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| Path: Main Street : NewsWeek : Archive : Coffee with Cam Articles : Article |
This is an archive of CharityVillage NewsWeek.
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Thank you. And farewell.
By Cam Tait
February 12, 2007
Every Thursday evening I go through my music library and find a song to play that ties into what I'm writing about for CharityVillage. So I've scrolled through the list and a few could have been easy: What's Going On by Marvin Gaye; What Becomes of the Broken Hearted; and Elton John's Sorry Seems To Be the Hardest Word. But at another glance, I clicked on The End of August, a beautiful piano piece by Yanni. It's a song I have played over and over again when my heart aches, but a tune I know will inspire me to new and brighter things.
After 245 cups of coffee since September 4, 2001, this, friends, is our last one together. For some time now, I have felt I have been off the mark with the column. A large part of that has to do with my decision three years ago to chase my childhood dream of being a sportswriter. My superiors at the Edmonton Journal accommodated my request. But that meant leaving my previous position, which I held for 19 years. I covered the charity scene in Edmonton from 1985 to 2004 and was privileged to write about incredible people, with incredible challenges, doing new, incredible things - all thanks to incredible organizations and incredible volunteers. It was incredible.
I thought since all this good stuff was happening in Edmonton, there must be tons of things going on throughout Canada. So, in 1999, I called CharityVillage and spoke to Maggie Leithead. I pitched an idea of a column every Monday to discuss the goings on in the nonprofit sector; but more importantly, a column to encourage - and okay, inspire - staff members and volunteers.
The memories are priceless: the incredible response we got from suggesting a need for a Mother's Day brunch for single mothers; going to Pine Lake in 2000, days after a tornado ripped through the Green Acres Trailer Park, and meeting Kathleen Miller-Letendre, a volunteer who was 'just trying to help those in need'; calling Maggie on the evening of September 11, just hours after the unthinkable happened, and asking if I could write that evening to reassure people - perhaps even myself - that we would be okay; having the pleasure of writing about my family: my grandson's first Thanksgiving, the last time my mother drove her car, and my unbelievable trip to Philadelphia where I went for treatment when I was a child, and then visiting Ground Zero.
But we weren't always sending goose bumps, flowers and cards. We asked some tough questions - like the social implications of bingos, the need for Philanthropy Day, whether the United Way needs a bigger umbrella, and taking the federal government to task on why the charitable sector was never, ever an agenda item.
It was always you, the readers, who fuelled this column. Some of you were very kind with your e-mails, while others told me I needed to wake up and smell the coffee. You inspired me. You drove me. You kept this thing going,
When I started covering sports - a lifelong dream - I still wanted to be there every Monday morning on Charity Village. I wanted to keep encouraging, keep cheering, and keep telling my readers to keep on keeping on. Yet, because I wasn't involved in the day-to-day operations of the sector, I was finding it increasingly harder to keep the column fresh, vibrant and on the edge.
When we gathered for our CharityVillage Christmas lunch, I spoke to Maggie and editor Nicole Zummach about the challenge I was having. And, admittedly, every column does run its course and maybe we were running out of coffee. I didn't want to quit, but I thought maybe I had written everything I could have, from every possible angle. We decided we would give it one more month: January.
I gave it all I had. I tried to research more, be in touch more and get a feel for the pulse out there. I felt a new challenge and wanted another chance to be a voice, a cheerleader...a columnist. I was informed last week that the columns weren't working and it was time to end it. It wasn't my choice.
There are many people to thank: Maggie, Nicole, Doug Jamieson, and most of all, you - the readers. You shared your stories, your thoughts, and your encouragement. I'm going to ask to keep my e-mail account for a few more weeks.
So although we're unplugging the old coffeemaker, and I won't be with you on this page on Monday mornings, you will be somewhere perhaps more important: in my heart.
Cam Tait is a sports reporter for the Edmonton Journal. He covered charitable issues for almost 20 years. Thoughts, comments, ideas or a simple hello are welcomed at cam@charityvillage.com.
Opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of CharityVillage.com®.
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