Joel Matson: Fun facts to know and tell
I graduated from Wheaton College in Wheaton IL, in 1982 with a BA in Psychology. I completed my coursework for a MA in Counseling from Southern Connecticut State University in about 1996. I worked for years as a crisis interventionist.
I have been a Realtor since 2000 and a broker since 2007. Becoming a Realtor/Broker was a natural development for me. A lifetime of attempting to help people and understand their needs, a lifelong familiarity with home design as the interested son of an architectural home designer, and a deep lifelong love of especially vintage homes combined with a natural love of creative problem solving and consesnus building have made for a very great "fit".
I am the director of music at Seymour United Methodist Church. I also taught music for many years. I have just now begun to offer to teach mucsic as a fundraiser for the resoration of the stained glass windows of the church, which was badly damaged by fire in 2006. I also hope to raise money for the Spooner House Shelter and for MAMA Project -Mujeres Amigas Miles Apart - or Women Friends Miles Apart. This is a charitable organization begun by my sisters a number of years ago, which carries on nutrition and health services for childen in Honduras. Most recently MAMA has begun to explore working with child victims of NOMA ulcer in Nigeria.
For about 12 years, I have been the director of the Valley Ecomenical Choir, which presents a yearly Eastertide benefit concert to the public. The beneficiaries are Spooner House shelter and MAMA Project. Throughout the year, the group also brings their program to area nursing and retirement homes.
For the last 10 years I have been a a volunteer Guardian Ad Litem - Court Appointed Special Advocate for the Superior Court Juvenile Matters. Our mission is to represent the voice of a child in court. These children have been placed out of their homes due to abuse or neglect. The goal is to keep them from "falling through the cracks" so that as their social worker, judges, attorneys or foster families may change, there is at least one person who knows them well and can speak up for what is in their best interest as the court plans their next steps.
I am the proud uncle and grand-uncle of 23+ nieces and nephews, including 3 sets of twins. I take great pleasure in chasing them around the house, much to their parents' chagrin. I am a lifelong devotee of antique New England homes, and grew up in a vintage Cape Cod farm home in Bethany. I am a huge fan of aphorisms and words. I enjoy receiving my worthless word of the day, and word of the day, on the web. I have written the occasional poem, and have enjoyed memorizing poetry over the years. My favorite sport is repartee with a person of keener wits than mine.
I hope you were paying attention, as there will be a quiz!