Congratulations to Katlyn Witherspoon from Daryl Flood Relocation & Logistics, who attended the 2022 FIDI Conference in Cannes due to the pandemic as the FIDI 39 Club scholarship winner.
Katlyn was born and raised in the United States, and then went off to the study abroad in Germany. She spent almost seven years there where she became involved with the TOS Church in Tübingen and the March of Life movement. Those were eye opening years for her, and the March represents a cause that she cares about deeply. This led her to Texas, where she worked part-time as the National Coordinator of March of Life for USA (March of Remembrance).
She won the FIDI 39 Club scholarship with an essay about the remembrance of the Holocaust and breaking the silence on antisemitism and indifference. Learn how she came to join the industry and the march that inspired her essay here.
This is what she has to say about her winning essay:
Katlyn Witherspoon
"I was not even sure I could write the essay. I feel like I have received more through the March of Life than I could have ever given in return. Learning to break the silence over antisemitism and indifference has impacted me in many ways – not to mention the takeaway experience of being in a leadership role.
What makes the March of Life unique in the world of Holocaust remembrance and education is the pursuit of reconciliation. Words cannot express those moments, as they cannot be orchestrated. I am reminded of a remembrance event that I attended in Hungary in 2014. This was a side event to several marches that were taking place. The facility was built out of brick, mostly decayed, that had been used as a work camp during the Holocaust. The heaviness in the air was crushing, like weights on our shoulders.
There was a band playing and, as they played, the daughter of two Hungarian Holocaust survivors began to dance. Pretty soon, more and more people jumped up to join her – forming large dancing circles, everyone locking hands. All of a sudden, new life sprung forth in the darkness of the past.
Tears of mourning turned into tears of joy. Descendants of Holocaust survivors dancing with descendants of Nazi perpetrators – and this in Hungary, where antisemitism is prevalent. This moment is a snapshot, for me, that represents the movement." (www.marchoflife.org)
March of Remembrance
Are you looking forward to going the FIDI Conference in Cannes in 2022? Why?
"Absolutely! I am thrilled to be able to join the Daryl Flood team and FIDI 39 Club for the 2022 Conference. It will be amazing to see friends, continue getting to know members of the industry and engage with my generation at the Conference.
Collaboration is needed, and helps build vision for the future of our companies and industry. We are standing at a unique crossroads in history, when we are likely to see more familiar practices challenged and replaced by new methods and technologies. I think this is something we should be proactive about to help shape the culture of what is to come. No single coordinator or company can do that on their own – we will need each other."
