The CEO and the TSA: An Unlikely Moment of Gratitude

Here at APMG we're used to getting emails like this from our CEO Jon McTaggart. Those of us who've been around a while might even take them for granted. It's just part of the culture. But I'm reminded today that it's one of those things that makes us pretty unique... this culture of gratitude is demonstrated from the top-down, bottom-up, sideways, to-and-from our members, within and even beyond our communities. Read on to see what I mean:The email continues:He said, “I hear you a couple of times a year.”  Could it be that he recognizes my name from my brief “thank you” messages after the MPR on-air Member drives?Then he said two of the nicest things I’ve ever heard from a TSA agent.  “I’m a member,” he said. “Thank you for what you do.”  He was thanking me!  As he waived me through the check point, my heart swelled with pride.  I gave him my best morning smile and said, “Thank you, so much, for listening and for your membership support!”There are nearly a million listeners to Minnesota Public Radio, more than 19 million listeners to our American Public Media programs, and even more when we add our digital and social services and live programs.  This morning’s brief encounter is another proof point that…what we do really matters.I share the heartfelt gratitude of this TSA agent as a proxy for every listener and user whose lives we will touch today.  Thank You for all your great work, today and every day.    more from the Inside APMG Blog

MPR is my friend...

There's something special about working for an organization that inspires this...

Unity, Healing and Gratitude: The Work of Classical MPR's Bridge of Song

There's a culture of gratitude at APMG.It often shows up in the form of an all-staff email from one of our leaders, calling out a team or an individual's great work. While many of us have a love/hate relationship with email, our employees are spread all over the U.S. (and beyond). We work 24/7. We can't always connect in-person, so we use the available tools.Below are two great examples, highlighting Classical MPR's Bridge of Song, an evening of song and reflection after recent violence in the Twin Cities, Dallas, Baton Rouge and other communities. Our work touches many lives... and of course, our own. We are emotionally involved and we hope this translates to the audience.

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All-Staff Email From Dave Kansas, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer on July 15, 2016:  Earlier this week, Brian Newhouse, head of our Classical Music group, saw that Dallas planned to do a community sing July 14 to bring people together as that city tries to come together following the recent shooting of police officers. He immediately imagined that our own community, grappling with the police shooting of Philando Castile, could potentially join up with Dallas and create an event that connected two places and their people at a crucial time. Brian wrote: “Music and beauty are powerful agents of unity. And if enough of us make that so, if enough of us declare that we seek to make the world a better place with the tools at hand... that's what we need now. So...”Following that “So…” Brian and many others across the organization came together to pull off a great event in short order. Similar to how we responded to the untimely passing of Prince, we moved nimbly to provide an important space and moment for our community.All that effort culminated when Classical MPR packed Westminster Presbyterian last night with nearly 1800 people who wanted to join our “Bridge of Song” event. The event provided time in these tumultuous days for our community to rest, grieve, seek hope, and connect through singing. We fed it to Facebook Live as well, and thousands from all over the country and beyond joined in via that feed.All this to get at the essence of the MPR mission:

“…to enrich the mind and nourish the spirit, thereby enhancing the lives and expanding the perspectives of our audiences, and assisting them in strengthening their communities.”

The magic moment in the evening was a literal ‘bridge of song’ in which the Westminster crowd – linked via audio/video – sang the same song of hope with the crowd gathered at the companion event in Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas. If you missed it, it’s all here:  http://www.classicalmpr.org/story/2016/07/15/bridgeofsong-helps-create-community-bonds

Along with thanking Brian, I want to thank and recognize for extraordinary, high-speed work:

• Classical: Vaughn Ormseth, Tesfa Wondemagegnehu
• The entire Operations team, especially Zack Rose, Erik Stromstrad, and Corey Schreppel
• Digital: Brett Baldwin, Luke Taylor, Dan Nass, Nate Ryan
• Marketing and PR: Jen Keavy, Angie Andresen, Jill Weflen; and Creative Services for design work
• Legal and Business Affairs: Christie Healy, Char Arends
• Live Events: Jeff and Ellie, Rose Martin
• Community Engagement: Ka Vang

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All-Staff Email from Randi Yoder, Chief Development Officer on July 15:  It was a remarkable evening, full of beautiful music, harmony and surprise appearances – all made possible because we have deep relationships in the community that give us the opportunity to call on short notice and make wonderful things happen. 

Imagine the joy of singing in concert with an equally engaged group in Dallas.  I was so proud to see Brian, Tesfa, Dessa and others attached to us, at the front of the room.  And the applause for these folks who are highly recognized in our community went on and on. Thank you, team, for making this very special event possible for so many to enjoy and be a part of it.  On the way out I heard someone say: “ these days, we need one of these every day!”