June: What A Month!

As most of you know, our previous 10 Junes were filled with endless days of managing artists, patrons, and concert logistics, so we’re accustomed to some long and intense days during the peak of summer. This June didn’t require as many fancy clothes, we consumed far less salmon dip and wine, there were definitely fewer details and people to manage, and I certainly missed the beautiful music and camaraderie of the Sitka Music Festival. But this June was it’s own kind of roller coaster, filled with the heady awesomeness of a new job, the entertaining minor dramas of staff in a busy small town bar/restaurant, fun dinner parties with Jim & Tammy’s friends, the slow and deliberate progress on our camper project, and the heartbreaking news of a dear loved one embarking on a long journey with cancer.

I’m really excited about my new job at On-Ramps! Most of June was spent in a fairly intense training session with a cohort of 6 new staff, all of us learning the organizational systems and the tasks we’ll do to support the hiring processes of executive level staff at some of the most exciting non-profits and mission-driven organizations in the country. The learning curve is kind of steep and my brain has been tired, but I feel like it’s all going to click into place quickly. I’ve already been assigned to my first search! We’re working with an amazing national nonprofit that’s dedicated to helping underserved youth learn entrepreneurial skills. Our job is to help them find a new regional executive director for their New York programs. My role is to help draft the job announcement and search materials, manage the applications, review resumes, conduct first round interviews, and track the candidates as they move through the process (which includes at least 3 more interviews and a “thought exercise” – usually a written component that demonstrates their skills with direct relevance to the position).

In the meantime, I’m also still bartending at the Deltaville Tar & Raw Bar, and I have an awesome new co-bartender!

That’s right! Matthew now joins me behind the bar for these crazy weekend shifts! We’re having fun with it, and the customers seem to enjoy our shenanigans. We’re trying to keep the bar section of the restaurant stable as other drama unfolds around us – notably, we’ve gone through two assistant managers in the 3 months that I’ve worked there, both of whom quit on the spot and caused a bit of chaos in their wake. (Plus, the boyfriend of the most recent assistant manager was our head cook and he quit last weekend, also!) In the aftermath of those two quitting last weekend, we were short-staffed (especially in the kitchen) which made things kind of stressful, and the 4th of July weekend promises to be insane. But ultimately I think the changeover is a good thing – all the folks who’ve left were part of an old regime and not always seeing eye-to-eye with the new general manager, but now the general manager can start fresh with the staff that he chooses. We’re trying to support him by training new bartenders and creating some systems for taking inventory.

On another note, our hearts have become heavy with concern since my family received some extremely disappointing news last week: my dear sister Iris (who Matthew and I spent 6 months with in Michigan last fall/winter) was diagnosed with stage 4 endometrial cancer. She began an 18-week chemo cycle yesterday. My brother (Kevin), other sister (Ione), our dad, me, and our spouses are teaming up with Iris’ local community of friends to provide a strong circle of support around her. Ione is currently in Michigan with Iris; my sister-in-law Kristi is heading there next week, and I expect that I/we will be spending some time there this summer/fall. If you’re interested in following along with this story, we set up a Caring Bridge site for Iris: https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/irisboettcher

There’s been a bit more progress on the camper, but mostly we’re still waiting for our welder to get around to our project. I think Matthew is planning on sharing an update with you soon, so stay tuned. Although we’re eager to get moving and see more of the country, we’re also having a nice time in Virginia and very grateful to spend summer in this beautiful place. Here are some photos of fun times from the last few weeks.