Meehan resigns, Tom Champion to return

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

The Journal reports that Michael Meehan has resigned as director of communications for the city, and Tom Champion will return to that role beginning November 1st.

Comments

[hahathor.livejournal.com]

HOW WONDERFUL!!!!

[Gratuitous use of all caps & overuse of exclamation points are totally justified in this instance]

[koloratur.livejournal.com]

That's great! And I really love it that Somerville has had/will have a director of communications who is social media-savvy.

[gingicat]

Nifty! (aside) Tom, will you get to use your Evil Laugh as perfected for PMRP?

[rmd.livejournal.com]

Hopefully Michael is off to more awesome stuff.
Welcome back, Tom!

[hahathor.livejournal.com]

Note, I'll miss Michael, but it sounds like he's making the right choice for himself and it's great that Tom's around to pick up the reins without missing a beat. And with reins in hand, we know that Tom can ride the giant black steed that is Somerville through any storm that arises!

Just in time...

[mjperson.livejournal.com]

With heavy snows just around the corner, Tom returns just in time to save all of our cars.

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

Agreed. Reading between the lines, and considering the timing, it sounds like Michael wanted to avoid the repeated disruptions to his family life that snow-emergency season would undoubtedly cause. That's pure speculation of course, but in any case I wish him well.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

I'll look forward to my robocalls from Tom again! :-)

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

I have left the Robocall in my phone as "Tom Champion" ... now it's correct again!!

[mzrowan.livejournal.com]

In honour of his return, a fresh Champion techno remix (http://soundcloud.com/artemis-seven/tom-champion-is-my-hero-2011) from tinctoris!

[tinctoris.livejournal.com]

I am truly excited by this. Tom Champion makes blizzards more fun somehow.

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

This is some seriously awesome news.

[nonnihil.livejournal.com]

CH-CH-CH-CHAAAAAMMMPIOOOONNNN!!!

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

Husband and wife team, they'll be here all weekend :)

[ratushebarl.livejournal.com]

Woooo! I never could bring myself to change the listing in my cellphone. Now it will be correct again.

They should just change the job title to "Tom Champion".

[balsamicdragon.livejournal.com]

Awesome!!! The Champion returns!

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

YAY TOM CHAMPION! I hope this is good news all around, and that Michael is off to another job he'll enjoy.

One Dark and Stormy Night

[benndragon.livejournal.com]

Scene: The Mayor's office, Somerville City Hall

As the second storm of the season is being announced on the radio, well before the season itself has even begun, Michael bursts the room. His tie is askew and his breathing is ragged. "Joe, I don't think I can do this. It's not even November yet."

The mayor takes his cigar out of his mouth and gestures toward the radio with it. "Mike, you did everything you could, no doubt about that. But Mother Nature is one cruel bitch. Don't tell anyone I said that."

Michael gives a half-smile to the Mayor. "Consider that the last thing I do as Director of Communications."

Joe nods his thanks, puts his cigar back in his mouth, and walks to the window. "There's only one way we can deal with this situation." He presses a button hidden from view. A large spotlight appears in the sky, showing a giant C with wings.

Michael looks out in awe. "The Champion signal."

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

Welcome back Tom!

[blacktigr.livejournal.com]

Yay, Tom Champion returns!

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

after long exile
Champion returns to a
grateful internet

[thespian.livejournal.com]

I hope he doesn't withdraw from social media like he felt compelled to last time. He has posted some incisive and intelligent things about the occupy movement in comments over on facebook, and I would really miss his observations.

[rmd.livejournal.com]

TOM CHAMPION TECHNO! (again!)

This needs a video, complete with a stuttering 360 shot around Tom from down below so it's a total 'hero' shot, interspersed with shots of cars being towed, snow plows, and ending with snow gently descending, undisturbed, in front of City Hall.

[hikermtnbiker.livejournal.com]

I hope that folks don't take this the wrong way. I'm not looking to get flamed. What's all this Tom Champion love about?

I am sure that he is a very nice guy and he seemed to have been very good at his job but I don't think that the robo calls will suddenly get more fun or informative after he returns.

So I guess that I am curious where all this genuine excitement stems from.

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

It began, I believe, as a simple amusement with the name. It was fun to get phone calls saying "This is Tom Champion with the City of Somerville..." People (on this group, for one) built up a sort of mystique about the guy, just based on his name. Then he started posting here, and people got to know his actual personality, and it turned out that he had a sense of humor and was an interesting guy even aside from his name. There was a Globe article about him and he became kind of a mini cult icon.

If I wanted to get all pop-psychology about it, I could say that getting to know Tom, even just online, made people feel more connected to the city we live in, and made them feel like they had "a friend at City Hall." So when it was announced that he was quitting, folks were disappointed. Plus it meant the end of the icon, kind of like when that awesome new scifi show gets canceled after only eight episodes.

So no, I don't think it's that anyone thinks the robo-calls are suddenly going to become way more useful or anything like that...it's more just about personality, like when they announce that they're making a feature-length movie based on that canceled TV show. ;)

[elbren]

don't forget the lolcat and the radio plays. he's like the total local hero.

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

He's got an unusually excellent voice, too, with memorable delivery.

[ron_newman]

And soon after that, people here got him involved in Theatre@First and Post-Meridian Radio Players. (Where you can see him perform at the Regent Theatre tomorrow night.)

If you click on the 'local characters' tab, you'll see posts about him (and occasionally by him) dating back several years.

Re: One Dark and Stormy Night

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

*LOL*!

[srakkt.livejournal.com]

See? All the truly cool stuff happens while I'm gone.

[tom-champion.livejournal.com]

All the truly cool stuff happens while I'm gone."
Sez the Marine in the war zone.
Look: Even if what you're doing there doesn't meet the standards for "cool" (which I doubt),it definitely measures up to "vital" and "difficult." It's often "hazardous" and exceptionally "public-spirited."
Compared to all that, "cool" is overrated.
Besides, I will never be as cool as you. Hurry back so you can lend your coolness to future PMRP productions.

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

Heard Tom's voice on my home answering machine tonight. Yay!