The picture atop this blog is the view from my desk at Mission Inc. Go ahead, blink twice; you’re seeing just what it appears to be — an oversized, dirty, sweat sock. It’s a work by local artist Brent Whitney. (More on that in a bit.)
I updated the Facebook community on Monday that I was embarking on a new endeavor as Director of Communications at Mission Inc.
It’s a great feeling to have been wished well and congratulated by so many people. My sincerest thanks!
At the same time, some folks commented with questions:
“What or who is Mission Inc.?”
“Where is it? Is it a catering company?”
“Details!?!”
Having spent the majority of my career asking the questions – first as a newspaper journalist and then a bureau chief for WAMC – a local NPR affiliate – it’s odd answering questions. I’ll also admit up until this point I have balked at the concept of blogging. It seemed to me the equivalent of offering up my diary for the world to read.
By the way, “the world” herein is defined as the handful of people I intend to bribe to follow this blog.
Anyway, I used to keep my diary locked and tucked between my mattress and box spring. (I’ve since relocated it. And no, I’m not telling you to where.)
Given my highly guarded nature, why the heck would I willingly disclose my innermost, deep, meaningful and top-secret thoughts to the masses?
Completely absurd!
And yet here I am, two days on the job, willingly – yup WILLINGLY – blogging.
Those disclosures made, I believe I can commence:
I’m writing from high atop what we like to call The Tower of Minc, formally known as the Greystone Building – 6 Maplewood Avenue, Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Suite 46.
Mission Inc. – Minc - is a working title for four businesses. And in my humble opinion they are really cool business. But the reason I signed on to this gig was the creative team attached to those businesses.
It began just over a year ago with Mission Bar and Tapas. Incidentally, the tapas part of the name occasionally prompts scuttlebutt about a “topless” bar on North Street. Let me dispel that rumor by saying our bar most certainly has a top.
Now then, owner Jim Benson’s hip nightspot – one of just a handful of places in the Berkshires that serves food until midnight - has quickly become home-away-from-home for a number of up-and-coming musicians.
Enter designer extraordinaire Jocelyn “Jay” Hallstein. She created a logo for Mission followed by hand silk-screened t-shirts. And before she knew it she was heading up Minc House Designs.
Next, lemme tell you about Jazu Stine. The former Mission Bar and Topless, er, I mean Tapas chef is hard at work on The Market. The Market is a soon-to-be open corner store that will specialize in high quality food and convenience goods that won’t break the bank.
And then there is the WordXWord Festival, which is Jim’s brainchild and the result of the summer’s hottest roof party. Seriously. It was 90-plus degrees the day the festival opened and we danced and made merry on the top of the Greystone building ushering in a week of events in August devoted to words written, spoken and sung.
The festival is how I first came into the picture, as Jim asked me to program the theater portion.
That’s our story – seriously over-simplified – but it’s merely an introduction.
There are a few more folks on our team. I’m eager to tell you about them and more from here on out.
In the meantime, back to the view from my desk. Let’s talk about that glorious sweat sock, shall we? Sure, it looks stinky, however, this joint — Mission Inc. is anything but.
- Dir Com
a.k.a Carrie Saldo
