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From the Desk of the C.E.O.
Every Monday at Old Mill Road Media, we hold a team meeting. At last week’s meeting, someone suggested that I share an Old Mill Road “Top Ten List” for 2021. As I reviewed the year’s highlights, 2 themes emerged: “Organizational Collaborations” & “Teamwork”. While these are hopefully not unique to 2021, they certainly made 2021 a happier and more successful year for all of us. Without further ado, this year’s “Top Ten List”... in no particular order:
1. WE LAUNCHED 2 WEEKLY RADIO SHOWS ON WEQX 102.7. Hosted by Benjamin Lerner and sponsored by The Collaborative, CLEAN Jams is on every Thursday night at 11PM. Hosted by TONY AWARD® WINNER Christian Hoff and sponsored by TÖST Beverages, Jazz ‘n TÖST brings you some great tunes from 7AM to 9AM every Sunday morning.
2. WE GREW OUR DISTRIBUTION. Did you know that VERMONT Magazine and Berkshire Magazine are national titles, carried by both Barnes and Noble and Books-A-Million across the country? In addition, Old Mill Road Recording now has its music distributed internationally via Amplified.
3. WE MADE GREAT MUSIC. In July 2021, we released TONY® & EMMY® AWARD WINNER Lillias White’s first solo studio album, GET YOURSELF SOME HAPPY! Listen at LilliasWhite.com
4. WE CELEBRATED THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. Co-hosted by Norman Rockwell Museum and Berkshire International Film Festival and sponsored by Berkshire Bank, the evening included an outdoor screening of the film and a Q&A with leading lady, Karen Allen. Not only did the event raise a lot of money for 2 worthy non-profit organizations, but hearing Karen describe the experience of being thrown barefoot in a snake pit with 6,000 venomous snakes was alone worth the price of admission.
5. WE HELD A BOOK SIGNING AT THE BOOKLOFT FOR MAKE IT NICE. We’ve met a lot of celebrities, but perhaps none of them love their fans more than Dorinda Medley. The Berkshire native was more than nice. She was charming, funny, and genuinely appreciative of her fans.
6. WE EXPANDED OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE MANCHESTER BUSINESS ASSOCIATION, and we are thrilled to see Manchester thriving! We built a new partnership with Saratoga Living & Capital Region Living Magazines (which included a feature on Manchester, VT!), and we increased our connectivity with the Southwestern Vermont Chamber of Commerce and 1Berkshire.
7. BENJAMIN LERNER CELEBRATED HIS 5TH YEAR OF SOBRIETY. By sharing his story every week in his CLEAN column in the Vermont News Guide, Benjamin has created a platform for others to share their stories and struggles without stigma. This week, he reaches a major milestone: 100 columns. Recognizing his ability to articulate the struggles of addiction and sobriety, Seven Days started syndicating Benjamin’s column on their digital platform earlier this year.
8. OLD MILL ROAD RECORDING was featured by Sweetwater Music in their SweetNotes Newsletter, and John Gray’s TV News Story about the studio was nominated for an EMMY® Award!
9. VERMONT MAGAZINE HOSTED “THE VERMONT WRITERS’ PRIZE” (sponsored by Green Mountain Power) and Berkshire Magazine held the “Create 4 Freedom Contest” (co-sponsored by Norman Rockwell Museum and Arcadia Publishing/The History Press). Berkshire Magazine also named – for the 8th year – THE BERKSHIRE 25. Nothing is more thrilling than acknowledging the great community work being done by our friends and neighbors.
10. AND SPEAKING OF “FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS”… None of “The Top Ten” could have been accomplished without the amazing team at Old Mill Road. The highlight of MY year was working with the Old Mill Road Team (in alphabetical order): Anastasia, Andy, Angie, Ben, Benjamin, Brandon, Cam, Carrie, Christian, Christina, Cody, Craig, Donna, Jack, Jen, Jennifer, Joe, Katelyn, Kim, and Len.
