What happened to September?

     I woke up this morning and was shocked to discover two pieces of information: First, it was 22 degrees outside.  Where did that come from?  Second, it is September 20th today.  How did that happen?  I am sure that it was just the first week of August yesterday!  I warned my Board that this was going to be a busy fall, but I wasn't quite ready to lose all sense of space and time.

     Here's what's going on.  In addition to school starting up and our new, 7-days-per-week schedule beginning, Joel's Place has been hosting shows, working on facilities projects, closing programs and opening new seasons of food service...nothing out of the ordinary, just business as usual...and we are planning Ramp It Up.  And I am taking a class.  And I am having a book published.  And the kids have been sick with a nasty virus for a week.  I realized yesterday that over the next week and a half, I have major deadlines for turning in reports and closing out grants or submitting proposals every 3 days.

     Reading over that last paragraph, I realize it comes across as a little bit of a jumble.  Allow me to break it down a little bit.

• I'm taking a class.  The Foraker Group is a state-wide non-profit that is designed to provide resource for other state non-profits to succeed.  One of their opportunities is a Continuing Education Course through the University of Alaska for a Certificate of Non-profit Management.  Over the next two months I will be spending 14 days in Anchorage learning about dozens of different elements in leading a non-profit organization.  Basically I am getting the chance to learn what I am supposed to be doing in my job...which is great because most of this past year has been based off of common sense and instinct.  I am really excited about what we could do when I finally figure out what should be going on.
• I am publishing a book.  A couple of years ago, my wife challenged me to participate in the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) challenge.  30 days to write 50,000 words of fiction.  I agreed because I am a sucker for competition and cranked out a novel that had some promise.  I spent the next 6 months editing it and then another 6 months or so investigating whether anyone wanted to publish it.  Tate Publishing agreed this past spring and my project began the editing process on September 1st.  The next couple months will be filled with deadlines and revisions and creative meetings and marketing training.  It is not a Joel's Place project, but it is something I am really excited about...and I will mark you all down as preordering a copy.
• Ramp It Up is our annual fundraiser.  I wrote an entry about it a couple of weeks ago entitled "Game Changer."  We are making slow progress, but everyone is still really excited.

There is a lot of great stuff going on here.  The building was just weatherized and resided.  There is an A.skate clinic for kids on the autism spectrum this coming weekend.  Kids are playing and skating and eating and laughing and bringing their friends.  I feel blessed to be here and excited to see what comes next...and a little overwhelmed at all the paperwork on my desk.  Blessings on your fall.