It is always exciting to look forward to a new year. I suppose that is why we say, “Happy New Year”. It is the time we make resolutions to ourselves and have the feeling of a clean slate as we begin the new year. I always enjoy looking back over my shoulder as well and seeing what I accomplished during the past year. I thought I would share those memories and accomplishments with you.
February – Attended the ILCT Show in Las Vegas with my wife, Hillary, and my assistant, Treanna. We created memories that will last a lifetime with my fellow LCT editors.
March – Won a chili-cook off contest where my chili was determined to be #1 in a field of 32 entries judged using a double-blind method. This was my first entry in a food contest ever.
April – Sponsored and hosted my 12th Annual 911 Dispatcher Recognition Dinner feeding over 300 dispatchers from 20 agencies as a way to say “thank you” for all they do behind the scenes. I raised over $16,000 in donations to pull this off.
May – Added a 55-passenger bus to our fleet complete with a two-year contract for daily employee shuttle service Monday through Friday for a large oil company. Attended the NASCAR Coca Cola 600 in Charlotte, NC.
July – Had a rockin’ 4th of July party at my house with multiple families and all of our children and grandchildren attending along with my parents. My party ran until about 5:00am!
September – My children’s charity organization held our largest festival ever, raising $280,000 in a single night with over 6,000 people attending. Serving the Chevron Board of Directors and a Santana concert in the same night, taxing our little company to the seams but having zero failures on a night that we moved well over 100 people in a two-hour period.
October – Another charity group I preside over hosted our 2nd annual “Scary for Charity” adult Halloween party. The event was attended by 600 people and raised $10,000 for foster children and their families. I also served as the host of an all-girl wine tour to Paso Robles with 24 drunk women and me. Just glad I survived.
December – Dressed a limousine up with antlers, Christmas lights, bows and window paint to travel in our local Christmas parade. I watched from the comfort of my living room on television as employees and their children waved to the crowd.
I can’t wait for 2012 to begin working on new memories. I wish all of you a Happy New Year! I will be taking the first week of the year off to recover from my planned celebration over the weekend. See you next year!
-- Jim Luff, LCT contributing editor
Print | posted on Wednesday, December 28, 2011 10:18 AM