Gahan's NAHA putsch continues to dazzle the DemoDisneyDixiecrats, so let's ask Irving Joshua about zero threshold, employee drug testing and the status of "interim."

Diligent readers will recall that in 2017, just after Mayor Jeff Gahan shifted David Duggins from redevelopment to the New Albany Housing Authority to serve as "interim" director in the wake of Bob Lane's firing (yes, both actions were taken by a theoretically autonomous board, which in fact was appointed and enabled by Gahan, which means that the mayor indisputably owns both actions), HUD placed Duggins' new fiefdom on "zero threshold."

In fact, the NAHA's Director of Finance and HUD Compliance, Mike Bainbridge, resigned from his position because of this first of numerous artful rules evasions.

Eventually the "zero threshold" restriction was removed, although only after intensive lobbying at the expense of time and money -- or was it something more?

Several witnesses report Duggins bragging about engineering the firing of someone at HUD in order to evade the zero threshold restriction, shortly after which the new NAHA colonial overlord began acquiring new vehicles for his new fiefdom.

Gahan says the NAHA Board of Commissioners is in charge, and that's bunk, but we'll play along and ask imported board president Irving Joshua the question.

Does Duggins really have clout like this, or was just more of the same tired rhetoric?

NAC's original postings on the general topic of zero threshold are repeated below, but first, in a recent private conversation over Fuller's ESB, the Green Mouse asked Shane's Excellent New Words to define the word "interim":

It's an adjective, meaning "in or for the intervening period; provisional or temporary." Synonyms include pro tem, stopgap, short-term, fill-in, caretaker, acting, transitional, makeshift, improvised, impromptu.' "

Two more questions for the top-dog commish: How's the job search coming, Irving? There IS a job search, right?

Then there's the big unanswered question of the incredible disappearing drug screening program for NAHA employees. A source reminds us that following Duggins' appointment as an NAHA employee (as we've seen, Irving, this was a hiring facilitated contrary to HUD guidelines), the NAHA's longtime policy of prospective employees being screened for drug use abruptly was forgotten.

Irving, do you still have a drug screening program for employees at NAHA? If not, what happened to it?  

Shouldn't y'all be peeing into a cup just like the guys and gals mopping floors, or do the elite cadres in New Albany pick and choose the rules they wish to follow?

Gahan's public housing putsch is a farce, isn't it?

That wasn't a question for you, Irving.

It's directed at the voters, for answering when they #FireGahan2019.

xxxxxxxxxx

July 14, 2017

N & T's Beilman with delightful devastation for Deaf Gahan: "New Albany Housing Authority leaders knowingly violated policy, HUD order, documents state."

"In a phone interview Thursday, (HUD spokesman Brian) Sullivan confirmed the board did not follow the required search process, nor did it receive approval from HUD before appointing (David) Duggins as interim director as required from the zero-threshold status."

Even though News and Tribune reporter Elizabeth Beilman's bosses at editorial presumably remain utterly confused about the toxic reality of Deaf Gahan's Public Housing Putsch 2017 ...

Newspaper editorial board displays abject cluelessness about the Great Gahan Public Housing Putsch of 2017. (March 12, 2017)

Must we accept Chris Morris's viewpoint as gospel, given that at least he lives in New Albany, whereas the remainder of the Jeffersonville-centric editorial board knows absolutely nothing about our city, and as time goes on, grows ever prouder of this fact?

... Beilman has put together an admirable, near-classic story* about the subsequent putsch-inspired chaos at the New Albany Housing Authority. The interim director's semi-coherent flailings are especially instructive.

I strongly urge that readers visit the newspaper site and read the whole story, as the revealingly shambolic elements of Gahan's public housing foot-shoot are revealed one by one, apart from the necessary connection with Deaf himself, who unmistakably is their author -- but of course, the mayor must be omitted from the exercise lest ad revenues be threatened.

The link and excerpt are below, though first, here's a belt of background from June 24.

Public Housing Putsch '17: Gahan, Trump remain in lock step as sycophants queue after the NAHA's director of finance resigns.

