Copyright

Monday, December 10, 2012

A Retirement Gala

My husband and I have worked at our current company for 15 years.  It is a wonderful company that cares about its employees, provides a beautiful working environment, and offers a benefit package that is second-to-none.  They know how to attract and retain quality employees...and have done so now for 108 years!

Recently, our Chairman of the Board retired.  He started with the company back in 1968, as a marketing representative, and retired in November of this year, after dedicating a total of 47 years to catapulting the company to new heights.  In these times of economic turmoil, our company is currently one of the most financially secure insurance companies in the United States.  In fact, when compared to a large group of company peers in 2011, our company "topped the list" as being the best positioned to discharge its financial responsibilities.  To boot, we consistently receive some of the highest ratings from industry watchdogs.  While our retired Chairman of the Board didn't do this "single handed," he was definitely the driving force behind some of the biggest ideas and greatest changes over my 15 years with the company.  He was, an amazing leader.

Additionally, a foundation co-chaired by him and his wife has managed to raise over $20 million dollars for at-risk youth in the state of Minnesota.  Both his corporate and personal "citizenship" is second-to-none. 

Why do I share all of this information you ask?  Well, because this past weekend our retired Chairman of the Board was honored in front of a group of 600+ of his friends, family, and colleagues...and my husband and I were fortunate enough to be included in that group of 600+ attendees.  It was a black tie event and was a completely amazing evening.

How amazing you ask?  Well, in the group of 600+ attendees you could find the following:
  • Former Minnesota Governor and Former First Lady, Tim & Mary Pawlenty
  • Reverend Bill Lies - University of Notre Dame Vice President for Mission Engagement and Church Affairs
  • David Sokol - Chairman, Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans
  • Overtone (South African Vocal Harmony Group)
  • Pia Toscano (American Idol Season 10 Favorite)
  • Kenny G. (Grammy Award Winning Saxophonist)
All were there to honor our retired Chairman of the Board and his beautiful, supportive wife.  That, in and of itself, speaks volumes to his life and his character. 

But, enough of the idol chatter for now...here are some pictures from the evening.  (Sorry they aren't better but I had my tiny point-and-shoot camera and it doesn't produce the best photos).


All Dressed Up --
(Can you believe I didn't think to get a
full-length picture of the two of us..uggh!)


Pia Toscano during one of her performances



4 comments:

Anonymous said...

The South African Vocal Group you mentioned, they're called Overtone; no "The" or an "s" at the end. ;)

Heather (Chaos Controller!) said...

Thank you for correcting me! The program that we were given at the event indicated "The Overtones" but after a quick internet search, I see that the group is clearly called "Overtone." I appreciate your feedback and the opportunity to correctly identify the group -- they were fantastic!

Anonymous said...

Hello! Do you have a picture of Overtone and/ or Kenny G that you can share?

Heather (Chaos Controller!) said...

I'm actually in the process of getting some pictures of Overtone and Kenny G. from a co-worker who also attended the event.

Unfortunately, my "good" camera was too big to bring along to the event and, based on the photos I got using my pocket camera, it is time to upgrade to something better!

Once I have obtained some additional photos, I will upload them to this post!