Tuesday, March 2, 2004 – When I had my own business, Cargill Creative, in the early ‘90s, I was a very active member of the New England Direct Marketing Association. I enjoyed the camaraderie of the meetings — the deep, lasting friendships that were formed, the vast network that was built — so much so that for ten straight years my attendance was nearly perfect. After my term as president in 1999-2000, however, the NEDMA experience became almost anticlimactic for me, and my participation in association activities slipped precipitously. I’ve still shown up for the annual awards show and conference, but like a fair weather friend who always seems to have something better to do, I’ve only made it to a couple of regular meetings each year. My bad. Tonight, however, it was just like old times. I was one of the diehards, the zealots, the denizens of the direct marketing world. I was one of less than a dozen NEDMA loyalists — along with Mike Quinn, VP of Sales and Marketing at Yellowfin — who were enthusiastic enough to show up at a tavern in Boston called George for a networking party. And even though I was disappointed with the relatively small turnout, chatting it up with old friends like Bob Rotchford rekindled my passion for all things NEDMA and reminded me that I have always done everything I could to make the most of this long, strange trip of a career.
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