Jess Heugel is The Preservation Society.

Oh, the trumped-up fiddle-faddle that is The Preservation Society. Not to downplay it, because I really do believe in it. But what a lot of pomp and fuss.

I get asked, “What is it?” and “Why?” a lot. Each is a valid question. The short answer is, a moderately funny joke told with way too many words. The long answer is, I’m filled with joy, doubt, and uncertainty and this seems like the most entertaining way to express those feelings.

Raised in Colorado and then transplanted to Nairobi, Kenya at the age of 12, my perception of the world shifted. A lot of what I knew was burned up in those years. What was left was the realization that the way I see, is not the way everyone sees. And their way can be right, and so can mine.

Work as a photojournalist, writer, filmmaker, and websperson in more than 50 countries has allowed me to tell stories and glimpse the ways others experience the world. The Preservation Society is what rattles out as I process.

Somewhere between fact and fiction, we all find a way to make sense of the world and the people in it. As I do this, I hope the music I make is good, and the writing makes you chuckle.

If there is an enemy to be had, let’s make it Certainty. Because when that’s gone, we’re left with better things — empathy, faith, the enjoyment of mystery, and a desire to do good with nothing expected in return.

Until then,
Jess Robinson Heugel
Senior Minister, The Preservation Society Board of Dictatorial Governance.