19 Dec Christmas isn’t a season, it’s a feeling.

Going forward, Christmas won’t be just a season for me, it will forever be a feeling. This feeling. The feeling of finally finding the puzzle for which my piece fits.

It’s that time again when we all begin to reflect on the year that was, and the year that will be. For me, the last couple of months have been a perfect end to a not-so-perfect year. Joining SandBay was completely unexpected, yet seemingly unavoidable.

Almost three years of “radio silence” due to COVID, Sarah and I planned to catch up over coffee. I knew there would be lots of laughs, as there always are, but what I didn’t expect was how easily and quickly we fell back into production talk after so many years. We’d worked on a few TV series together over the course of our careers but regardless of where either of us ended up, we always kept in touch and shared our experiences, good and bad. We had a very open, honest friendship that extended well into a professional working relationship. In this instance, I was expressing my frustration with the lack of recent industry stability, while Sarah expressed her current need for someone with my type of production experience. It was kismet.

Cut to two weeks later and in my first team meeting with SandBay, Han and I were reminiscing about the time we shared a production office on a TV series and the window full of Polaroids we’d collected of various crew members making silly faces. We affectionately dubbed it our “Wall of Shame”. We always managed to find the joy, even during the most grueling of shoots. Han also reminded me of one specific shared experience on a film set: it was an overnight shoot … outside … in the dead of winter. That 20-hour shoot day (that I’d seemingly blocked from my memory), bonded us for life.

While I hadn’t yet worked with Amanda, I knew her name. Sarah and Han often talked about how much they enjoyed working with her and I couldn’t wait to collaborate with someone so dedicated to their craft. I’ve already learned a lot from Amanda and I can see why she plays such an important role at SandBay. She is smart, hardworking, and quite frankly, very good at her job. I can’t wait for the two of us to conquer the production world together.

It’s awfully humbling to be seen as an asset to this already strong, talented group of women. The level of support, encouragement, and general positive attitude is unparalleled. One of the best parts of working at SandBay is they practice what they preach. Their values and beliefs are not just lip service; they truly care about people, the environment, and social equities. Just last week, we had an opportunity for a potential lucrative project. Unfortunately, the key messaging contained racial undertones and without hesitation we declined to respond. Now that’s class.

Thank you to all the SandBay crew and clients who have embraced my addition to this team with open arms.

Happy holidays and safe travels to all. Cheers to an amazing 2023!