It's a measure of Jeff Gahan's generalized ethical barrenness (GEB) that when word reached the Green Mouse that Mike Bainbridge had resigned on Thursday as director of finance and compliance at the New Albany Housing Authority (NAHA), all thoughts immediately turned to the flagrant unsuitability of whatever pre-rigged replacement is to be chosen by Gahan's handpicked board of bobble-headed sycophants (GIGO).

Also, yesterday's ON THE AVENUES examined the fiasco from a different angle.

Obviously, the reason why interim director Duggins has nothing to say is because he knows just as little about the daily workings of the agency to which he has been transferred as any of Donald Trump’s bumbling cabinet appointees. With Duggins tongue-tied, (Irving) Joshua must lead the diversion.

Here's Beilman.

New Albany Housing Authority leaders knowingly violated policy, HUD order, documents state, by Elizabeth Beilman (N & T)

Former compliance director cites 'unethical' actions in resignation

NEW ALBANY — The New Albany Housing Authority board and interim executive director knowingly violated internal policy and a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development order, according to a former official's resignation letter. HUD confirmed issues with compliance.

The allegations of "possibly illegal and unethical" actions surfaced in a resignation letter tendered by Mike Bainbridge, the former NAHA director of finance and HUD compliance. The letter obtained by the News and Tribune was dated June 15 and effective immediately.

"When actions are taken by Agency leadership including the Board of Commissioners which blatantly and knowingly conflict with HUD rules and regulations, I'm left with no choice but to resign, as I cannot be associated with such activities," Bainbridge wrote in the letter.

In terms of integrity and principle, Mike Bainbridge has set a meritorious example that Gahan's bootlicking sycophants probably won't ever grasp.

"In matters that are this serious and significant, I do not want to make statements that are based in even the slightest degree of speculation or opinion," (Bainbridge's) statement read. "I prefer to deal in, and present, only known facts. The facts that led me to resign from my position with NAHA are stated in my letter of resignation, and proven by the attachments to that letter. I will let those facts stand on their own merits."

Use a chit and read Beilman's piece. You won't regret it.

*An aside: From Beilman's piece: "The News and Tribune first reported on Bainbridge's resignation in late June." It did. After you read it at NAC first. It would be nice if the newspaper might occasionally attribute in such cases ... I regularly do it for them ... though as a rank amateur, perhaps I'm obliged to credit the professionals.

---

*An aside: From Beilman's piece: "The News and Tribune first reported on Bainbridge's resignation in late June." It did. After you read it at NAC first. It would be nice if the newspaper might occasionally attribute in such cases ... I regularly do it for them ... though as a rank amateur, perhaps I'm obliged to credit the professionals.

xxxxxxxxxx

June 24, 2017

Public Housing Putsch '17: Gahan, Trump remain in lock step as sycophants queue after the NAHA's director of finance resigns.

It's a measure of Jeff Gahan's generalized ethical barrenness (GEB) that when word reached the Green Mouse that Mike Bainbridge had resigned on Thursday as director of finance and compliance at the New Albany Housing Authority (NAHA), all thoughts immediately turned to the flagrant unsuitability of whatever pre-rigged replacement is to be chosen by Gahan's handpicked board of bobble-headed sycophants (GIGO).

ON THE AVENUES: Hi there, NAHA wastrels. My name is Peter Principle, and these are my friends Deaf and Dugout.

Given Gahan's perennial nepotism fetish, will it be a member of the mayor's extended family, perhaps Chris Gardner or Steve Bonifer?

Perhaps a regency by the Wizard of Westside, Dan Coffey himself? If so, he'll need an ivory abacus with gold lamé turnbuckles -- but Dugout can have it TIFFed, right?

Better yet: Bob Norwood, bootlicking insurance mogul to the stars?

And again this reminder: No local elected officials with the possible exception of a typically venomous Coffey have spoken publicly about Gahan's plans for the NAHA.

Silence is acceptance, is it not?

Seems they're all imaging the Orwellian words inscribed on the locomotive headed for the camps, right next to the smiley faced mud flat anchor: “Hop on Board the Quality of Life Express.”

---

Previously:

It's #OurNA, all right: "New Albany attempting to purge itself of the poor" ... so, are local Democrats finally catching on to the Gahan shell game?

