Dear Curiosity Journal,
Last night, Rufus, Gaby, and I had the honor of receiving the Historic Preservation and Cultural Development Award for the Driftless Region’s Dia de Muertos Celebration at the Second Annual Vernon County Awards. We gathered with hundreds of other businesses, organizations, and individuals who are doing inspiring work to make our community a beautiful place to live. It was such a treat to hear from our host, Larkin Breckel of the Viroqua Chamber, the keynote speaker, Tripp Hughes of Organic Valley, and all of the other winners who shared a little glimpse of the good being done in Vernon County. We were happy to sit beside our friends and Dia de Muertos collaborators from Jovita’s Kitchen, who won the Emerging Entrepreneurship Excellence Award. It was a wonderful feeling to stand next to our friends and be recognized for our hard work. Throughout the speeches, the thread I followed was an ongoing ripple of recognition for all of the support given to achieve something worthy of community recognition. Tripp quoted in his speech, “None of us is stronger than all of us” and we know this to be true. I was given a word of advice from one of my mentors at Johns Hopkins when Driftless Curiosity was in its inception. She said, “to collaborate is better than to compete” and I have woven this into our mission. When we come together, we amplify our impact and co-create a masterpiece. Another round of applause for all of the winners and another loud MUCHAS GRACIAS to our co-host the Mexican Folk Art Collective and everyone who has supported us! Cheers to doing good together!
~Joy
