Toni Reece: Hi there. I’m Toni Reece, and I’m here for Berks County Living’s Get Inspired! Project. Today’s guest is David Tanner. Welcome to the Get Inspired! Project.
David Tanner: Thank you so much for having me. It’s my pleasure.
Toni: Well, take a moment and tell us just a little bit about yourself.
David: I’m the Director for the Center for the Arts at Albright College. I am starting my tenth year there. That’s kind of crazy to contemplate. I came from the Buffalo area in New York. I’ve worked in museums and higher ed for a long time, and I’m super excited to still be at Albright.
Toni: Fantastic. So, let’s jump into the Project, okay?
David: Sounds good.
Toni: What does inspiration mean to you?
David: I’ve been thinking a lot about that, actually. I think I’m going to answer it in terms of what inspires me, and I think one of the main things that inspires me is kindness, because it is so rarely something that you see in today’s society. That really is inspiring to me. It’s just the little day-to-day kindnesses that people do for each other that really, I think kind of get to me. But in terms of inspiration in general, I think it’s something that just lifts people up. It’s something that for me, it lifts me up. It’s something that I relate to kindness, as I said, because that lifts me up, everybody being kind to each other.
Toni: So, are you inspired when you receive an act of kindness, and/or when you give an act of kindness?
David: That’s a good follow up. Both, actually. For me, the receipt of something like that just inspires me to want to pay that forward. Projects like that, paying it forward and things like that I think are great projects to keep the inspiration flowing and keep the kindness flowing.
Toni: When’s the last time you received an act of kindness?
David: Oh my gosh. My partner is so awesome to me, so I’m sure he did something today kind for me that I don’t even know about.
Toni: So, it could be that subtle, right?
David: Exactly. Yeah.
Toni: Great. Okay. But you know when it happens and you know that you’re inspired by it?
David: Absolutely.
Toni: Fantastic. So, taking the acts of kindness, things that move you, subtle or not so subtle, how do you put that feeling into practice here in Berks County? What do you do?
David: One of the things that is interesting about our community is how it’s changed over the last couple of decades. There are so many different people coming in of different cultures, people, transplants like myself to the area, and one of the things that I try to do to put that into practice is be welcoming to everyone. That’s important on a college campus as well, where every year we have a whole new group of students. I think that one of the main things is just being open to people who may not look like you or who may not be somebody that you would think you would associate with. You never know who’s going to turn out to be one of your best friends.
I think just being open to that. I’ve seen in our neighborhood, which is near Albright in that College Heights district, there’s a lot of new people that have come in and honestly, I have to say, my neighbors are some of the most — they’re just very cool people. I’m really happy to know them.
Toni: And had you not taken the time to be welcoming, you wouldn’t have possibly realized that.
David: Absolutely. Well, I think that’s part of how sometimes you’re brought up. I was brought up that if a new neighbor moves into the neighborhood, you go welcome them. For example, our true next-door neighbor, when he and his family moved in — his name is Jesus Desanta. I went the first day that I saw them and I brought them, I don’t know, brownies or something I made. I welcomed them because they’re our new neighbors, and I want to be friends with them, or at least friendly. Ever since then though we have been friends. We’ve seen his kids graduate from high school. It’s a good thing.
Toni: You opened the door of a welcome as a major act of kindness that has sustained itself for a couple of years, hasn’t it?
David: Absolutely.
Toni: Yeah. I would imagine a lot of people are surprised by that, or inspired by that when someone is welcoming, because Berks County sometimes has taken a hit for not being very welcoming at times, but we really are.
David: Yeah. I’ve heard that, and I think that that is not necessarily true. As a new transplant, I want to make sure that we diminish that reputation.
Toni: Who in Berks County inspires you?
David: That’s a really tough question. I’ll try not to take too long to answer it.
Toni: That’s okay.
David: I’ve been thinking about it a while. I have to say, first and foremost, I’m inspired by my colleagues at work. They’re all so creative, and they really do inspire not only the students who come and their families to Albright, but people from the community who come and see our plays. We’re a nationally award-winning theater company. We just won KCACTF again at the national level for the third time.
Toni: Congratulations.
David: Thank you. But beyond my colleagues, there are so many wonderful directors of different nonprofit institutions in the community. Specifically, I know the ones that are in the cultural and arts sector, but they’re also great social services and things like that that happen in the community, and those people, because I’m one of them, I know they’re not really in it for the money. They’re not in it for any other reason than to really lift up their fellow community members and artists and what have you. Those people — people like Carrie at Reading Musical Foundation and Levi down at Goggleworks and the folks over at Reading Public Museum and Syme at the History Center, and just so many others really inspire me in the work that they do to open their doors to their community and keep history alive, keep art alive, because those things really pay off and have a huge impact on how we live as a community.
Toni: Okay. So, what would you like your legacy to be?
David: That’s an interesting question as well. One other thing I will say before I finish, I’m going to go back to question three, because there’s a lot of philanthropy in this community, too. I do want to just acknowledge how generous certain donors have been. I’m answering the fourth question in that way, too, because many of us who work in those jobs don’t have the resources to give as much as we’d like, and so our time is that resource. I think that’s probably what I’d like my legacy to be is that I made an impact through my time and through my kindness on how people perceive Berks County and the Reading community, and that they perceive it as a better place.
Toni: It’s interesting that you are living your legacy — we all are right now — and so for you to say it’s for Reading and Berks County, but it’s really for a community — it’s for humanity; and so, to be inspired by that kindness, to be inspired by others who are just selflessly giving, there is a theme here to create time to do good stuff, right?
David: Absolutely.
Toni: And to be kind. That’s amazing, and what a legacy you’re living. I thank you, and I thank you for showing up for the Get Inspired! Project.
David: Thank you so much for having me. You’re part of that legacy, too. What you’re doing here is the exact same thing, so thank you, Toni.
Toni: You’re welcome.