N & T's Beilman with delightful devastation for Deaf Gahan: "New Albany Housing Authority leaders knowingly violated policy, HUD order, documents state."

And it comes as no surprise.

"In a phone interview Thursday, (HUD spokesman Brian) Sullivan confirmed the board did not follow the required search process, nor did it receive approval from HUD before appointing (David) Duggins as interim director as required from the zero-threshold status."

Even though News and Tribune reporter Elizabeth Beilman's bosses at editorial presumably remain utterly confused about the toxic reality of Deaf Gahan's Public Housing Putsch 2017 ...

Newspaper editorial board displays abject cluelessness about the Great Gahan Public Housing Putsch of 2017. (March 12, 2017)

Must we accept Chris Morris's viewpoint as gospel, given that at least he lives in New Albany, whereas the remainder of the Jeffersonville-centric editorial board knows absolutely nothing about our city, and as time goes on, grows ever prouder of this fact?

... Beilman has put together an admirable, near-classic story* about the subsequent putsch-inspired chaos at the New Albany Housing Authority. The interim director's semi-coherent flailings are especially instructive.

I strongly urge that readers visit the newspaper site and read the whole story, as the revealingly shambolic elements of Gahan's public housing foot-shoot are revealed one by one, apart from the necessary connection with Deaf himself, who unmistakably is their author -- but of course, the mayor must be omitted from the exercise lest ad revenues be threatened.

The link and excerpt are below, though first, here's a belt of background from June 24.

Public Housing Putsch '17: Gahan, Trump remain in lock step as sycophants queue after the NAHA's director of finance resigns.

It's a measure of Jeff Gahan's generalized ethical barrenness (GEB) that when word reached the Green Mouse that Mike Bainbridge had resigned on Thursday as director of finance and compliance at the New Albany Housing Authority (NAHA), all thoughts immediately turned to the flagrant unsuitability of whatever pre-rigged replacement is to be chosen by Gahan's handpicked board of bobble-headed sycophants (GIGO).

Also, yesterday's ON THE AVENUES examined the fiasco from a different angle.

Obviously, the reason why interim director Duggins has nothing to say is because he knows just as little about the daily workings of the agency to which he has been transferred as any of Donald Trump’s bumbling cabinet appointees. With Duggins tongue-tied, (Irving) Joshua must lead the diversion.

Here's Beilman.

New Albany Housing Authority leaders knowingly violated policy, HUD order, documents state, by Elizabeth Beilman (N & T)

Former compliance director cites 'unethical' actions in resignation

NEW ALBANY — The New Albany Housing Authority board and interim executive director knowingly violated internal policy and a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development order, according to a former official's resignation letter. HUD confirmed issues with compliance.

The allegations of "possibly illegal and unethical" actions surfaced in a resignation letter tendered by Mike Bainbridge, the former NAHA director of finance and HUD compliance. The letter obtained by the News and Tribune was dated June 15 and effective immediately.

"When actions are taken by Agency leadership including the Board of Commissioners which blatantly and knowingly conflict with HUD rules and regulations, I'm left with no choice but to resign, as I cannot be associated with such activities," Bainbridge wrote in the letter.

In terms of integrity and principle, Mike Bainbridge has set a meritorious example that Gahan's bootlicking sycophants probably won't ever grasp.

"In matters that are this serious and significant, I do not want to make statements that are based in even the slightest degree of speculation or opinion," (Bainbridge's) statement read. "I prefer to deal in, and present, only known facts. The facts that led me to resign from my position with NAHA are stated in my letter of resignation, and proven by the attachments to that letter. I will let those facts stand on their own merits."

Use a chit and read Beilman's piece. You won't regret it.

---

*An aside: From Beilman's piece: "The News and Tribune first reported on Bainbridge's resignation in late June." It did. After you read it at NAC first. It would be nice if the newspaper might occasionally attribute in such cases ... I regularly do it for them ... though as a rank amateur, perhaps I'm obliged to credit the professionals. 

What, is Gahan annexing the Arts Council, too? Schweitzer out as Executive Director.

