Faces of MAC

“Maria Albaugh of the Dance program is definitely earning honors during COVID. She’s literally done everything to keep MAC dancers dancing throughout the various closures and openings. She has put a lot of thought and creativity into the success of the kids. She’s designed not just a fullblown Zoom instruction program, but had classes on the grass in Washington Park during the summer and now has dancers rehearsing in the parking garage. She has intuitively included not just physical, but mental health, in her program from the start. She’s been amazing.” Powerful words from member Lori Hardwick. So, what is the secret to Albaugh’s success? “I absolutely love what I do. In fact, teaching is what keeps my mental health intact! There is nothing better than teaching a great warmup, or choreographing a short combo to take the edge off of your day,” she explains. “MAC has been wonderful during this pandemic. Always thinking of ways to do things better and offer more for our athletes. Right now, the dance program is looking forward to hosting a coat drive, performing in the polka dots at Pioneer square and planning an end-of-year show. The dance companies also created a virtual holiday show for the parents. With the help of our faculty we were able to record a 20-minute holiday show that we delivered to the parents on Christmas Eve!” Albaugh adds that applying yourself to your art in times that are less than ideal is an opportunity to define yourself as an artist. “Overcoming obstacles that we cannot control and continuing to go after our dreams only makes us better, not to mention stronger, more tolerant human beings.”

Debbie Bensching is a third-year member of MAC’s Diversity Admissions Committee (DAC), and former chair of the Golf Committee, whose work impressed DAC Chair Jenny Kim enough to recommend her for some additional attention. “I have been doing volunteer work since I was young, and so my proposer, Tanya McGee, suggested I consider getting involved in the committee system, which I did to meet people and give back to the club community,” Bensching says. “My core values and professional training in social work have a strong social justice and advocacy component, so the DAC was a natural next step and fit for me. I also wanted to do what I could to support growing the diversity of club membership.” Bensching adds that there are two primary things she’s enjoyed about the experience. “First and foremost, it’s the people — those on the committee whom I’ve worked with and the candidates I’ve interviewed as part of the admission process. A close second is that it has provided a way for me to have a voice and use my skills to advocate for people and for changes that are important to me, and I believe for the committee process and for the club. “I’d say what I am most proud of during my time on the DAC is the work done while chairing one of the subcommittees. This led to the Board of Trustees adopting some of our recommendations, most notably, to create the new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Ad Hoc Committee.” She also says that the work DAC continues to do is an essential step in the organizational growth of the club and developing an overt framework for DEI. “The club owning its history related to race and exclusion is part of healing and evolving.”

Each year, the winner of MAC’s annual Holiday Counting Contest gets two fun prizes: A written toast to their estimating acumen in The Winged M, and the honor of flipping the switch that lights the tree at the club’s next holiday celebration. This year, counting conqueror Dawn Des Brisay accepted the first honor, but has a slightly different idea about the second. “I would like to extend an invitation to last year’s winner, Maggie Carew, to join me. Together we can light the tree and kick off the holiday season in style. She is so cute and probably disappointed that she didn’t have the chance this past year because of COVID-19.” This was Des Brisay’s first time entering the contest, which she says she didn’t know about until this year. “I happened to see an email mention of the contest, and I thought, why not!” she says. Those looking for tips on how to judge the number of festive lights in a box, the object at the heart of this year’s competition, may be disappointed to find out that, “It was nothing more than a lucky guess,” according to the winner. Perhaps it’s more of a testament to Des Brisay’s love of illumination and ornamentation than a facility for counting that led to the apt guess of 1,432 lights. “My favorite holiday light display is the Christmas Boat Parade. I live on the North Portland Channel, so I get a front row seat to the parade every year.” “I love the decorations!” she exclaims of her favorite part of MAC’s yearly festivities. “The Holiday Decorating Committee does an amazing job turning our club into a winter wonderland, full of magic and fun. I especially love the Christmas carolers filling the club with music.”