I’ve had a really hard time writing anything about this or talking about this with anyone, but I figure I should get some thoughts written down just for venting sake and so that all of you don’t just think I am sad or not responding to you for no reason. I had a very, very close friend pass away about two weeks ago. He was my mentor, my hero (and yes, he was and has been listed in my hero’s section on Myspace for four to five years).
I worked for this man as his administrative assistant for two years and in that time got to know his family and his work ethic well. The more I knew Kevin, the more I wanted to be just like him. He was incredibly optimistic, strong, passionate, loyal… his work ethic matched the work ethic of a thousand men combined. I graduated with my undergraduate degree after working for him for two years and immediately told him I wanted more responsibility. He mentored me into a new position at work and helped me deal with moving up in the organization. He always wanted my skills to grow and change and above all, always wanted me to be happy.
He truly has helped me reach all of my goals… whether it be graduating with my undergraduate degree then with my master’s degree… I always had Kevin in mind when completing these goals. Whenever I wanted to go after a new goal, I’d go sit down in Kev’s office and chat with him about what I had in mind… he’d give me his honest opinion and tell me that I can achieve any dream I set my mind too. He’d tell me that he believed in me and that he never wanted me to change the person I am today.
Five days before he passed away, I sent him this clip (which I may have sent some of you) and said… “Thanks for making me a dreamer…” because he truly did help me dream on a day to day basis:
When I started my MBA at Westminster three years ago, it was truly inspired by Kevin… Like I said, I wanted to be just like this man! I would read books about dynamic leadership and leadership that beats out all leadership and I would think of him… this man was charismatic, inspirational… he was one of the best men I will know in this life. I gave him the book “Good to Great” and told him that he reminded me of how the book described GREAT leaders. He was a great leader, a level five leader.
The main thing I loved about Kevin is that he was real… he didn’t let the every day robotic hum drum of work make him something he wasn’t. He was still himself… he was still an imperfect, perfect man about town. I loved that he was from Georgia and had this accent that made me laugh every time he said “ya’ll” – he liked to make people laugh and he hated to see people work to hard or be sad. He would always walk by our desks and say “Ya’ll Be Cool.”
He made this mix called Kevin’s Southern Funk Party that I thought you’d all enjoy ( I know I sure love listening to it ) … here are the tracks:
1-Love Rollercoaster
2-In my House (12 Inch Mix)
3-Jungle Boogie
4-Let It Whip
5-Proud Mary
6-Mustang Sally
7-Tell Me Something Good
8-I’ve Been Everywhere
9-It’s Not Unusual (The Wise Guy Remix)
10-French Connection
11-Shattered
12-It’s Your Thing
13-These Boots Are Made For Walking
14-I Can’t Wait
15-I Will Survive
16-If You Try to Save This Marriage Again
17-Keep Your Hands To Yourself
18-Burn Rubber On Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)
19-Liquid Love, Pts. 1 & 2
20-She’s a Bad Mama Jama (She’s Built, She’s Stacked)
21-You Never Even Call Me by My Name
22-Only Daddy That’ll Walk the Line
23-Call Me the Breeze
24-I Feel For You
25-Shakin’
26-Machine Gun
27-It’s Raining Men
28-Got to Be Real
29-No Parking (On the Dance Floor)
30-Ain’t No Mountain High Enough (Single) [Short]
To the family… you’re in my thoughts and prayers. Much love to you.
I will never forget you Kev.