So help me, if Dugout Duggins becomes head of the Arts Council, it's time to start mixing those Molotov cocktails.

The Arts Council of Southern Indiana would like to update you on some recent developments here at the Council. Our organization is making some changes and entering into an exciting period of growth. We will be sharing more details in the coming months, but we are excited about expanding our reach to surrounding counties, updating our facilities and fostering new partnerships.

Along with any organizational growth comes change. To ensure our mission and vision continue to evolve, we are making some leadership changes at ACSI.

Effective immediately, Julie Schweitzer will be leaving the organization. We appreciate her contributions to the Council as Executive Director over the past several years and her support of our mission in Southern Indiana. We wish Julie well in her future endeavors.

Over the course of the next several weeks, the ACSI Board of Directors will begin our search for a new individual to lead the Council into our next chapter of exciting growth and opportunity. In the interim, we will continue to operate uninterrupted and have identified an interim staff to support the organization.

Thanks again for all your support and look forward to the exciting future.

Shea Van Hoy bids farewell to the newspaper that has bid farewell to New Albany.

My old pal Byron used to deploy a witty piece of stock dialogue, reserving it for just the right moment, as when walking into a bar at closing time, only to learn that we'd missed last call.

Is it any wonder I'm bitter?

Way back in June of 2011, a few months after the New Albany Tribune and Jeffersonville Evening News were ginzu-knived and power-blended to create what functions today as the Clark County Picayune, it was announced that the publishing schedule would be revised so as to disseminate the news via the US Mail, with the Sunday edition disappearing entirely.

News and Tribune eliminates Sunday, adds Monday, calls it "robust." I call it very bad writing.

In a consideration of all this, I wrote the following.

Reckon that's the real dollars and cents reason for all the smoke, mirrors and bull feces, right?

Another bottom line decision from the Retirement Systems of Alabama, just like the one that has deprived New Albany of its local newspaper for the first time since before the Civil War.

Well, I can speak only for myself and the missus.

I've persisted as a subscriber solely because of the Sunday edition, being an old fart and actually enjoying the feel and smell of newsprint with coffee on a lazy morning off. Bill Hanson's "robust" explanation quite simply is a contrived insult to the intelligence of any thinking human, especially New Albany's newspaper readers, who already are the major losers in the pension fund-driven "combining" of newspaper operations.

My, my. We've doubled down on those losses lately, haven't we?

Fast forwarding to 2016, since Daniel Suddeath departed in September, 2015, New Albany has not had a dedicated city beat reporter. This has included two election cycles and times too numerous to count when this blog, Insider Louisville, Business First and even the C-J have scooped the News and Tribune.

Of the stories being hawked by N & T to the public on a weekly basis, the ratio of Clark-to-Floyd coverage tends to be at least 2-1, though often 3-1 or more. Taken together, the recent combined weight of cooking school (wtf?) blurbs and breathless live tweeting about a reality television show (both occurring in Clark County, of course) has easily outstripped increasingly paltry coverage of  New Albany.

By the way, here is Shea Van Hoy's finale. He says the newspaper's doing a great job. You be the judge.

VAN HOY: A fond farewell to News and Tribune readers

As a personal postscript, when Steve Kozarovich engaged me as a columnist in 2009, it was still the New Albany Tribune. When I ran for city council in the 2011 primary, the column was suspended according to the usual rules. Then I lost in the primary, and my column should have resumed, except that in the interim, the newspapers had been merged by CNHI.

Kozarovich was gone, and a new era was under way.

I met Shea Van Hoy at Bank Street Brewhouse, and we discussed the column's future. He intimated that there were difficulties rearranging the roster of columnists owing to space, which I interpreted as the new management regime's unwillingness to remunerate columnists at the same rate as before. It seemed a creative solution was in order, so I proposed one.

Seeing as I'd already been writing about beer for LEO and  Louisville Food & Dining, and thus had displayed a proven ability to keep my NABC day job separate from my writing gigs, I offered to Shea that I'd relinquish the "general interest" newspaper column, and trade it for future considerations, namely, a weekly column about beer, food and drink in the area.

I made this offer from two motivations.

For one, it would broaden my own skills in the genre, because for me, deadlines are good.

