We’ll Miss You, Tom!

January 19, 2023January 19, 2023 Community Stories

The MindsEye family is sadly saying goodbye to Broadcast Director Tom Williams as he prepares to move on to a new job and new opportunities.

Tom began his career with MindsEye in July 2010 as a part-time Board Operator and Volunteer Coordinator. Over his 12-year tenure, he became something of a Renaissance man around the station after not only taking over as Broadcast Director, but also handling both IT and building maintenance.

“I love my work here, but it’s time for a change. I want to do something different,” says Tom. “The hardest part for me will be saying goodbye to my volunteers.”

And, indeed, that process has not been without its emotions as volunteer after volunteer has expressed not only their sadness at Tom’s departure, but also their tremendous respect for him and their support of his decision.

“It won’t be the same without him,” says Joann Seiler, a MindsEye volunteer of nearly 20 years. “We’ll all miss him, but we’re excited for him and for his new adventure.”

If one of the most important virtues in life is to leave things better than you found them, then Tom has gone above and beyond. Over the past few years, he has worked tirelessly to improve things here at MindsEye. From updating equipment to literally rewiring portions of the building, Tom is leaving us in the best shape possible to carry on his work. He’s even transformed the former live newsroom into a state-of-the-art podcasting studio with video recording capabilities and worked with an outside programmer to automate the majority of the Broadcast Program’s editing and programming needs. “I think the whole Broadcast Program runs smoother than it ever has,” he says. “Smoother than it ever has as long as I’ve been here, at least.”

Perhaps no one is more thankful for all of Tom’s hard work in this area than Administrative Assistant Adam Clark who will be stepping in to take over a majority of Tom’s daily duties. According to Adam, “Having to wake up at 5:30am every day will take some getting used to, but Tom really has set us up for success. He’ll be missed, but he really is leaving us in an excellent position.”

It is difficult to put into words exactly how much Tom has impacted MindsEye. The Broadcast Program is almost unrecognizable today, due in large part to the adjustments and changes that were forced upon us by the pandemic. Those changes, however, were embraced by Tom as he seized on the chance to expand the ability for readers to record from home. This greatly opened up volunteer opportunities by not only making volunteering easier but also broadening our potential pool of volunteers to include just about anyone, regardless of how far away they live from the station. We can now accept volunteers in other states or even in other countries!

To say Tom will be missed is an understatement. (And not just because of his legendary barbecuing skills!) MindsEye is unquestionably better for having had him as a part of our mission. Everyone who has worked with him – coworkers and volunteers alike – will feel his absence for some time to come. Nevertheless, we at MindsEye wish him well and wish him good fortune on his new journey!

Farewell, Tom! And thank you for everything!