Platinum Medallion Season

3.09.2007

Between the years of 1997 and 2000 (and before I was married with children) I was the Executive Assistant to the Founder & CEO of a marketing company. He traveled a lot. And a lot of people traveled with him, including me. In most traditional corporations, it's unusual for the E.A. to travel like I did, but this was no ordinary company.

He has since sold the company and started a new one, which is a lot like the old one. They sell different products, but they sell them in the same way. Go here if you're interested in the company. And you can check out my former boss and his new house here.

I only offer this as a side note so you might get a feel for the types of trips and events this man hosted. He did things in grand style and I was in charge (along with a large team of very talented, hard-working folks) of both the "grand" and the "style".

We'd go on "tours"... five cities in six days, 500+ people at each event. There were speakers to coordinate, receptions to plan, packets to distribute, guests to host and...always....the CEO to tend to.

The mother of all events was held each year in Las Vegas. In the summer. But it was a dry heat. I'd enter the MGM Grand Hotel on a Wednesday afternoon, and not see the light of day (unless I was walking next door to Bally's) until the following Monday morning. Nearly 20,000 people would attend, and those were labor-intensive days and nights. But they were also fun and memorable. I made Huey Lewis a peanut butter sandwich, drove General Norman Schwarzkopf to a reception in a golf cart, and witnessed Muhammad Ali step into a boxing ring for one of our events after saying 12 years previously he'd never step foot in a ring again. I know the pre-speech rituals and requests of Stephen Covey and the dietary preferences of Tony Robbins.

I was a traveling pro back then. I could pack a suitcase in 10 minutes, unpack in five and never leave anything behind. I had two black "traveling suits", and several pair of stylish-but-comfortable shoes. I was the mothership of office supplies and sundries. If anyone needed Tylenol, safety pins, nail polish, scotch tape, paper clips, Tums, or a comb, I had it. I was also known for my stash of peanut M&Ms, Hot Tamales and magazines.

As I traveled this week I was reminded again about those days of living on the road. This was pre 9/11. You could get to the airport 30 minutes before your flight, check a bag, and still have time to spare. You could carry mace through security. Good for all those taxi rides in strange cities late at night.

I was also reminded of how technology has changed since then: we did not have wi-fi and Blackberries. Cellphones often didn't work inside hotels and I am most certain there were no blogs! We still used fax machines and carried computer discs in case we had to make changes to a document. Even Google did not yet exist.

I grew to love my life on the road. But I'm glad I don't have to live it anymore. Back then I came home to an empty apartment. An apartment where I'd be for only a short while before packing my suitcase, doning my black suit, and jetting off again.

Now I come home to a warm home filled with my husband and children that I love more than life itself. To everyone there is a season. My Platinum Medallion Season has now passed. And for that I am very thankful.

2 comments:

Nadine :

What a lovely post. I'm so grateful also for family and the love of a good man.

Robin :

Oh, my word, Jill. WHAT A FREAKIN' JOB! Geezaree, sometimes now can you believe you did that?!

BUT, that being said, it's GOOD to be content where you are now, not look over your shoulder wistfully remembering "the days"...

Perspective is a good thing :)

Jillian Inc. All rights reserved © Blog Milk Powered by Blogger