Moreover, it would allow the News and Tribune to be the newspaper of record for what I thought was about to explode in both New Albany and Jeffersonville -- and has, in spades, during the five years since then. I've often been wrong, but not about this one.

In the end, I voluntarily killed the column and made Shea's life easier. In return, five years later, the now departing editor hasn't once followed up, not even once, on what I'd imagined was at least a potential talking point.

Back to Vonnegut: So it goes.

Maybe I should have moved to Jeffersonville. Come to think about it, Ed Clere never got his column back, either.

I wonder why?

"Got to get out of this satellite town." And Shea Van Hoy did.

Simpler times.

Tonight on Twitter, the newspaper's editor announced his forthcoming departure from Community Newspaper Holdings Incorporated.

Newspapermen come and they go, and while it's true that we often had our differences, it's all water under the toll bridges. Let's think about the community; one door closes, and another one opens. Maybe the newspaper finally is below the salary cap, and New Albany can have a city reporter after 201 days.

After all, they can't take reality incarceration TV and Taste of Home Cooking School away from us, right?

Dear Bill Hanson: Put down that colander, give NA some equality, or just change the damn name back to Evening News.

"Katie Toupin is parting ways with Houndmouth."

This news was released on social media late Friday afternoon.

---

Important update from Houndmouth:

This is not the easiest news to share, but Katie Toupin is parting ways with Houndmouth. This is an amicable split, and Katie plans to pursue other opportunities.

We (Matt, Shane, and Zak) wish Katie the absolute best in all her future endeavors and want to thank her for the years we spent together as bandmates and, more importantly, friends. When we all first met as teenagers, we never dreamed that music would bring the four of us together and take us as far as it has. It’s been a long journey, and the time has come for our paths to split. We encourage everyone reading this to continue to support her.

FROM KATIE: I am incredibly thankful for all of our fans. Your relentless support has meant the world. We have been through so much together as a band, and none of it would have happened without the fans. I want to wish Houndmouth continued success. I would also like to ask the fans to continue to support me, along with the boys, as we go our separate ways.

ADDITION: This is effective immediately. She will not be at any future shows, including the upcoming tour. While this is our last message as the original four members, all shows will continue on as planned, with various musicians joining the Matt, Shane, and Zak on stage.

Municipal non-communications, Part 1,483: "NAHS principal unhappy on officer decision timing."

Yogi Berra was right.

Page said she had left messages at the mayor’s office expressing her concerns, and said Mayor Jeff Gahan returned her call Thursday afternoon. She said she has been asking for an explanation for two weeks.

Let's go to a locally based educator to explain why this matters.

Wow. There we go again underestimating the power of positive relationships. It doesn't matter how good you are at your job - relationships take time to develop. Educators know that this stretch until spring break is the most difficult.

Of course, as another diligent observer of the locally scene commented this morning, "Her biggest frustration was the 'lack of communication.' How many times have we heard this about the Gahan administration?"

That's easy. How many days has there been a Gahan administration? Again, again ... and again. Same issue, expressed by different people from multiple vantage points.

NAHS principal unhappy on officer decision timing, by Chris Morris (Utica Press)

NEW ALBANY — A popular New Albany High School resource officer is being replaced, which has generated an unpopular response from administrators, teachers and students at the school.

Veteran New Albany Police Department Sgt. Perry Parsons has been assigned at the school as its resource officer for the past 2 1/2 years. However, he is being replaced by Officer Travis Nelson on Feb. 1. Parsons will become the department’s second-shift sergeant.

New Albany Principal Janet Page said the timing of replacing Parsons midway through the school year is “confusing.”

“I can’t understand, why pull a great officer who has built relationships with 2,000 kids and 200 adults over two years, without an explanation. I just don’t understand,” she said.

New Albany Police Chief Todd Bailey said he had no choice ...

Cheap Trick's Bun E. Carlos on limbo, lawyers and friendships.

Photo credit

Yes, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ultimately stands as the epitome of First World meaninglessness.

