“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” — Galatians 6:9 ESV HRM Award Acceptance Speech: I went to a wedding this morning and when I asked my friend to give me a few words on what it took to get him where he stood, one of them was exactly what I told Masha I’d be using for my speech so I knew it was a confirmation that I should pass it along. To my beloved Junior Docents and their seniors. To the faithful museum staff and their supporters, near and far and to all of you here today and everyone everywhere who’ll catch wind of what we’re up to tonight — here’s my word for you. Perseverance: continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition. Notice that it says “continued effort” which lets me know that difficulties, failures and opposition WILL return, that there WILL be more work to do and maybe most importantly it’s letting me know that I’ve got to have the WILL to continue to stay in the fight until I’m on the other side. I just want to thank the Hudson River Museum for staying in the fight and I want to thank you all for bringing me into the family so that I could stand in the fight with you. I want to thank you for seeing me and for being a champion of my work so that new audiences would see me. I thank you for trusting me to try and lead our future leaders: the Junior Docent and the Enrico Fermi Elementary School students. And to Masha, Laura, Saralinda and Viri thank you for being the wind beneath my wings of perseverance.