Q&A: Office Manager Cleo Hansen
Cleo Hansen at the Beef a la Argentina workshop at the 40th Gathering. Photo by Natalie Aramendia
For a little over 25 years, Cleo Hansen has worked for the Western Folklife Center. She is the cornerstone of our small staff. As her job role of Office Manager describes, she’s what keeps the WFC running day to day. Apart from her daily duties of answering phone calls, taking care of mail, watching hours of Gathering footage to put on Western Folklife TV, and much, much more, she’s also known as the “Facebook Queen,” as she has grown our account by the thousands. She is a jack-of-all-trades. If you’ve been an artist, staff, or volunteer at the Gathering, you no doubt have been embraced (literally and figuratively) by Cleo. In this Q&A, we talk to Cleo about her quarter of a century at the Western Folklife Center, the many hats she’s worn along the way, and what keeps her connected to our mission.
Cleo gives the best hugs. Photo by Jessica Brandi Lifland
What does your role at WFC look like day to day?
No two days are the same. I answer the phone and direct calls, post to Facebook, do research and contact management for videos, process incoming mail and checks. One day I am ordering supplies, the next I am in the Archives looking for a particular poem or photo. That afternoon I may be creating stickers for Jam On! or labels for packets and notebooks for the Gathering. I can fill in for Gift Shop staff or sell tickets if Teddi is out. I work with the poets for our Ask a Cowboy Poet blog and with vendors for the Western Mercantile.
What’s something about your job that has surprised you?
That a quarter of a century can go so quickly!
What has stayed the same and what has changed throughout the years?
The people are the same. The cowboys, the ranchers, the poets and musicians are some of the best people on earth.
Phones and technology have changed. When I started we rented event phones for the Gathering and not everyone on staff had one. Now we each have our own smart phone and wonder how we ever did the Gathering without them.
What’s something you’ve learned from the artists and communities you’ve encountered through WFC?
I’ve learned that the values of the West and our grandparents are still alive in the ranching community. Nothing like a ranch kid to restore your faith in the future!
Cleo shares a warm drink with Gathering artist DW Groethe at the Gathering. Photo by Jessica Brandi Lifland
What’s a Western tradition, skill, story, place, or piece of culture that you have a particular connection to?
Beans and music. My grandmother always had a pot of beans on the left back burner of the wood stove at the ranch. When we would see a line of dust coming from the gatehouse, she would say, “Put a cup of water in the beans!” and she would start rolling out fresh tortillas. In the evenings people from the community would gather on the porch, drink tequila, dance, sing, and play music. I remember falling asleep listening to the music with my cheek against the adobe.
What’s one thing you always have on your desk?
A paperweight from my granddaughter, Hannah.
Cleo presents the scholarships every year at the Gathering. Photo by Jessica Brandi Lifland
What’s one WFC/ Gathering program, event, artist, story, or piece of work you wish more people knew about?
I wish more people knew about the scholarship program that brings new, undiscovered, and emerging artists to the Gathering. Many of the poets and musicians we enjoy today first came to the Gathering through this program.
What do you hope people take away from the work WFC does?
I hope our work reminds people of the importance of poetry, music, history, and culture. The cowboy is our modern day knight in shining armor, our superhero.
What’s one thing you think everyone should experience at least once?
Everyone should experience the Gathering with a live performance in the GIII Theater at the Western Folklife Center. The acoustics, the ambiance, and the spirit of all those who have played that room make it an experience like no other. When you’re there, you’re not just watching a performance, you’re part of it. Come join our family. I’ll even give you a hug.