At the same time, when three of your favorite bands are to be inducted in one sweeping act of vindication, it's at least worth a brief self-congratulatory grin. I've been a fan of Deep Purple and Chicago since junior high school, and Cheap Trick came along only shortly thereafter. Their music brings me pleasure; so be it.

Each of these three bands has survived the ephemeral ups and downs of the marketplace, and remain working musical entities. For fans, it's all about the music, but more pointedly, for working musicians, it's about dollars and cents. As with any other business, workers come and go, and often their decisions have to do with money and personalities, not art.

Unsurprisingly, there is an interesting back story for each in the context of personnel. Deep Purple's Ian Paice fears fisticuffs might erupt between present and former band members if they were to share a stage.

Everyone wants to know whether Peter Cetera will reunite with Chicago, but what about original drummer Danny Seraphine, who was fired a quarter century ago, and later wrote a tell-all book about the experience?

And then there's Cheap Trick, three members of which evidently attempted to dump drummer Bun E. Carlos in 2010. After legal wranglings, Carlos remains a partner in the business operation, but is blockaded from performing live with the band. He's in a curious sort of limbo, though at least the checks are still being cut -- after the lawsuit was filed.

When he asks for financial information, does he receive it? Do they forward his snail mail? Have they blocked his e-mail?

Interesting. Very interesting. I have absolutely no idea why, although there is a certain melancholy attached to a statement like this:

"Any friendship we had went away when I had to file a federal lawsuit. That cost a bucket of fucking money. Going after these guys wasn't pleasant. The friendship sort of frittered away there."

Cheap Trick's Bun E. Carlos on Possible Rock Hall Reunion, by Andy Greene (Rolling Stone)

 ... We just drew up a contract that said, "I don't tour with the band, but I'm a full member of the band." We've got all these corporations. The touring company said, "If you quit touring, you lose your vote." I wasn't going to let that happen. I'm a full member of the band. So we drew up a piece of paper, and a couple years later the check stopped coming. I met with Scott Borchetta — that was something special. And then I had to sue them in federal court to get my money back. We did a settlement last spring and its all hunky dory. That's the short story.

AC-DC and a lesson in life from Malcolm Young.

I've never been a fan of AC-DC, but I get it.

Founding member Malcolm Young's departure from the group owes to the saddest of reasons, as Bernard Zuel explains in the Sydney Morning Herald: AC/DC's Malcolm Young reportedly in care for dementia in Sydney.

It may be that dementia is claiming another giant, this time a musical one.

AC/DC co-founder, guitarist and songwriter Malcolm Young, whose retirement from the band was announced on Wednesday, has been moved into full-time care in a nursing home facility in Sydney's eastern suburbs specialising in dementia, sources connected to the Young family have said.

Americans in particular enjoy deriving life's lessons from organized sports. I've generally preferred music as metaphor, and an insightful appreciation from the Guardian falls into this category, explaining how a seemingly unimportant rhythm guitarist can be a band's major cog.

Malcolm Young understood that a great riff does not need 427 components to make it great, that what it really needs is clarity. That meant stripping riffs down rather than building them up, and it also meant understanding volume. Given how loud AC/DC can be in concert – ear-ringingly, sternum-shakingly loud – it might be surprising to learn that, in the studio at least, Malcolm Young favoured quietness: he played with his amps turned down, but with the mics extremely close. That’s why, on the great AC/DC albums, you hear not just the chords of the riffs, but their very texture, their burnished, rounded sound. It’s why AC/DC are immediately recognisable, whether or not you know the song.

AC-DC will carry on with a new guitarist, an album and a tour. In closing, here's a priceless sentence, enlarged.

AC/DC's Malcolm Young departs as new album Rock or Bust announced (Guardian)

... In the US, a track from the album, Play Ball, will be teased from 27 September as part of the Major League Baseball post-season campaign.

It is possible, given AC/DC’s history of ball-related double entendres, that the song is not actually about baseball.

Indeed. It is very, very possible.

Jared's going to work for Schlafly, and we're damned proud of him.

The Publican now steps aside as NABC's brewmaster, Jared Williamson, does the writing and tells you about love, serendipity, and his impending move to St. Louis. I still believe I should have held out for a Stephen Hale kilt to be named later ... but to be truthful, words fail me when it comes to thanking Jared and wishing him the best at Schlafly. We're sending a brewer out into the world!

