A note from GeoHipster CEO Mike Dolbow
As I write this article, I am packed and prepared for three days “off the grid”, and honestly I could use a break from the daily news. I recognize that I have a tremendous privilege in being able to afford such a break, and that others are not so lucky. Nothing brought this fact to life as much as the recent news that Eni Entchev was deported…despite living in the U.S. for 25 of his 27 years.
Atanas with his son, Eni.
Eni is the son of Atanas Entchev, and sometimes we refer to Atanas as “the OG”…as in, “Original Geohipster”. While we may be using “OG” in jest, let’s face it – without Atanas, “Geohipster” might only be a Twitter account. It probably wouldn’t be a website with over 100 interviews published since it started almost 4 years ago. And it most definitely wouldn’t be the small independent business partnership it is today.
I certainly know I wouldn’t have been able to meet and/or interview so many amazing people these last few years without Atanas’ ideas, support, and generosity. And so when I learned that Eni’s family had set up a funding drive to pay for legal fees and living expenses, I knew I had to act. Like many of you – our amazing colleagues in the geospatial community – I donated from my personal funds. But also, with support from the GeoHipster Advisory Board, I’ve pledged 25% of the revenue from our 2018 GeoHipster Calendar sales.
So, this holiday season, as many of us take some time to celebrate our good fortune with loved ones, I hope you’ll consider either donating directly or buying a calendar to help reunite the Entchev family. Sure, hanging a unique calendar with 13 different pages of “map art” on your wall might make you the talk of the office. But knowing that in some small way you’ve also helped out a friend in need? To me, that’s what the geospatial community is all about.