Country Dance and Song Society
Transitions: A Few Changes at CDSS


New Faces in the CDSS Office

We are happy to introduce you to two new staff members, Sarah Pilzer and Loretta Stober.

Sarah Pilzer

Sarah Pilzer
SARAH PILZER
is now our Sales, Services and Data Specialist. She will work part-time remotely and occasionally in the office. Her key duties will be to manage inquiries and process requests for liability insurance, caller insurance, and nonprofit group exemption. She will also be the primary contact for questions on items in the store - she is the person you call when you want bells, books, bags, and recordings!

Having been a part of the folk community since birth, Sarah enjoys instigating awesomeness as a dancer, singer, and organizer. She has a B.A. in Biology from that hotbed of folk activity, Oberlin College, and a M.A. in Biology from Boston University. Sarah is an especially avid morris/sword dancer and harmony singer, and she can be found cooking delicious food for 160+ people at a time as chef behind the kitchen counter of many a dance event. She is excited to bring her knowledge of data visualization and nonprofit administration to the CDSS.

LORETTA STOBER joins us as Database and Membership Assistant. She supports our members with their membership needs and supports the office by managing our database. She generally is the first voice you hear on the phone when you call during work hours and she's the first person you see when you walk into the office. Loretta also works as an EMT in Huntington, MA and is studying to be a paramedic at the National Medical Education and Training Center. In her free time, she enjoys walking, gardening and boating. She is happy to join the CDSS team.

Like their respective predecessors, Sarah and Loretta already have become essential to CDSS's work and they are wonderful to work with. We're delighted they've joined us. Welcome, Sarah and Loretta!


New Shipping Schedule

Mail orders, donations, and memberships are processed each work day, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am to 4:30 pm. Books, recordings, etc., will be shipped from our store twice-weekly only, on Tuesdays and Thursdays.


With Gratitude...

ROWENA ROODMAN

We want to thank former office and store assistant, Rowena Roodman, for coming out of retirement to help in the store recently. Rowena's been busy receiving orders, processing them, and shipping them out to you. We are immensely grateful to her for her time, knowledge, and calm presence during this transition period.


Christine Dadmun

Christine Dadmun
CHRISTINE DADMUN

by Robin Hayden, CDSS Director of Development

We're losing Christine Dadmun this week, but for a happy reason - she's accepted another job in the area. And while we celebrate with her as she embarks on new adventures, we can't help singing a mournful song in unison: Oh nooooo! What will we do without you?!

Christine came to us in January of 2013 as Membership and Database Administrator. The position was created in anticipation of the increased work load of others in the office, and in hopes of more smoothly running operations in the lead up to the Centennial. In particular, we knew that we needed help in the Development Department - someone to take many administrative tasks off of my desk, freeing me to concentrate on the major fundraising of the Centennial campaign. Teeny's effectiveness, high standards, and calm efficiency were immediately apparent, and she became indispensable.

She improved systems, added services and value to membership, and made the smooth running of the office almost invisible to you and to us. We could not have managed the work of the Centennial without her - she took the lead on the Passport to Joy, mailed out 1,000 lapel pins to Spread the Joy donors, ushered in hundreds of new and reinstating members, kept our multiple databases current and in sync with each other, and laid the groundwork for the upcoming print edition of the Members Directory. When the Directory arrives in your hands in a few weeks, it's Teeny you have to thank for tackling that project and seeing it through.

It would be impossible to overstate how much we will miss her-the superb management we have come to rely on, her sense of fun, her down-to-earth practicality, her unfailing generosity, and the good heart with which she took care of us all. And, truth be told, she is leaving us in such good shape that we will be able to sail forward without her - and that is truly a remarkable gift.

Thanks for everything, Teeny!  All the best to you from the bottom of our hearts.


A Tribute to Jeff Martell (1965-2016)
by Rima Dael, CDSS Executive Director
Jeff Martell

Jeff Martell

We had the pleasure of working with Jeff Martell, CDSS Sales and Service Manager, since 2008. We miss him, not only as co-workers, but as friends.

We miss his helpfulness and his many acts of kindness. We miss Jeff, not only as a colleague, but as a truly delightful person. There's no surer way of finding out someone's real personality than by working with him eight hours a day. We miss his cheery "Hello," his conversation on the phone with customers, his lunch bag in the refrigerator, his singing in our mailroom when he sent out packages and when he counted bells. Jeff's death has left a void in our lives because he filled a special place in our hearts. He loved to talk to people, to have a laugh and a bit of fun. He was a wonderful person to have around the office. We are sad that we no longer see his smiling face during the work week. I especially miss seeing the top of his head pop out over the cubicle when I walk into the office. We miss him in a thousand small ways.

Now we celebrate his life. When I say celebrate, I mean it, because Jeff's life was a cause for celebration. He was one of the people who made others happier and such people are valuable and treasured. We miss you, Jeff, but when there is a guffaw of laughter somewhere or when somebody tells a funny story we will think of you, and know that, somewhere, you are laughing too. Laughter is, of course, one of the most precious gifts we give to each other, and we like to think that somewhere the angels are smiling and laughing hysterically because you are with them.

Laugh and smile like Jeff, enjoy life, enjoy music and song as he did. Thank you, Jeff, for spreading your laughter, music, and joy! May you rest in love, light, music, laughter, and peace.

P.S. Thank you to our friends and members for your kind notes and calls about Jeff this last month. They've helped us get through a difficult time.


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