---

Love and Serendipity

Where do I begin … let’s go back a few years.

At some point in the spring of 2005, when it became known that NABC’s original brewer Michael Borchers would be leaving, I turned to the now Brewery Representative/sales guru Richard Atnip, who then was a server and myself a kitchen worker/guest beer grunt, and said these now fabled words: “We should take over the brewery.”

Since then, well, a lot of serendipitous things have happened. Six years later, NABC has grown from two fermenters and a few house beers on tap amongst our world renowned beer bar, using online clip art for our signs, to a two brewery regional power, featuring one of the best graphic artists in the business, with a new bottling program primed to take serious flight. The journey has been arduous and exhilarating; wrought with discoveries, defeats, and triumphs. I could write many pages detailing the journey, but this letter has a different purpose.

In 2008, NABC was invited to attend and pour our beers at Schlafly’s Repeal of Prohibition festival, where each year they invite breweries from a different state to attend. Our salesman at that time, John Campbell, had previously worked for Schlafly and due to this connection, NABC was one of the four Indiana breweries invited. We traveled to St Louis and did what we normally do: Pour samples of our awesome beers, sell some t-shirts, educate people about NABC, and wow the taste buds. But something else happened that weekend that I was not planning on, and that is how serendipity works.

The stars aligned that weekend and I met the love of my life, Kelsey, and my life hasn’t been the same since. It’s taken several years for us to sort out the details, but ultimately we have worked towards both of us being together, living and working happily in the same community. And that my friends, is the reason for this letter:

I am leaving my post as NABC Brewmaster and joining the team of brewers at Schlafly in July.

Over the last few years, St Louis has been my second home and now it will simply be home. I am struggling to find the words to properly convey my emotions but the simple truth is the timing and opportunity are here, and I need to embrace this next phase of my life.

I cannot thank Amy, Kate and Roger enough for the opportunity they gave me years ago and I hope their trust has been repaid through my work for the company. I love The New Albanian Brewing Company, without them who knows what I would be doing today. A huge part of my soul, creativity and determination will always be with NABC, and I will keep a keen eye on all things NABC from St Louis. I hope to one day see our 22oz bombers on shelves there, and will probably weep with joy if and when I see them.

I want to thank all the current and former employees of the company, and those we have lost way too young, who all have played a role in some way in my life. You guys are dear to me and I will miss seeing you, laughing with you, and raising pints with you. I want to thank our loyal customers, without your contributions none of this would have been possible. I have proudly brewed for all of you these years and in turn all of you have graciously lifted me up.

I am so proud of how far we have come as a company, and so excited for the future of NABC. It’s as strong a company as it has ever been and this next phase of growth will see NABC up the revolution to heights that just a few years back seemed like a dream. David Pierce and the rest of the brewery team are poised for fantastic growth at Bank Street, and some lucky brewer will get to take the post at our R&D brewery and live the dream that I have, and will always cherish. I will proudly trumpet the name and beers of NABC where ever I roam, and am proud to be the first NABC brewer to move on to continue my brewing career.

I hope to visit often, and those of you that know me well, know that I am a road warrior. The four hour drive from STL to NABC is quite easy, and I know the way all too well. I also hope to come back and guest brew here again when the timing is right, and will be back often to see so many of my friends and family that live here as well. I was not born in Indiana – Iowa, for those who wonder – but I have spent the majority of my life here and my roots are deep. I haven’t even touched on my music roots here, and honestly, that is a book unto itself.

So you see, my tale is full of love and serendipity, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. My becoming a brewer was serendipitous, and my love for brewing continues to grow as the years pass by. My meeting Kelsey was serendipitous due to my love of brewing, and now it is time to start the next chapter in this journey we call life. I could ramble on for hours, perhaps days, about how everything has lead to this moment. But instead I will finish with this quote from a good friend of mine:

“Parting is sweet sorrow, and the battle rages on”

Cheers

Jared Williamson

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Final note: Stay tuned for more about how we're going to fill the position. Notice I didn't use the word "replace," because that simply isn't possible.