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An announcement that’s long overdue, but I am still thrilled to make is that Mary Wilson has a new job title. She is now DisabilityPride.net’s Communications Manager and my Personal Administrative Assistant!
This change actually happened back in March at the start of COVID-19 infections reaching high levels in Canada. Several of my attendants had to make the hard decision of choosing one job over another. Thinking back on it now, I smile with a bit of a chuckle because initially, Mary one day looked at me and said “I predict that soon enough it will just be the two of us.” I remember thinking “WHAT?! No way! You can’t be my only attendant!” but then soon enough, sure as shit, Mary was right (Mary adds, “I usually am”), she was the last full-time staff standing.
More incredibly is that while Mary and I got along during this time when we were together almost all day, almost every day, honestly and remarkably there wasn’t the slightest bit of friction or conflict or the tendency to say or think “oh, I’ve had enough of you!” for either one of us. We laughed a lot, smiled a lot and got shit done. Actually, we got a lot of shit done! It was kind of incredible while I heard many people complaining of boredom and apathy, Mary and I were busier in my home office than we’ve ever been! We did videos, came up with projects, redecorated the office to make it more usable, the list goes on and on.
This is only part of why I am so proud that Mary accepted her new position. Mary started in October, 2019 as DisabilityPride.net’s first Social Media Marketing and Public Relations Manager. At that time, DisabilityPride.net’s Facebook page had 173 followers but now has 275. Since October the blog has been viewed over 3,000 times and our Instagram impressions have increased over 400%.
This past May, Mary and I organized a virtual disability pride parade to recognized NAAW, which included many prizes for participants. Mary also designed an awesome banner that we’re now proudly displaying on all our websites. We had also hoped to get a vendor’s license to sell our merchandise on the Halifax waterfront, however due to bureaucratic confusion that has not been resolved as of yet and at this point in the season, it’s likely too late. However, we have made our online store more accessible and our merchandise can be found there and ordered online so, if you’re interested, check out DisabiltiyPride.store.
While all that was being organized, we also had nightly phone calls with Mary’s children, who were stuck in New Brunswick with their grandparents while travel in Atlantic Canada was restricted. They read stories to us every night. I also began a social media marketing course with Shaw Academy and completed the first few modules with distinction.
We’re taking this time to plan and grow. We are looking forward to continuing to do great things and look forward to our future ventures and adventures.