Sooner or later, I can count on getting a call from just about anybody saying they’re coming to Vegas.

This last weekend, there was a glut.

My friend Mark Johnson, News Anchor at the Boise NBC Affiliate KTVB had an all-expenses paid trip to Vegas to participate in the national finals of a karoake contest (he does Sinatra).  He didn’t make it past the first cut, but we had a fun time partying that evening at mydaughter’s college going-away party.

At the same time, Merlên Hoekstra called. I met Merlên when she was a volunteer at VOICE2008.  She attended VOICE2010 in a lesser role about a month ago, but wanted to make sure to look me up when she was in town.  Merlên lives in France, but has extensive worldly VO experience, including broadcasting in Japan.  She made a point to visit me at the TV station this week.

Just one day later, Randye Kaye sought out a lunch meeting with me.  She was in town with her husband, who I discovered was the brother of a friend I knew from church for many years.  Small world!  They live in Connecticut, and she works at Edge Studio as a coach, while pursuing a successful career in voice-acting in many different niches.

These face-to-face meetups are important.  We voiceactors maintain virtual liaisons with a wide spectrum of characters…and the natural curiosity is to (some day) sit across the table and share the same space over a meal or a game of dominos.  It doesn’t matter what the backdrop is…the important thing is conversation in the same airspace.

I am blessed by rich relationships with interesting people.  I hope I give to them at least as much as they return to me…

CourVO