Sam Abbott Sells Homes, Gets Hacked, Leaves M/U Media
“I will remember you; will you remember me.” —Sarah McLachlan, ASPCA
It is with deep sorrow and even deeper gratitude that we announce that Sam Abbott will be stepping away from his role as Business Manager of M/U Media (parent company to GoMonadnock and Monadnock Underground), effective tomorrow, September 30. Having guided Monadnock Underground through a successful merger/acquisition of GoMonadnock, establishing sustainable business practices for the organization and serving as both creative judge for M/U’s biannual online publishing seasons and faithful co-host of the GoMo Tonight podcast, Sam will be turning his remarkable energies exclusively toward managing his professional life (selling real estate) and (ideally) getting some extra family time.
Sam’s tenure forever changed the trajectory of this organization, laying the foundations upon which we will rely forever.
Our time as a triumvirate, which will undoubtedly be remembered with great sentimentality as the scrappy glory days of our youth, began quietly in December of 2020 with a clandestine meeting in a private local back room. It was the stuff of dreams, to tell the truth - Sam, a normal and professional person who was also already a friend of ours, was interested in joining the team, bringing a business edge to complement Monadnock Underground’s creative strengths. Zoë and I were quite satisfied with the state of M/U, but we knew deep down that growing to the next phase of our organizational life would likely require another partner; paradoxically, we had no idea who that might be, and no volunteers. Enter Sam.
Wanting our work together to develop organically, we began with collaborative strategy and brainstorming sessions that stretched through the winter and into the early spring. Sam’s work was integral to the production of our Summer 2021 Beach Reader 18 Miles of Crimes, but it was only after we completed work on that book that he would approach us with the idea that would change everything. GoMonadnock, an online property which Kim Graham had built into a formidable hub for local events and art, had been lying fallow for six months. Kim had, upon stepping away to leave the region and travel the country, put out a call for a new local steward to man the helm, but as yet none had come forward.
Sam was the one who had the foresight to recognize that we were the stewards Kim had been looking for, and that GoMonadnock was the path we had been looking for to expand from creative writing and book publishing into local affairs. He set the meeting with Kim, prepared for a negotiation that ultimately proved unnecessary. The merger was begun, M/U Media was born.
Sam is not replaceable and we do not intend to replace him. Zoë and I will split up the business manager duties between us as long as that is tenable (those who wish to advertise on GoMo Tonight or in the Tuesday/Friday emails can now reach out to either of us instead of Sam). We will not, for the time being, be adding a new co-host for GoMo Tonight, either. Some episodes we’ll do as a duo, but, in addition to the bonus guest interview episodes we drop sporadically, a couple episodes per month will feature a rotating cast of full-length guest hosts - starting with a good friend of ours from New Jersey.
That’s as far as we’ve gotten. He’s already stopped checking his email and we’ll deactivate it soon. I suppose eventually we’ll update our About sections and business cards and things like that, but understand that we are notorious slackers when it comes to such maintenance. (When was the last time I even updated the home page? We’ll get to it.) And we’ll have more announcements and changes to surprise you all with in the months to come.
Sam’s last episode of GoMo Tonight - which no one should miss - was released today. You can find it on your favorite podcast app, on SoundCloud, or watch the video here:
Sam, a million thank yous to you, and two million blessings on the road ahead. I intend to keep my promise to ask you to come back once every six months; you’ll always be a part of this family whether you like it or not. We love you, man. Thanks for coming along with us this far. We’ll see you on the other side.
As for the rest of you, buy a house from him or let him sell yours. He’s the best there is.
With love and regret,
Chris DiLoreto & Zoë Wroten-Heinzmann
M/U Media
