Thought Leadership

A Letter From Our Leadership: Managing Director Katryn Geane Crawford

A closeup of a curling stone in a rink.

“SWEEEEEEEEP!!”

“OFF OFF”

“NEVER NEVER”

“SWEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!”

“ALL THE WAY ALL THE WAY” 

Ahh, the sweet sounds of curling. Yes, that Winter Olympics sport you watch and think, “if those Midwestern dads can do this, so can I.” I’m here to tell you that’s true, but it is awkward as hell at first. 

As the Town Hall team knows because I could not stop talking about it, earlier this year I joined a curling rookie league in Brooklyn. In addition to the new skills I gained – lunging on ice without falling, judging the speed of a 42-pound rock sliding down the sheet, and the physics of broom-to-ice friction – the experience of being new at something with zero expectation of being good at it was incredibly refreshing. I am, you see, a recovering perfectionist who would not do new things unless she was one-hundred percent sure she would execute flawlessly.

Previously this would have been my nightmare scenario: doing something I have zero experience with, in front of people I don’t know, and … it’s a sport. But I did it anyway. I slipped, I fell over, I didn’t get the stone even halfway down the ice–but it was the most fun. And everyone was not good at first, this was the rookie league! With our instructors cheering us on, we improved week over week, and at our final match, with excellent ice conditions, we sent it all the way to the house – a.k.a., we scored lots of points and had a great game.

What I valued most about my experience was that it was a place for trying and practicing and learning. This is the kind of environment I strive to create at Town Hall. We are an excellent team of strategists, media experts, and creative minds who are bringing high-level skills to the table, constantly tackling new problems and navigating the changing marketing landscape. The expectation isn’t for perfection; it is that we’re innovating and challenging each other to give everything we’ve got to provide the best ideas and solutions.

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