about me
What can you really say about yourself without sounding like you are boasting or removing the complete veil of mystique?
Well, up until February of 2003, my life was just run of the mill. I went to my job and worked with computer applications. I was the bread winner since Gary, my husband the nurse, stayed home to take care of my 90+ year old parents full time. My mom has Alzheimer’s (since 1989) and my dad has dementia. (I would like publicly to say that my husband deserves to be made a saint, even before he dies!)
So what happened on that cold, blustery February day in 2003? A local disc jockey in the Baltimore area played a song called "The Love Song" performed by an up and coming artist named Jeff Bates, a good ole boy from Bunker Hill, Mississippi. I fell in love with his voice immediately. But what I appreciated even more was that he was a truthful man, especially at a point that was most critical to his career. Just a few years prior, he had gotten hooked on crystal meth. As he says he, "robbed and cheated and lied to his friends." But he had gotten caught, landed in jail, sobered up, came to know God, and made amends to his friends and family members. And the most inspirational point was that each one forgave him.
So how did all of that change my life? Since everyone forgave Jeff, he went on with his career. Since he went on with his career, he was able to cut his first album for RCA. Since he did that, radio stations began to play his music. I heard that deep bass voice and became immediately hooked on his music and couldn't wait to see him. To make a long story short, not only did I get to hear him, but I got to meet him and, at very that point, I knew that there was a higher purpose for our paths to have crossed!
Since then, I have met some wonderful country music fans, I have been to more places in the United States that I ever dreamed that I would go to, I have learned more about the radio business than you could ever believe, I have gained a greater appreciation of the process of the making of a song, I have met some fantastic song writers and band members, and I have attended concerts for other country artists (something that I had not done before Jeff) and have even managed to meet a few to boot. I have even been inspired to write a song of my own! (I have to hand it to all you song writers out there . . . that is no easy task!)
But the most significant thing to happen in my life since I have met Jeff was establishing Project Operation Circle of Love (the name being taken from lyrics in "The Love Song.") Originally, a handful of Jeff fans in a couple of states rallied around to support a group of 27 National Guardsmen from Canonsburg, PA. Letters, care packages, and nightly Updates became a way of life for these individuals. The news got out and soon many more individuals wanted to help out. Time passed and now we have over 200 members in 32 states who have supported over 400 soldiers. And the work still continues . . .
I have to admit that Jeff is a wonderful, talented man with a heart the size of Texas. His fans are the same way. And the OCOL members are no different. The people who I have had the pleasure to meet at the concerts and at the OCOL gatherings aren’t just casual acquaintances or "just" friends. They are family members who are there for the good times and the bad. They will give you the shirt off their back and never ask anything in return. They are all “Good People on a Mission.”
It will be interesting to see where the road will lead me next . . . something tells me that many of you will be joining me on the trip . . . .
Donna from Maryland