Each year the Triangle Business Journal (TBJ) honors 40 individuals under the age of 40 with its “40 Under 40 Leadership Award”. I’m honored to be one of this year’s recipients of the distinguished award at the age of 33. I believe that my success was due to three things; Faith in God, a supporting and understanding wife, and a really awesome staff at WingSwept that allow me to focus on strategic planning and community service while they keep the day to day business running smoothly.
Upon notification by the TBJ all recipients were asked to fill out a list of questions. One of which was “What is your favorite song?”. Without hesitation I put down “I’m Proud to be an American” by Lee Greenwood. As a former USAF officer and the third generation of military in my family I believe that song embodies a lot of my upbringing. What I didn’t realize at the time was that the song would be played for each person when they went on stage to receive their award. There were some really interesting songs played. Later that day I received an email from one of our clients at WingSwept who was in the audience of over 350 people. She started the email with “congrats” (which is good to hear), but went on to comment on the choice of song and the pride that she feels for her husband and son who have both served their country in battle (Vietnam and Desert Storm). I wrote her back to thank her for the kind words about the award and to ask her to tell her husband and son “thanks for their service”. There were at least two other recipients of this year’s award who listed military service prominently in their accomplishments. Thanks guys! We all could do a better job of remembering those who have served and sacrificed for our freedom. If you are of a mind to contribute financially to such causes I highly recommend the Wounded Warrior Project.
