, and watching her grow. Since i don't have any grandchildren yet, i may have to practice on Harmoni, and see how much i can spoil her!...
We have just received a grant from the GPOA Foundation to give private lessons to the students at Frederick A. Douglass High School before and after school, and are awaiting funding from a grant from The Arts Council of New Orleans for the same purpose. We have also been awarded a grant from Louisiana Decentralized Funding to attend a conference in Portland, OR, in April about non-profit funding strategies. Since my daughter lives in Portland and my mother and brother live in Ashland, OR, i'm especially happy to have gotten that one, so i can combine a family visit with the business trip!
Two new projects are in the planning/preparation stages now-
a school for basic piano repair and tuning, and the opening of The First United Temple Of Harmony. We've collected 35 donated pianos that need repair, and want to use them as project pianos to teach musicians basic repair and tuning skills, so they can add more salable skills to their resumes, give new life and homes to unwanted pianos, and increase the general level of tuning, especially among pianos that might not otherwise see a tuner. The pianos are being housed in a flooded school building that still has no electricity, so the hope is to open the school in the better weather of October, and have them repaired and sold or donated before the chill of winter. We're hoping that grant money can be found to pay me, so that the school is free to the students, and can generate income through sales of the refurbished pianos, with a tax deduction for the donors. We're always looking for the win-win-win solution...
I am personally most excited about the opening of The Temple. We're aiming at having the first service on the first Sunday of October, also because of the expectation of good weather. As luck would have it, that coincides with a visit from our friends and fellow musicians Bill Hudson and Al Coffey of The Feel-Good Tour (http://feelgoodtour.blogspot.com/) from Virginia, and Rich Baumann of The Million Closets Project(http://www.millionclosets.org/) from Wisconsin, who are scheduled to be here on another trip bringing donated musical instruments to distribute to schools in need. Our windowless cinder-block building with the corrugated metal roof is just a bit like a sauna these days, but the eight skylights give a nice natural light, and once the temperatures are right we're anticipating upwards of a couple hundred people here dancing, singing, playing, praying, crying, laughing, and learning about Harmony, and experiencing Music with a spiritual intention in a family setting of inclusion and acceptance. I can't wait to put together the band and choir, with pictures of Bach and Louis Armstrong behind the pulpit...
It was on Labor Day of 2005 that i decided to go to New Orleans to help in the rebuilding effort, and began the SSF in order to fund the trip. It has been an incredible 2 years since that day, and it is my deepest belief that the good luck and progress that the SSF has enjoyed comes directly from Above, and i am just the lucky one who gets to put one foot in front of the other, keep breathing, stay Open to Divine Guidance, and live this adventure during the rest of my limited engagement here on Mother Earth. I further believe that every mention of Steven's name is a Prayer of Gratitude for the Gift that was His Life, and a Prayer of Hope that for the rest of My Life i can Honor his Memory through Being of Service in Helping to Create Ever-Greater Harmony and Healing.
Yours in Peace, Love, and Harmony,
peter