On April 30, the Bureau of Land Management treated fellow Department of the Interior employees to a performance in the Sidney R. Yates Auditorium at the main Interior building. Titled “Come Meet Us Again,” the program celebrated the history, heritage and diversity of the bureau through music, poetry and humor. The event also commended BLM employees, particularly those in the Washington, D.C., office, for their outstanding work and professionalism in carrying out the bureau’s multiple-use mission.

Before an audience of approximately 400, the bureau's acting director, Henri Bisson, opened the program and introduced Secretary Dirk Kempthorne as the featured speaker. Kempthorne's remarks heightened the awareness of BLM’s formidable multi-use mission. They also focused on the ability of BLM employees to face challenges on a consistent basis, giving the bureau a well-earned reputation as a “can-do” agency. Bisson emphasized that their work behind the scenes often does not receive the appreciation it deserves.

The idea for a BLM Band originated years ago at a joint leadership team meeting with the USDA Forest Service, where the “Fiddlin’ Foresters” performed. A bureau-wide casting call resulted in the formation of a talented group who regularly appears before BLM’s Pathways conference – a development and training session for new employees. Over time, the BLM band’s once-bare bones performance has turned into a multi-media affair, replete with PowerPoint presentations and professional audio and lighting.

This educational event was a prime opportunity for employees of BLM’s sister agencies to reacquaint themselves with the diversity of the bureau’s land base, its employees and its customers. The band’s repertoire included their all-time greatest hits, such as “The NEPA Man Blues” and “The Ten Days of FLPMA.” Its unique, light-hearted portrayal of the agency’s multiple-use mission was both inspiring and motivating. The performance and audience participation proved that BLM has successfully shed its moniker of the “Bureau of Livestock and Mining,” to become a guardian of the public lands for generations to come.

Band members include:

• Howard Lemm
  BLM-Montana associate state director
  Narrator and poet
• Bob Hall
  BLM-Oregon Roseburg District Office public affairs officer
  Guitar, lead vocals, and musical director
• Jake Schlapfer
  BLM-Alaska State office safety specialist
  Guitar and lead vocals
• Eric Jones
  BLM-Utah Moab Field Office petroleum engineer
  Mandolin, dobro, and lead vocals
• Leon Thomas
  BLM-National Training Center training coordinator
  Rapper and performance artist
• Joan Suther
  BLM-Oregon Three Rivers Resource Area field office manager
  Guitar and backing vocals
• Ruben Sanchez
  BLM-Arizona Kingman Field Office field office manager
  Guitar and lead vocals
• Bill O'Sullivan
  BLM-Oregon Eugene District Office field office manager
  Mandolin and backing vocals
• Randy Hayes
  Photographer, videographer and Webmaster; BLM-National Operations Center photographer, videographer and Web master.
  Accordion, electric guitar and backing vocals
• Michelle Hall
  Roseburg, Ore., registered nurse and BLM volunteer
  Bass
• Chip Calamaio
  BLM-National Training Center Media Production Division chief
  Band manager and drums, percussion, harmonica, and backing vocals
  

Many thanks go out to the performance support staff: Terry Loftus, Art Ferraro, Tim Totter, Amber Inanella, Mike Mason, Roger Daniel and Mariane Gately.