Posted by Jack Hanlon, Northeast Regional Director

Hi, I’m Jack, the new Northeast Regional Director here at BWB.  If you want some info about me, check out our “About our regional directors” page on the site.  Done yet…?  OK, now that you know everything about me, I can begin:

It’s hard to start anew.  I just moved to Boston and started a new job and I wasn’t sure what was going to happen.  I like the area I moved in to and I like the mission of Better World Books, but how will I adapt?  Will the people in each area live up to the fantastic experiences I’ve had in the past?  Today I can say: Yes, and then some.

I’ve only been with BWB for a month, but from meeting the amazing people at the warehouse, talking to Pat at Books for Africa on a conference call, to even joining an “office” March Madness pool (which I am getting beaten soundly in, by the way), I feel at home already.  The first people I met working here were so diverse in background and outlook, but there is one goal that we share: global literacy.  This experience has truly made me feel like this is a job that I can, and will, succeed at because of their support system and enthusiasm.  I can name at least 10 people who have saved me already, and I’m sure that list will extend, and hopefully, with our new hires I can start building a reputation as an answer guy too.

The best thing about starting though was the crop of emails from book drives encouraging me and showing such excitement about our program.  Gary Chang, a Phi Theta Kappa member in New York City sent me the attached photo of how many books he has in his room at the beginning of the semester.  You all know how much a picture is worth so I keep this one above my desk, with my eye on the prize.