Happy holidays from CreativeFuture HQ, where our growing family of copyright defenders had another exciting year!
From legislation victories such as the CASE Act to lashing out at anti-copyright crusaders in all their forms, 2019 was packed with memorable moments. But of all the battles we waged, achievements we enjoyed, and accolades or insults we received, there was one occurrence that stood out from all the rest – a momentous occasion that was unequivocally the year’s most important, inspirational, and groundbreaking event…
…Our SVP of External Affairs & Public Policy, Brett Williams, got a new pug puppy.
He says her name is Frances, but we respectfully disagree. Her name is Pugsley. I mean, look at her, and try to tell us otherwise. That is a Pugsley, through and through (sorry Brett).
In 2019, Brett continued building goodwill with businesses, government, and stakeholders through the promotion of creative careers and positive industry messaging. He also didn’t have to give a single employee the Heimlich Maneuver (unlike last year), which we feel is only the beginning of a very positive trend!
Potential catastrophes make us think of the second-most important thing to happen in 2019: Those who remember our holiday letter from last year will remember that our Director of Operations, Laura Paige, wrapped up 2018 with a big promotion to Floor Warden, making her fully responsible for our safety in the event of a fire emergency. Well, now you can add earthquake prep to her arsenal of disaster preparedness, along with yet another spiffy new title: Floor Staff Sergeant-General. WOW! How high can she go, folks?
Barely edged out by puppies and earthquake kits on our list of top 2019 highlights, comes the glorious, lifelong bliss of holy matrimony. That’s right, the third-best happening of CreativeFuture’s past year was when our Creative Community Outreach Coordinator, Rich Monahan, tied the knot. Congrats to Rich, whom marriage has only made funnier and more charming! (For now…)
Speaking of charming, we’re starting to think our Social Media Marketing Strategist, Jason Thomas, has a charmed life. He’s tall, dashing, and seems able to subsist on a vegan diet of little more than sweet potatoes and green tea. Meanwhile, we’re over here stuffing our faces with miniature Snickers and washing it down with grilled cheese sandwiches. Your healthy, sustainable lifestyle might be making us look bad, Jason, but we give you No.4 on this list for sticking to it!
While we’re on the topic of sustainability, our Senior Writer Justin Sanders did just about the least sustainable thing he could do in 2019 – he helped make a human! But his baby daughter, Neve Josephine, is so cute, she kind of makes you forget about overpopulation and the earthly ravages of humankind. We’re telling you, she’s the cutest! She’s cuter than all the other babies. She’s cuter than pugs, BRETT, and she should have been No.1 in this letter! But “Nooooo,” our editor said. “It’s not a good look because you’re writing the newsletter, Justin. Put her somewhere in the middle, like at No.5, for fairness’ sake.” Well you know what you can do, CESAR? You can take your “fairness” and— (Ed: Sorry, folks. Moving on.)
Clocking in at No.6… we made two awesome hires in 2019 – JC Taylor, our External Affairs & Public Policy Associate, and Kristy Richman, our new Social Media Associate. The latest member of our male “tall drink of water” contingent, JC has shown a delightful propensity for … doing a little bit of everything! He also does a very good job of drinking his coffee from environmentally friendly commuter mugs. As for Kristy, she started three weeks ago and has not left yet. All praise Kristy!
Next on the list, Adam Krentzman, our inscrutable Community Outreach Consultant, had another fine year of making cryptic phone calls while gazing stoically out his corner office window, and every now and then creeping into our staff meeting like a silent assassin only to disappear again moments later. He also continued getting some of the creative industry’s biggest names involved with our coalition and reinvigorated our amazing “Thank You” spot campaign, among many other things. He’s a master mover and shaker, but we like to think of him as an international man of mystery – it’s more fun that way!
Then there’s our SVP of Communications, Cesar Fishman, whose quick wit and even quicker ability to jam out a board email was matched only by the quantity of weird car issues he experienced in 2019. Cesar handled all of it, along with a myriad of other daily emergencies that come with crafting the messaging of a nonprofit fighting against creativity’s most notorious enemies. We’ll stick his overall performance here at the completely arbitrary position of No.8 for no other reason than it rhymes with “great”!
Speaking of great, let’s wrap this letter up with the greatest of them all: our amazing CEO Ruth Vitale, who we love almost as much as she loves animals. When she wasn’t continuing her quest to strike down the foes of copyright and creativity in 2019, Ruth was traipsing up and down the peaks of the Angeles National Forest, her pet wolves by her side. If it weren’t for piracy, she would have moved to the wilderness with those beloved canines long ago, whence to roam the woods evermore, hunting together for their daily repast. Alas, until internet platforms like Google and Facebook are held accountable for the massive digital theft they enable (among other things), she will have to stay right here in the city, feasting on the flesh and blood of pirates.
We hope your holiday feast, be it for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, or beyond, is just as tasty. We’ve had another great year of mobilizing and empowering people to stand up for creative livelihoods, and we couldn’t have done it without YOU. Have a great rest of the year, and we’ll see you in 2020!
