The concept for Own the Boards came about nearly two years ago – the product of several coffee-fueled discussions between Kat and me – and since then we’ve been dreaming, planning, and working to make the organization a reality. We’re excited to let you know some of that work has paid off!

You can expect several announcements in the coming weeks about how we’re expanding our mission and transitioning out of our self-termed “beta phase” into a full-fledged non-profit organization.The first step in that transformation: introducing our new logo. Behold!

For help, we turned to graphic designer and writer Eric C. Wilder (http://www.ericcwilder.com/), and he came up with a concept that perfectly captures OTB‘s ethos.

As we explain in our mission statement, “boards” in Own the Boards represents the slats of a stage floor, a symbolic space for OTB participants to “willingly [step] into the thick of life and [meet] its joys, challenges, and fears with hopefulness, a clear head, and an open heart.” For us, the act of memorizing and sharing our favorite pieces of literature constitutes a form of self-affirmation. Preparing a recitation and making a recording take time from our busy schedules. Taking the stage – even in a virtual sense – isn’t easy. Yet, in going through this process, we claim for ourselves the content, the meaning of those words. In uploading a video, our recordings crystalize a piece of that ownership for the audience.

As we’ve said before, we carry a lot with us as we make our way through life. Why not also carry the words that matter? Why not share those words with others?

And what better representation of this act than a stage spotlight? One we willingly step into when we share our performances. One that illuminates both our efforts and the message of our recitations.

We’ll make the switch from old logo to new in the coming days, and we’ll also be tweaking the website. We’re so excited to move forward with these and other advances!