An Exciting Celebration with Senator Udall

(From left: daughter Roan, Senator Udall, son Simon, myself and Terry Brunner)

Our event this morning (see blog post July 23) was so lovely and exciting. The rain held off, while personal friends, friends of my business, folks from the USDA and even customers from the Farmers Market came to help me celebrate my new packaging and the receipt of my grant funds from the USDA.

Senator Udall was such a pleasure to visit with; so interested in my business, curious, supportive and engaging. It was a thrill to have him there, and I consider this entire event to be a blessing on my business!

I got to speak after Terry Brunner, director of the NM USDA, and Senator Udall spoke, and it was my opportunity to emphasize a core value of Milk and Honey: relationships. I just want to take a little space here to mention some of them. Present at this event were of course the folks from USDA who helped me with my grant, particularly Jesse Bopp;
Steve Wall and his family, who supply me with beeswax but who also helped me get accepted into the Farmers Market five years ago;
Miranda Gray, who painted the gorgeous portrait of my goat Sula (we are currently doing a trade for soap and goat cheese in exchange for the original painting!);
Stephanie Huerta, my sculptor;
Friend and currently Thursday market saleswoman, Elyzabeth, who showed me the matchbox she uses for her sewing notions, which led to a major turning point in my packaging design;
Friend Lorelei Kellogg, who housed my goats for me when I was transitioning out of Glorieta into Santa Fe;
Michelle Moser, my designer and marketer . . .
I can go on and on. You get the idea.

I finished my little speech about how exemplary our community is for working together and keeping it local by reading Milk and Honey's mission statement, which will be printed on our new boxes:

"Milk and Honey is founded on our love of goats and Mother Nature, and appreciation for things natural, handmade, sensual and beautiful; and the passion to create a meaningful life that will inspire others to do the same."

As I told my friends gathered today, these relationships are what make a life meaningful, and I hope through the growth of my business, to inspire others to do the same.