Hello and Happy New Year!  I hope all of you enjoyed a wonderful holiday and that you are looking forward to another exciting year.  With any luck, many of us will get to enjoy seeing Clay Aiken perform live in 2024!

For me, this is a bitter sweet post.  Let me explain:  

Today is Clay Aiken News Network’s 15th year anniversary!  Wow!!  A huge chapter of my life has been dedicated to this wonderful community.  I have made such great friends and had so many incredible opportunities.  When I first started this blog, I was a new grandmother of twins.  Today, those same twins are Juniors in high school getting ready to apply for college.  What were you doing 15 years ago?  What has changed in your life since 2009?  During this period of time, I have loved traveling the country to meet with so many of you, to see Clay Aiken sing, and to support one another in our goals and challenges.  I will always treasure the friendships that blossomed from CANN.

Today I am also saying a fond farewell.  As many of you know, I have been less able to maintain CANN with the same daily energy as I once did.  My enthusiasm for this community (including our wonderful Clay) is as strong as ever!  But with the passage of time, I (very reluctantly) have to acknowledge that I cannot manage the evolving technology required of a blog, or travel as frequently as I once did.  BLEH to this whole ‘getting old’ thing.

I want to express my sincerest thanks to Clay Aiken, Nick Leisey, Diane Bubel and the entire team at the National Inclusion Project.  15 years ago, we did not know each other, and today I am fortunate to consider you friends.  And just as important, I express a huge thank you to each and every one of you who reached out, said hello, introduced yourself, supported CANN, and joined this beautiful community.  What a joy to look back and remember all the concerts, dinners, galas, and late-night hangouts in homes and hotels around the country.  I am forever grateful.

I wish you all the best and hope to see many of you later this year at some fun events.  You may not be hearing from me on CANN, but know that my heart is with you.  Always feel free to drop me a line:  MarthaEllis101@gmail.com.

See you soon.

With love,

Martha Ellis (Musicfan123)