Winter Into Spring
Between March 2 and April 3 of this year, I found myself on a four-week marathon
run, singing in Dothan, AL, Honolulu, Puerto Rico, Ohio, Washington, D.C., Broken
Bow, NE, Anaheim, CA, back to Ohio and last in Scranton, PA.
It's a strange thing to know that while one has been jetting around the country,
not being certain of time zone or climate, winter has changed to spring. Oh,
there may well be some bad days, but by and large the snows are gone, and spring
is showing its face everywhere.
I sometimes feel that I have missed something by not being in one place long
enough to settle down and watch those slow changes occur.
On the other hand, there are compensations. I loved all my work in that long
month, but perhaps my favorite experience was singing for the American Payroll
Association. This is my second year to be their resident musician.
Nineteen years ago, a man named Dan Maddux got a vision, recognizing that
people who do payroll are often stuck in a back office somewhere without the
glamour, glory, glitz, glitter or financial remuneration of other folk in the
company. He was also aware that payroll people needed training but not only
training in doing their jobs. They needed the experience of being affirmed and
being recognized for the important work they did.
This vision was what formed the American Payroll Association. You tell people
they are important; you show them they are important; you train them to do their
best work; you give them a glorious convention with the best entertainment,
in the best hotels; and, sure enough, what happens? People begin to feel important.
I suppose I am inclined to see gospel everywhere, and I see a bit of gospel
here. Jesus says to a motley collection of followers, "You are the light of
the world. You are the salt of the earth. You are a city set on a hill."
How must it feel to be called "the light of the world", and is that a little
bit like being a payroll worker who finds him or herself being called a professional,
someone important, and being invited to a glorious gathering with the best speakers,
entertainers, food and parties?
Thank you, Dan Maddux, for being a man of vision. Thank you, American Payroll
Association, for making my month-long trip a delight, and thank you for moments
of seeing new possibilities.
KPM/April, 2001
