. . . The Big News, Finally!
In January (2009) I will be moving to Colorado Springs.
About a month ago I received an email from my long-time friend, Curtis Fletcher. Attached was the job description for a position in an organization that he had been working for only a few months—Compassion International. That job, especially the desired skills and experience they were seeking, read like my resume.
As many of you are aware, I have been job hunting for about a year. I have applied at Pixar Animation Studios, Apple, Google, IDEO, Yahoo, and several other organizations in the Bay area.
After two trips to Compassion and ten interviews I was offered the position of Compassion Experience Manager—or as my new boss, Scott Barnes, calls it CXm. I like that.
There are a lot of great non profits and faith-based ministries around. Compassion is one that I have known about since the 1980’s. The independent evaluator, Charity Navigator, has ranked Compassion in the top one percent of thousands of organizations they have surveyed for seven years running.
Compassion has centers in twenty five countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Central, and South America. There, children are registered for sponsorship. In March of this year Compassion registered their one millionth child. For $32 a-month Compassion provides health, educational, life skills and other opportunities—through high school. Another program sponsors college students. 
Other Compassion programs are in prenatal care, malaria intervention ("Bite Back"), AIDS, and other health initiatives. You can find a thorough telling of Compassion’s work around the globe on their very rich website—click "About Us.”
As CXm (Compassion Experience Manager) I will be responsible for a team of folks who lead daily tours (10, 12, and 2 pm) of the Global Ministry Center (GMC) in Colorado Springs. We will be looking to enhance the current tour and develop C.I. Tour 2.0 to include facility enhancements that create immersive experiences, At Disney Imagineering I took to calling it “environmental storytelling.” The real life stories of Compassion, I believe, are those of a young doctor, school teacher, or attorney, who were lifted out of poverty through the sponsorship of a Compassion Partner.
There is value to showing visitors the working environment at the GMC—most people have no idea what is required “behind-the-scenes” to carry on an effort of this scope that began in 1952. I hope to expand and emphasize the story of changed lives, “lifted out of poverty in Jesus name.” 
The website puts it most succinctly:
"Compassion International exists as a Christian child advocacy ministry that releases children from spiritual, economic, social, and physical poverty, and enables them to become responsible, fulfilled Christian adults."
Many of the individuals, families and organizations that are Compassion sponsors, partners, and advocates are Protestant Christians, but there are also hundreds of folks from Jewish, Roman Catholic, and other faith traditions (as well as folks with no religious affiliation) who are assisting Compassion's global effort.
This is an organization that does good work and they do it well.
I am proud to be joining the staff of 720 in Colorado Springs. My years of coaching speakers, directing plays, writing scripts, and designing theme parks is a good fit for plans to design new “Compassion Experiences.” In the near term this will include designing a traveling environment for festivals, conventions, etc. 
“The opposite of poverty is not wealth.” So says Compassion President, Wes Stafford, in a introductory video.
“The opposite of poverty is enough.”
What is enough? In the third world “enough” is very little by our lifestyle standards.
In the coming months I will share the creative work we’ll be doing to invent new experiences that tell the Compassion story. I will also continue blog posts on living a more “actively creative” life.
You can stay in touch with me through this site, my personal email (see link under my photo, above left), or signing up for my free email list at McNairWilson.com.
Many of you have already told me of your own long connection with Compassion as sponsors. I hope many more will choose to participate as I share the work.
Colorado
Of all the towns, in all the states, in this great land, I probably have as many good and long-time friends in Colorado Springs and Denver as almost any other burg I could be relocating to for a new career. This makes the move all the more exciting. Leaving the delightful Bay area will be very sad. I love it so and have many great friends here, not the least of which is my long-time, very great friend, and grand encourager, Susan Kennedy. Parting will be (bitter) sweet sorrow. I will be looking for any excuse to come back for a visit or long layover.
There will be some international travel associated with this great position. I have only been to thirty countries, so...I’m just getting started.
Moving
My good friend, and coach through this last year of ch-ch-changes, Wes Roberts, has challenged me to “get rid of half your stuff before you move.” I have already purge 60% of my clothes and shoes, nearly half my books and DVD’s, and taken innumerable shopping cart loads to the dumpster.
There are stacks and stacks of magazines and other paper products leaving, daily.
By Christmas I will be so tired of picking through the collected debris of my artistic life that I will just give the heave-ho to lots more “precious memories” that are merely collecting dust.
As I am not likely to find a 1600 square foot loft in Colorado Springs, having less is more and more enjoyable every day.
There is no way I could have known a year ago, when I began this journey of changes, that our Creator would provide such a remarkable job, and the opportunity to make a contribution to a cause so much greater than my own efforts could ever produce. That I will be using so many of my skills and professional experiences—while being greatly challenged by this assignment—will be hard work, in all the best ways.
Onward and upward!
[ Right, My great friends Ken & Diane Davis on a recent Compassion Sponsors trip. ]
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