Yesterday was an exciting day to wake up to not one, but two front page stories in my now local and childhood local newspapers, respectively!
A couple of weeks ago, Greensboro News & Record's Taft Wireback joined Dr. Shivakumar, Wade and I for an interview in Shivakumar's office.
As we shared the history of our collaboration, it began to feel like one of our actual meetings. Beginning in early 2016, I have met with Shivakumar and Wade to share ideas and updates about our work every six to eight weeks. We generally meet for roughly an hour and fifteen minutes to talk. The last fifteen minutes always feel like the most productive. By the end of our interview, I shared my next steps and the first molds that I plan to create and discussed how they will build on one another.
I found this time frame to be true for all collaboration through my coal ash work. You have to be willing to talk to others on the phone for quite a while. Something always seems to arise in the end.
I was particularly moved by our meeting, because it was Taft's original article about Shivakumar's EcoCore in August 2014 that moved me to contact him in February 2016. I remember reading the article on my phone as part of my daily headline updates. We were well into our organizing at that point. I kept thinking over the next eighteen months that surely something was happening with their research. Finally I sent an email to find out after being prompted by a meditation in my Call Class at Holy Trinity's Servant Leadership program, as described in Lisa Sorg's post.
And the rest is front page news! Above the fold, my dad exclaimed!
We spent the day in Winston getting haircuts and running errands. The article's placement was perfect timing! We ran into old friends so excited to see the news and share it with others. This picture was taken at the local Mt. Tabor Barber Shop!
Resources:
"A North Carolina artist wants to create lilies in a field of coal ash", by Taft Wireback, Greensboro News & Record, December 26th, 2017.
Also Reprinted in:
Winston-Salem Journal
The Roanoke Times
Omaha World-Herald
N.C. A&T RESEARCHERS FIND USE FOR COAL ASH, by Taft Wireback, Greensboro News & Record, JUNE 14, 2014