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Wednesday, April 2, 2025

John Hancock

John Hancock had a first career as a symphony orchestra musician and was a faculty member at University of Michigan. He has advanced degrees in music performance from Boston University and U.M. Arts management was his way of problem-solving and expanding the public participation. He was orchestra manager of the Toledo Symphony, executive director of the Spokane Symphony and the Pasadena Pops and chief operating officer of the Milwaukee Symphony. Currently he’s an Eagle Scout, a Rotarian, a liberal libertarian of an Iowa small-town self-sufficiency and was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War. A childhood Methodist, he now instead pursues ideas of commonality among religions and philosophies. Volunteerism in civic, political and social services work draws him to town from his forest home outside Spokane. Since 2006, his Deep Creek Consulting has aided non-profit organizations in grantwriting and strengthbuilding.

Embrace Charter for Compassion in Spokane

Offering it to all persons in Spokane, in revised practices of all organizations in Spokane, is what the Charter for Compassion asks of us.

Ode to Joy with Spokane’s Symphony Orchestra

The Symphony’s New Year’s Eve performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony has become a glorious annual tradition in Spokane, as in cities throughout the world.

Restoring power

Got power? In Spokanese, that means, “has your electricity come back on?”

The Unhappy Absolutist

Red cups of holiday coffee seem OK to me. Why make us drink from the same color all year?

Compassion and My Enemies

It teaches that we’re all one, like John Lennon sang, and that I’m a part owner of any other person’s suffering.

Tax-Deductible Compassion

When income taxes began, for both individuals and businesses, 100-plus years ago, the issue of “public good” was raised right away by wealthy people giving their own money to churches, orphanages, hospitals, etc.

We’ve Fallen in Love with our Money

It took some hard lessons for me to discover that a successful “head of the family” role must also include time, energy, and emotional investments in my wife, children and relatives. The power of money, in the close confines of my family, is no substitute for the power of love.

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