Kymberly's Nitty-Gritty

Another year down and as my birthday is on Jan. 2 – another year older. And I hope -- another year wiser. If I haven’t gotten wiser each year in the past, I resolve to do so this year in a number of ways.

Last year certainly helped in the process as 2012 was a colossal year for our business. We won two major contracts for the Democratic National Convention. We were fortunate to be able to host one of 12 delegate welcome events. The folks from Nebraska, Iowa and Wisconsin were amazing.

We also partnered with a national transportation/logistics company on the bid for transportation. We were slated with having to staff 250 people to cover hours that were nearly 24 hours for 7 days. We staffed the airport, the media party, delegate hotels, the convention center, arena, and motor coach staging areas.

We decided to give back to our community and give the people who really needed the jobs the opportunity to work this historic Charlotte event. We partnered with Goodwill, Charlotte Works, and Jacobs Ladder who provided us with the most amazing people. We thought the takeaway from the event would be that we were in the middle of the convention from beginning to end. We were wrong.

The takeaway was that these amazing people that just needed a chance to prove their worth stood out in the heat and pouring rain and worked soaked and wet nearly every day for up to 14 hours. You couldn’t get them to take more than a ½ hour lunch break and they smiled through it all. They represented themselves, The Charlotte Destination Group and the city of Charlotte extremely well!

It was also DuPont’s 20^th Anniversary of sponsoring Jeff Gordon and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team – the longest currently running driver/owner/sponsor combination in NASCAR. Performance PR Plus is the other partner who has been a part of the winning combination for that long. I am proud to have been part of it for 18 of those years. What can I say; I was still in college Jeff’s rookie year.

And I am still amazed by him. Jeff used to race at my Mom and Stepdad’s track, Winchester Speedway. We are the same age and I think we were 18 when we first met. Yes, he had the mustache and mullet at the time. Although his looks have changed, and his life has changed significantly – he hasn’t. Instead of using his good fortune and fame to feel entitled like many do, instead, he uses it to encourage people to give back to those in need. He still appreciates his fans and says thank you to those who ask for autographs. He still appreciates the job the media does, regardless of their affiliate. He treats his team and those around him with respect. He is a good family man.

 
These amazing people who worked for us for the DNC, and people like Jeff who give back is what is inspiring me this year to be a better and wiser person. Too many people are in jobs or situations that they may not even realize yet do not make them happy. They may not think about getting out there, taking a risk and realizing their full potential. Maybe they have just never donated or volunteered. I don’t want to be that person so this year, I’m going to aim higher. So here’s to your happiest new year ever too. Cheers.